A puzzeltask

[KingLeonidas]

L = locomotive, starts at D
G = goods, starts at B
Co = container, starts at C

1) Move L back toward the viewer.
2) Drive L forward (left at bottom switch) and hook to G.
3) Bring G-L back to the viewer again to pass the bottom switch.
4) Drive G-L forward (right at bottom switch) and leave G somewhere along rail D.
5) While on rail D, push Co into the bumper slot A.
6) Drive L (nakedly) through C, onto D, and then reverse to drive toward the viewer, switching appropriately.
7) With L on the viewer's rail, drive forward and hook to Co.
8) Move Co-L backward toward the viewer.
9) Move Co-L forward, taking a right through the bottom switch, and colliding Co with G.
*) At this stage, rail D should have the configuration L-Co-G.
10) Pull everything back toward the viewer.
*) Now, the viewer's rail should have the configuration L-Co-G (bottom to top).
11) Push the train upward, taking a left at the bottom switch.
12) Going all the way up/left, we now have G parked in bumper slot A, and Co parked at B (never to move again).
13) Unhook all cars from one another, and drive L back to the viewer.
14) Drive L forward and take a right at the first switch. This puts L on rail D.
15) Back up past C to hook to G, and drag G forward a little to park it.
16) Unhook from G and we're done. L can move freely along D and the incoming arc.

That was a bunch of steps but if you count carefully or do this out on paper there are nine switch moments.

[Kernelpanic]

4) Drive G-L forward (right at bottom switch) and leave G somewhere along rail D.
5) While on rail D, push Co into the bumper slot A.
6) Drive L (nakedly) through C, onto D, and then reverse to drive toward the viewer, switching appropriately.
7) With L on the viewer's rail, drive forward and hook to Co.

That reads as if you wanted to turn the locomotive around... That doesn't work. The locomotive can only drive forwards and backwards.

And this position on D is wrong: *) At this stage, rail D should have the configuration L-Co-G.

The position/combination on track D must be here: G - Co - L 
That's half the solution now.  When one have reached this position, one have overcome the psychological block. 

[bplus]

@Kernelpanic

So you can hook up cars on front and back of locomotive (or back of tender), correct?

So no need to turn locomotive around, correct?

[Kernelpanic]

@Kernelpanic

So you can hook up cars on front and back of locomotive (or back of tender), correct?

So no need to turn locomotive around, correct?

The locomotive cannot be turned around! Where is this in the task?

Folks, have you never seen a steam locomotive? How are these supposed to drive without a tender, there's the fuel (coals) in there.

[bplus]

@Kernelpanic

So you can hook up cars on front of locomotive and back of locomotive's tender, correct?

So the locomotive never needs to be turned around!

So cars can be moved forward or back from locomotive's perspective AND connection!

I am correct, I am sure this is one thing people might miss. And shuffling cars around IS LIKE A Towers of Hanoi Puzzle shuffling around disks over 3 pegs. Just takes a properly open mind to see the similarity.

[SMcNeill]

Repeat until cars are in the order that the train needs to be in.

I had real trouble understanding your proposed solution, but your last sentence showed me that this is not the solution. I think so! If I translated that correctly, no.
 
Only nine shunting operations are necessary!

I think I've still got the proper solution.  That last line is in there in case you want to move multiple cars, such as car #2 and car #17 both to the end of the line (or in some other position).   We'll compare what I've wrote to whatever you end up giving us as the final solution, and see what the difference is (besides just the language/translation barrier perhaps). 

[SMcNeill]

@Kernelpanic

So you can hook up cars on front of locomotive and back of locomotive's tender, correct?

So the locomotive never needs to be turned around!

So cars can be moved forward or back from locomotive's perspective AND connection!

I am correct, I am sure this is one thing people might miss. And shuffling cars around IS LIKE A Towers of Hanoi Puzzle shuffling around disks over 3 pegs. Just takes a properly open mind to see the similarity.

Trains can, indeed, push and pull cars in whichever direction is needed.  In fact, the engine could be in the middle of the train, if one so desired.  You don't turn the engine around; you just shuffle it forwards and backwards, and connect to whichever end is needed on it.

[bplus]

Yeah Steve,

bplus Conjecture: this train puzzle and the Towers of Hanoi puzzle solutions have a one to one map, so that any amount of cars or disks can be shuffled by same set of ordered steps.

Too bad I am not enough of a mathematician to show this formally, BUT it'd probably go over everyones head and patience tolerance to follow anyway, including my own!

PS, the only difference that I can see is for the train puzzle, one of the pegs is shorter than the other 2 so that any amount of cars or pegs can not be parked on it at one time.

OH! That would be a nice variation on that Towers puzzle!

[KingLeonidas]

King Leonidas disagrees with your disagreement Kernel. Make the thing out of three piece of paper and work out the list of moves I posted. It works.

Can you post the original question in its original language so we can translate ourselves? Even better, translate to ancient greek and my 300 will understand perfectly.

[bplus]

bplus says 2 disagreements in opposing directions = agreement (like -1*-1 = 1)