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A shunting puzzle is a model railway layout, or a game based on one, where the challenge is to rearrange wagons with a locomotive under tight limits of space: make up a train in a set order, or put every wagon in its right place, in as few moves or as little time as possible. The two classics are Alan Wright’s Inglenook Sidings and John Allen’s Timesaver.
Shunting (switching, in American English) is the everyday railway work of sorting wagons: pulling them out of sidings, setting them aside, and pushing them back in a new order. On a real railway it is a job. On a small model railway with deliberately short sidings it becomes a puzzle, because every wagon you move has to go somewhere, and there is never quite enough room.
Three things turn a few sidings into a puzzle:
Devised by Alan Wright (1928–2005) and based on Kilham Sidings on the North Eastern Railway’s Alnwick–Cornhill branch. A headshunt that holds the locomotive and three wagons leads to three sidings holding five, three and three. Eight wagons start in the sidings; you must make up a train of five of them, in an order drawn at random (Wikipedia, Inglenook Sidings). Played perfectly, a typical deal takes about 23 locomotive moves by our count. Full guide: Inglenook Sidings: rules, variations and maths.
John Allen’s puzzle, first published in Model Railroader in November 1972: “five switches (three lefthand, two righthand), five spurs, and a runaround track at the center” (Wikipedia, Timesaver). Five cars must each be switched to a marked destination, originally against the clock. Full guide: the Timesaver puzzle.
| Inglenook Sidings | Timesaver | |
|---|---|---|
| Task | Make up one train of 5 in a set order | Spot 5 cars, each at its own place |
| Track | Headshunt and 3 sidings (2 points) | 5 turnouts, 5 spurs, central runaround |
| Vehicles | 8 wagons | 5 cars |
| Runaround | None | Yes, short |
| Scoring | Usually moves | Originally time; often moves |
| Feel | Planning a sequence; British goods-yard shunting | Juggling space; American industrial switching |
| Size | A narrow shelf | A slightly deeper shelf |
If you have only a narrow shelf, build an Inglenook. If you want the harder brain-teaser, or to race a friend, build a Timesaver.
You do not need a layout to try one.
Inglenook and Timesaver are the famous ones, but any small layout with short sidings and a job to do is a shunting layout. Carl Arendt’s Micro Layout Design Gallery has plans for runarounds, layouts for operation, sector plates and train turntables, and a dual gauge Inglenook in Long Yard Industrial District. Our small layouts guide explains the types.
A model railway layout or game where you rearrange wagons with a locomotive under tight space limits, to make up a train in a set order or to put each wagon in its place, in as few moves or as little time as possible.
Alan Wright’s Inglenook Sidings, with sidings holding five, three and three wagons and a headshunt holding three. John Allen’s Timesaver of 1972 is the other classic.
They are hard in different ways. The Inglenook is about planning the order of moves in a tiny space; the Timesaver adds a runaround and a spur facing the other way, so you must also get the locomotive to the right end of each car.
No. You can play on paper with counters for wagons, as long as you keep to the rule that only the locomotive moves wagons.