Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

117. Harrisburg – 2^nd day – Tuesday

     Contacting Mr. Swenk – sends Mr. Denehey to escort me to offices. Morning spent in going over break up yards at Lucknow, and “hump” at Enola-

     Break up yards-

     A cool day – reached thru incredibly miry roads thru swamp. fires with blue smoke glinting in the pale March sunlight thrilled me.  Here old freight cars (obsolete and to be replaced by new all steel cars are broken up, and whatever can be salvaged is. Lumber used to make grainboards.  Trucks are removed, repaired for new cars – new type of spring –

to prevent rocking – all unusable iron sold as scraps – the unusable lumber burned. 

     Enola hump- (will describe hump operations at Altoona later) here saw the inspection of under-side of cars. Pits built under the tracks – as the cars slowly pass over, the inspector looks for flaws in the trucks & under mechanism; and has a gun arrangement filled with white wash which he squints at the flaw for others to see later. I was permitted to go under. The strange sinister feeling of the cars passing overhead so closely.

     P.M. making water-color of two freight cars being demolished with a fire back of them – the presence of Denehey (tho he effaced himself very considerately) the fatigue of the long unaccustomed drive of the day before, and the feeling of simply having to produce something gave me the distressing feeling of being “on the spot” – I put in a difficult afternoon-

3^rd day – Wednesday –

     Raining all day – finished work on sketch. Showed it to Swenk and then mailed it. Rain & fogginess prevented any consideration of my doing the Enola hump, coupled with my own disinterest-