A CHALLENGE FROM CHRISTCHURCH

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 58, 2 August 1940, Page 20

A CHALLENGE FROM CHRISTCHURCH

week must go to a challenge from F.D.B. (Riccarton, Christchurch), who sends a problem which we think will take puzzlers the duration and six months after. He says his trials indicate that the solution requires 71 moves. Others may be able to better this. Let them try. ... The diagram in the top right hand corner represents nine pieces of stiff card or board, cut in the proportions indicated, and fitted, with one blank Space, inside a rim. The problem is to exchange the positions of No. 1 and No. 4. This must be done only by sliding the pieces. They may not be lifted up or overlapped. P wee of place on The Page this

ANSWERS (See issue of July 19) Bricks: 21 pounds (problem and answer from Newcomer, Arthur’s Pass). Shunters:, So many answers have atrived for this it is possible only to acknowledge those received before The Page was made up: Q.E.D. (Hamilton), Charles Chan (Dargaville), Newcomer (Arthur’s Pass), Tennyson (Milton), U.K. (Sheffield), O.N. (Hastings), Willie (Pleasant Point), L.G.L. (Motueka), M.M.M. (Invercargill), R.Mc. (Timaru), and others who mentioned it in their letters. Some puzzlers "slipped" a truck to avoid the difficulty of having the engine pulling one on to the loop

line for the final move, which would leave the engine off the main line. Others ran the engine through the deadend, but this was not allowed for in the problem, although it must be admitted that we did not mention the point, The dead-end would hold only one truck. But no tricks were necessary. Here is the diagram:

The engine moves along main line and backs up to T1. It pushes T1 into the dead end, runs down to the main

line, backs along to the other points, and runs up to T2. It pushes T2 to the dead-end and T2 is then coupled to T1. Both are then drawn back down the main line and through the points, The engine then pushes T1 and T2 to where it stood originally (see diagram) and T1 is uncoupled and left there. T2 is then drawn back and pushed up the loop past its original position and into the dead end. The engine then runs back to the main line, and along to T1, It couples up to T1 and backs past the points. T1 is then pushed up to where T2 was first and the engine backs off leaving it there, goes through the points and along to the other loop again, backs up to T2, and draws T2 out of the dead-end to T1’s original position, And there you are, Tane, who sent the problem, supplied his answer. Other correspondents with correct answers must give themselves full marks as shunters,

Bottles of Wine:

(Problem and answer trom G. Tisbury, Invercargill). PROBLEMS TRAMS: On a tram route five miles long there is a ten-minute service each way. A tramcar takes 27 minutes to (Continued on Page 48)

First position: 2 5 5 3 2 5 2 Second position: 0 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Third position: 1 { 4