PLAY THE GAME
I always intended to exhibit ‘RSS’, and felt that an advance on Alan Wright’s tiddlywink game would provide additional operation for myself, while illustrating the workings of the inglenook system to those watching the layout. I decided on a card game, where each wagon in use would be identified via an individual card, including both a photograph and number.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Now for the interesting part - using the card system to operate the shunting puzzle. At the start of an operating session, the eight wagons are ordered as desired, with three in road F, three in road D, and two in road C. The eight wagon cards are then shuffled and five cards drawn at random. The yard pilot must now shunt each wagon into road C (the Exchange road), in the order that the cards were drawn. Once the train is formed and the wagons are arranged in the correct order, the game is complete. The cards can now be shuffled again and the process repeated. For an even greater challenge, you might want to note down the number of manoeuvres required and how long each game takes, attempting to beat your score in subsequent games.