mscroggs.co.uk
mscroggs.co.uk

subscribe

Puzzles

Let the passenger train through!

A goods train, made up of a locomotive and 5 trucks, stops at a small station. The small station has a siding which the goods train can reverse into. The siding can hold an engine and two trucks or three trucks.
A passenger train arrives travelling in the opposite direction. How can they let it through? (The passenger train is too long to fit in the siding.)

Show answer & extension

If you enjoyed this puzzle, check out Sunday Afternoon Maths XXIII,
puzzles about , or a random puzzle.

Archive

Show me a random puzzle
 Most recent collections 

Advent calendar 2025

Advent calendar 2024

Advent calendar 2023

Advent calendar 2022


List of all puzzles

Tags

combinatorics even numbers perfect numbers decahedra taxicab geometry axes multiplaction squares multiplication graphs scales range elections prime factors squares proportion albgebra sum to infinity routes area shape probability algebra prime numbers spheres addition lists lines coordinates parabolas chalkdust crossnumber bases cards geometry expansions symmetry pascal's triangle numbers quadrilaterals means medians fractions powers products gerrymandering money mean square numbers advent tangents balancing hexagons arrows volume percentages dice geometric means dominos factorials circles people maths doubling planes logic cube numbers ave the only crossnumber consecutive integers digital clocks clocks pentagons square roots digital products surds triangles rugby xor triangle numbers folding tube maps star numbers factors quadratics sport integers sums calculus matrices regular shapes 3d shapes multiples tiling sets dodecagons chess shapes square grids wordplay speed coins polynomials binary perimeter functions cubics sequences books digits crossnumbers menace division probabilty irreducible numbers rectangles time colouring 2d shapes games floors polygons partitions averages unit fractions cryptic clues tournaments grids geometric mean crosswords odd numbers complex numbers christmas remainders differentiation determinants median chocolate number consecutive numbers ellipses dates indices palindromes angles neighbours trigonometry integration cryptic crossnumbers

Archive

Show me a random puzzle
▼ show ▼
© Matthew Scroggs 2012–2026