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Erie, Pa.,
Tuesday, Sept. 24,'40.

When they started up the New York Central this morning, they couldn't get the HP and after running the engine for some time at enough load to burn the paint off the exhaust shroud, they discovered that one cylinder was inert. Zeke Tinkey then discovered the intake valve on one cylinder wasn't opening because his cam adjustment had slipped and he declared someone must have tinkered with it - implied sabotage. However that may be, he fixed it up and we finally loaded the engine and had too much HP and too much smoke and so we asked Zeke to cut his fuel down. After running out of threads on his adjustment we had to quit for the night while a longer adjusting screw was made up! It was a strange and unnatural situation to have too much output for a change and be unable to cut it down!

It was a rainy, dismal day and while Zeke was trying to fix his engine Ken Wolf and I tried to scare up some new brake shoes over at the N.Y.C. roundhouse, plowing around in the wet and the mud - and I was thankful my tonsils were no more or I surely would have had a sore throat ere the day was out. Again we had lunch in the Wesleyville saloon where beer is available to cheer weary souls and the sandwiches are good, particularly the Western Eggs, so good I'm willing to risk an onion breath to have one.

The story about Shap's removal is apparently all over the place - Ben Luther was retailing it around the third floor today. I have not run into Shap yet. When I do, I intend to smile and say "Hello, Shap" but I have little hope that I'll get anything more than a cold stare  in return. Well, if that's to