On a train, Smithe, Robins, and John are the fireman, conductor, and the engineer, but NOT respectively. Also aboard the train are three businessmen who have the same names: a Mr. Smithe, a Mr. Robins, and a Mr. John.

Mr. Robins Lives in New York. The conductor lives exactly halfway between Columbus and New York. Mr. John earns exactly $20,000 per year. The conductor's nearest neighbor, one of the passengers, earns exactly three times as much as the conductor. Smithe beats the fireman in billiards. The passenger whose name is the same as the conductor's lives in Columbus.

Who is the Engineer?

The engineer is Smithe.

"On a train, Smithe, Robins, and John are the fireman, conductor, and the engineer, but NOT respectively." I interpret that strictly, to mean that Smithe is NOT the fireman, Robins is NOT the conductor, and John is NOT the engineer. Then there are two possibilities: (1) fireman John, conductor Smithe, engineer Robins; (2) fireman Robins, conductor John, engineer Smithe.  

(1) Fireman John, conductor Smithe, engineer Robins;

Mr. Robins Lives in New York. Mr. Smithe lives in Columbus. Smithe lives exactly halfway between Columbus and New York.  Conductor Smithe's nearest neighbor has to be Mr. John, since Mr. Robins and Mr. Smithe are equidistant from him. But then Mr. John earns exactly three times as much as Smithe - and $20,000 is not evely divisible by 3. That is a contradiction.

(2) Fireman Robins, conductor John, engineer Smithe. 

Mr. Robins Lives in New York. John lives exactly halfway between Columbus and New York. Mr. John lives in Columbus. Mr. John earns exactly $20,000 per year. Conductor John's nearest neighbor, Mr. Smithe, earns exactly three times as much as John. Smithe beats the fireman in billiards. (2) fits the puzzle.

 

Edited on May 18, 2004, 5:55 pm

Posted by Penny on 2004-05-18 17:50:37