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11

It isn't my intention to try to cover every run that I have notes on but in this first week of revenue service, I get a kick out of running over this material briefly because by doing it, I recapture some of the delicious savor of the operation. On May 20th, the day I rode #376 to New Haven on 0356, 0362 made four runs. First thing in the morning, she took #10 from Grand Central to New Haven, eleven cars, Engineer Gene Barron. I noted that the blowers seemed slow picking up after the changeover to AC and Woodlawn, which for the sake of brevity, we referred to as "CHO". Gene Barron and 0362 returned with #51, eleven cars, on time, no incidents. We were already beginning to check transformer Pyranol temperatures on these runs. Going up, the maximum was 49°C and returning, 46°, both with an ambient of 62°F. The third run I missed by riding #376 but it was on #80, twelve cars, on time, Engineer Costen. The preventive coil relay tripped on notches 17 and 19 but that was all I could find out. But I did ride 0362 back to New York on #59, the menace to the MERCHANTS LIMITED, which left New Haven only a few seconds ahead of us with only seven cars while we had fifteen with Engineer Costen. Evidently there was no restraining influence aboard like Jim Bracken or Charlie Hess because Costen made no bones about passing the MERCHANTS east of Bridgeport, made a good run and arrived at Grand Central on time. However, the preventive coil relay tripped again on one of the high notches and I discovered, by surreptitious observation, that Costen had a habit of running between controller notches, which apparently was the cause. I reported this later and it was soon corrected by a little special instruction here and there. On this run, the boiler fuel pump failed, the motor blowing several fuses, but they were able to run the boiler on gravity feed--later found chips in the gears. So that was another sort of fun-trip and rewarding too. And in spite of the fifteen cars, the Pyranol temperature got up to only 55°.
The next day, 0362 took #8 to New Haven first thing--nine cars and Engineer Crowell, who must have been a speedster because he got in four minutes ahead of time. The blowers were still slow picking up on AC at CHO; we checked this at Kelsey's place in New Haven at the end of the run and they worked okay--one of the mysterious little problems you sometimes encounter. We had #73 on the return trip, eleven cars, Engineer Jim Brown, who landed us at GCT (Grand Central Terminal) two minutes early. Maybe it was just 0362 feeling frisky that morning rather than the engineers' zeal. We returned to New Haven handling #72, eleven cars, Engineer Pomeroy, and he got in four minutes early. The transformer was 67° maximum but the ambient was 87°, a really hot day for a change. Also we found the cause of the delayed blower pick-up at CHO but my notes failed to say what it was! Final run of the day was #15, eleven cars, Engineer Young, on time at GCT. Thereafter 0362 went to bed to rest up for the morrow.