Name: Nancy
Who is asking: Student
Level: Secondary

Heres my problem:
Two trains, each of 80 cars, must pass on a single track which has a deadend siding. How can they pass if the siding can only hold a locomotive and 40 cars?

I do not understand this...help. It will be due monday. I thought it would be simple if the siding could hold 80 cars.

thanx

Hi Nancy,

I made myself a model using different colour pieces of paper. Here I have a blue train and an orange train with the dark ends marking the engines.

First have the blue engine pull the front half of the train into the siding.

Now have the orange engine pull its entire train past the siding and have the blue engine back out.

Next have the orange engine pull into the siding.

Now have the blue engine back up and push all the cars out of the way so that the orange engine can back out.

Have the orange engine back up and the blue engine pull all the cars to the right far enough to back the blue cars into the siding.

Move everything to the left and have the orange engine pull the blue cars out of the siding.

You should be able to complete it now.

Cheers,
Penny

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