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type of move, throttle opening, top speed, time, etc. In a way, it was sort of a determination of the "anatomy of a switching operation" although we got even farther into this in the New Haven steam-diesel tests in 1937. While the work we did with the locomotive was interesting, the most fascinating phase of the tests, or study, was the marvelous variety of interesting people we became involved with as well as gaining the intimate feel of railroading just as I had on the Lackawanna in 1930. 

Most, if not all, of the assignments we handled were normally done by 0-6-0 type steam switchers, class 2300 and 2400 I believe, with the exception of a local freight job to Danbury. We would simply substitute the diesel for the 0-6-0, using the regular steam crew, some of whom had run the 0900 and some not. Our diesel was kept and serviced at what was known as "Kelsey's Place," which was the facility near the passenger station where the electrics were serviced for the passenger runs to New York. Kelsey's Place was little more than a few storage tracks alongside of which were two or three small, one-story buildings containing a few tools, storage space for maintenance material, some work benches, and Harry Kelsey's pigeonhole of an office. Harry was a lean, middle-aged, hardbitten New England native who proved to be a distant cousin of mine by being descended also from John and Priscilla Alden. So I would refer to him on occasion as "Cousin Harry."

Cousin Harry's crew were quite a gang. His clerk was Roy Craw and he had an assistant named Meissner. The do-it guys were a mixed bag known as "Kelsey's gang." There was tall, dark, slim Roy Keenan, an electrician I believe, as was Frank Bussell, another tall, slim and very clean-cut young man. A swede named Axel was six-foot-four. There was a husky Pole named Buseck. There was a short Italian named Johnnie Christofani who wore glasses, looked somewhat erudite and was A-1. Jim O'Mara was a stocky blond. The roster was completed by another short Italian who was known simply as "Sookie." This gang was equal to just about anything in the way of running maintenance that could arise. They did trouble-shooting, wiring, piping, welding, any kind of mechanical chores, plus all the regular jobs associated with preparing the locomotives for service--filling sandboxes, lubrication, fueling, watering, etc. --the latter in connection with the train-heating boilers. I en-joyed Kelsey's Gang thoroughly and Cousin Harry was a diamond in the rough. The boys were always pleasant, cooperative and afraid of nothing.

All of the steam locomotives were serviced at two large engine houses at the Cedar Hill freight terminal several miles east of the New Haven passenger station. On this particular job, we had no occasion to visit Cedar Hill although I was to learn some of its intricacies well on later work, particularly the freight tests in 1938 on the 0361s including the memorable "Hurricane Test" on September 21st.