More Rail-Mower Fixes

Today I carried out a test of the voltage regulator and starter/generator, which Frank Glatzl thinks might not be working.  The test seemed to indicate that the voltage regulator is working, but we are still not sure about the starter/generator.  Unfortunately my continuity tester bulb burned out in the process, so will have to replace it.  Frank will take another look at the system when he comes over on Jan. 14 for our engine teardown.

I installed six stainless steel standoffs, three on each side of the rail-mower frame, and cut off part of the conveyor belting mats I made to hold tools since those parts were impeding quick disconnection and installation of the mats (which is the purpose of the standoffs in the first place).  I drilled holes in mats and the standoffs fit right into them, holding the mats in place.  I also installed a metal holder to keep the muffer in the right position.  All this activity took me about 4 hours (slow but sure is my motto, since quick and perfect isn't going to happen).  Will take some photos and post here tomorrow morning.

After lunch I opened up my angle grinder, which was refusing to work.  I took out the brushes, but they looked OK.  I did blow a bunch of dust off the windings.  Then I put it back together and voila, it worked, allowing me to continue working on rail-related projects.

I cut off a piece of 48" bar metal yesterday to bolt underneath the frame to support the plywood floor, which has been sagging and thereby impeding quick re-installation of the mats.  But as I looked at where to put it, I couldn't find a place that would be clear of the mower deck.  You wouldn't want to have to take the bar off to remove the deck.  So I had a sudden inspiration--use four existing 1/2" holes on the side frame to install flat metal stubs that would support the flooring.  I drilled six holes in some 3/16" 1x2 inch metal I had and installed the stubs and they did the job.  Of course, drilling and then installing the stubs took several hours as well.  It's amazing how many tools and parts you have to go back and forth to get when you are working on a project 100 feet away from your tool and parts storage.

For my last project of the day I finished cutting notches in my steel C-channel ramps to load motorcars and the rail-mower onto my 16-foot trailer.  The notches will enable the ramp to fit down over the railhead when it protrudes up from the surface we are loading from.  I used a cutoff saw yesterday to do some of the cuts, but then realized after I returned the saw that I had made the cuts in the identical locations, whereas they needed to be on opposite sides.  I corrected that error with the angle grinder and then made sideways cuts to take out the notches in the ends of the ramps.

Tomorrow I will polish up the ramps with a wirewheel on my air drill and then spray paint them with a Tractor Supply Co. primer-and-paint-in-one product.  That way they won't look completely rusty as they do now.  I will also try to hook up the sandblaster and take a whack at sandblasting the rail-mower hood, which has dropped down in priority compared to all these other chores.  If it sands down OK, will try spray-painting the hood and putting it together.  Once all those items are checked off, that should do me for rail-related projects until the Jan. 14 work session with Frank.

Bit of Progress

Today I mounted a deflector safety skirt on the discharge chute of the rail-mower, to ensure that anything thrown out the chute hits the skirt and falls outside the rail.

Also rented a cutoff saw and shortened the C-channel ramps I built for the rail-mower and motorcars from 8 feet to 6 feet 10 inches.  The 8-foot version was pretty heavy to lift and I could see it bending as the motorcar went up it.  I figured a shorter one would be stiffer and the angle would not be too sharp for the rail-mower to get over it.

Unfortunately, heard from M&D Mower that they have ordered the piston rings for the rail-mower's Wisconsin engine from the factory.  Since the factory is no longer making them, that probably means I will hear shortly from them that they are unavailable.  Fortunately, I have found an alternative supplier so will order the rings from them if necessary.

Preparing for January 14 Engine Teardown

Today I purchased an HA129S shell bearing set and a DR59 piston ring set (tri-chrome) for the Wisconsin S-12D engine that powers the rail-mower.  Frank Glatzl and I are going to tear the engine down during our January 14 get-together, replace those parts, and then put it back together.  Frank already has purchased a new set of gaskets so the engine will be in great running shape when we are done.  Frank had noticed that the breather tube had a lot of blow-by coming out of it, so that indicates the piston rings need to be replaced.  And as long as we are in there, we might as well replace the shell bearings.  Sure hope there isn't anything else we need to replace since it takes a lot of effort to find parts for this old engine.

Yesterday I was down in Austin so I stopped by American Bolt and picked up six stainless steel hex coupling nuts, plus the screw inserts to turn them into standoffs mounted on the rail-mower.  I will drill holes in the conveyor belting mats and then mount the mats onto the rail-mower using the standoffs to hold them in place.  It was actually a good solution to a vexing problem of finding affordable standoffs that wouldn't rust quickly.When I drill the holes for the screws I am going to tap them so the screws can be screwed in.  That should keep them in place, along with a nut at the back.  A short screw insert on the top of the coupling nut will keep it from unscrewing.

Miscellaneous Chores for Rail-Mower

I installed three D-rings on my 16-foot trailer today, mainly to provide secure tie-down points for the rail-mower when it is being transported behind the Woodings CBI.  One went in the middle of the trailer, to route the winch cable under the CBI when winching up the rail-mower onto the trailer.

Also worked on a safety skirt for the rail-mower discharge chute.  Frank and I agreed it would be best to have some sort of skirt to block any debris that might get thrown out.  So I cut a 6x16" piece of 1/4" thick conveyor belting.  Then I drilled about 50 holes in it so it wouldn't completely block the air being discharged.  Finally, I found a piece of 2" angle iron and drilled four holes in it.  Then I cleaned it up with a wirewheel brush to prep for priming and painting (probably this weekend since it will be too cool and humid to paint for the next day or so).  I will paint the angle iron red, just like the mower deck itself.  The angle iron will be secured to the top of the discharge chute with some quick-disconnect clevis pins.  The conveyor belting will be secured to to the bottom part of the angle iron with two bolts.  And that should prevent debris from being thrown out.

Also spent some time online looking for round standoffs to mount on the rail-mower sides to hold in place the heavy-duty mats I have fabricated to carry tools on.  Finally realized there were none at a reasonable cost, so am going to go with hex standoffs instead.  Will see if I can pick them up at American Bolt tomorrow down in Austin.

Good News and Bad News

The good news is, the RPI rail-mower was field-tested yesterday, Dec. 10, at Kingsland and successfully mowed about 7 miles of track, making it much easier to see any obstructions that might lurk between the rails.  That is a significant safety improvement for our motorcars when they operate in the Kingsland area (where the grass seems to grow higher and thicker there than elsewhere along RPI's Llano-Kingsland railroad lease).

The bad news was, it took us three hours to get the rail-mower engine working.  It had been working fine up until the previous day but it refused to fire up when we tried to start it at the Antlers Hotel set-on location.  Frank Glatzl tried filing the points without results.  We moved the group a half-mile down to a spot across the street from the Kingsland NAPA store (excellent resource) .  I ran over to buy a replacement condenser since we thought the one on it might be bad.  Then I had to get a screw to close up a hole under the condenser.  But still no spark despite valiant efforts by Frank and helpful comments by onlookers.  Marty Reimer joined the fray in an effort to diagnose just what the problem was.  Finally, he suggested that the ignition coil had gone bad, even though it was only about 7 months old.  I ran back to NAPA, bought a replacement and we tested it for spark.  Yes!  We had spark.  We installed the coil and the engine started up.  Then we powered up the mower and it worked fine.  Here's some photos of the repair work underway:

Frank and Marty are working on the rail-mower above, with Bradley Nelson looking on.  Note that the date on the photo is incorrect (this work session occurred on Saturday, Dec. 10).

Here's the patient motorcar owner-operators giving the repair operation close attention since nobody is going anywhere until Leland Stewart, our Excursion Coordinator and RPI President, decides when to pull the plug.   Leland was most understanding.  We greatly appreciated his forebearance and the chance to fix the problem and show what the rail-mower can do.

Once the rail-mower was going, Frank and I set off in my Woodings CBI towards Scobey Spur, pulling it
behind us.  We moved forward at only 2-3 mph to give the mower the chance to work on the grass.  The cut was rather uneven in spots due to my going too fast at first but later on it looked better as I learned to slow down when the grass was thicker.  We had to stop and raise the deck to get across some crossings, so Frank would jump out and use his handle and link to raise or lower it.  We stopped after crossing the LBJ Lake bridge for lunch at Spyke's, way behind on our work schedule.


At Scobey Spur we set off the rail-mower using our portable turntable, turned the Woodings on the turntable and eventually set the rail-mower on again, behind the Woodings, so it could mow in the forward position, which apparently yields better results.  On the way back we stopped at a tie that the rail-mower blades had grazed on the way out and we thought we would just throw it out of the way.  Turned out it was spiked down pretty well and we had to remove a spike on the other side of the rail before we got pull the tie apart and throw it overboard.  We also had to stop to raise and lower the mower deck at two points where the center was high with dirt that had been deposited from the sides of a cut.  Maybe we will dig that out next time and see how long it takes to fill back up.

We returned to the Antlers Hotel set-on area at Kingsland and began cutting west, toward Llano.  It did a very good job on the first pass, but we were still able to make grass cuttings fly on the way back, leaving behind a greatly improved motorcar route.

All in all, a lot of drama in the morning but a successful outcome.  Participants in today's work session included Leland Stewart, Frank Glatzl, Jerry Light, Marty Reimer, Bradley Nelson, Mike Harris, Lou Houck and myself.  Leland and Jerry rode in Jerry's hy-rail Gator, Marty and Lou in Marty's MT-19, and Mike and Bradley in Mike's A-car.  The group did a lot of brush-cutting at various points while our Woodings CBI trundled along pulling the rail-mower.  It never took them long to catch up with us.  One interesting angle is that the CBI is just about the best motorcar to pull a rail-mower at a slow speed, since it has a constant velocity drive transmission.  My M19AA with a two-cylinder RKB was built for speed and would have overheated within a short time from trying to go so slowly, and the more common ROC engine probably would have had problems as well.

That's the story of the first successful field-trial of the RPI rail-mower and hope we can find even more uses for it in the future.  Here's the CBI and rail-mower back home before taking them off the trailer.  The rail-mower will need to have the debris blown off it once it dries out (a rainstorm blew in just as we left the Junction House restaurant at the Antlers after having dinner there).

There are a few additional things to do with the rail-mower.  I have received a new set of points and condenser so we will install them to ensure it runs smoothly.  Plus Frank diagnosed that the starter-generator is not generating, so we will change it out for a spare one I have on hand.  I also plan to work on installing the mats so we can place hand tools on it and not have them fall onto the mower deck.

Last but not least, I officially delivered the rail-mower to Railroad Partners, Inc. and received a receipt from Leland Stewart, as RPI President, at the beginning of the work session.  So it is now RPI property at this point and available for RPI work wherever needed.  I will continue to shelter it under my carport at my place while we carry out additional improvements and prepare it for the coming mowing season.

New Carburetor Gets Rail-Mower Going

Frank Glatzl mounted and adjusted the new carburetor and got the engine and the mower deck to operate successfully earlier this evening.  Looks like it is ready to take to Kingsland this Saturday for its first field trials.  I will bring the muffler; mower deck shields (guards that fit over the deck to keep debris out of the belts); and side safety shields so we can put them all on at Kingsland.  He did notice that the engine seems to need new rings, so that probably will require tearing it apart again to get into the engine.  I did a quick internet search and it seems that pittauto.com has the rings we need so will plan to buy them as soon as Frank gives me the green light.  I also found a source for the points and condensor set (Wisconsin part no. YQ-16) in Iowa and ordered one the day before yesterday so it ought to arrive soon.  That will be a backup to keep the engine running.  So things are looking real good for Saturday at this point. 

Rail-Mower Progress Continues at Frank's Place

Got an e-mail from Frank Glatzl this evening.  He has already installed the lift handle for the mower deck, used a die to cut additional threads on the governor rod, and installed the breather tube.  He tried to install the stabilizer bars for the front axle but the dimensions were a bit off so he has to widen the holes for the bolts.  He looked very closely at how the new Walbro WHG carb would mount on the S-12D engine inlet and found the mounting holes are 1/8" off.  But there is a way to deal with that, by widening the bolt holes on the adapter plate, so he is going to go that route.  He might make a new adaptor plate in the future, but for Saturday's rail-mower trial he will modify and reuse the current one.  He took the breather cover off and confirmed that the valve seats are in excellent shape so that was good news.  Frank will give the rail-mower a test on Thursday evening and I am looking forward to hearing how it does.  If all goes well, he will bring it up to Kingsland on Saturday, where I will meet him with my Woodings CBI, which we will use to pull the rail-mower on its first test run.  I will bring the muffler (which stayed behind with me) to be attached Saturday morning to keep the noise down.  I will also bring the safety skirts for the sides.

Back at the ranch, it was a rainy day so I stayed inside the garage.  I made two clevis pins for the Bolens 1455 mower deck using 5/8" bolts that I drilled holes in, then cut them off to the right length and cut a bevel on the end with the holes, using my angle grinder.  I also inspected the mower gearbox and driveshaft that came off the Bolens 1250 tractor now being used for the rail-mower.  Unfortunately the driveshaft is heavily pitted with corrosion.  When I opened up the gearbox it looked very different than the other three identical gearboxes I have--much for the worse--the gears were corroded and it looked as though there was water in the bottom of the gearbox instead of gear oil.  I presume the tractor lay for years out in the open and that took its inevitable toll on the gearbox as well as the rest of the mower deck, which is beyond restoration.  This gearbox will form the nucleus of my new collection of salvage metal.

Organized my Bolens spare parts using a big tool box that my wife has always wanted out of sight.  I put it to one side of my workbench and shoved it far enough back that I don't think she will notice it for a while.

Noticed that my electric drill, a Black and Decker Quantum about 10-15 years old, was sparking heavily inside.  I took the screws out and poked around.  The spring brushes seemed OK and I couldn't tell whether there was a problem anywhere else.  Put it back together and it runs fine with minimal sparking, so must have done something right.  Am glad because that is one of my favorite tools.

Rail-Mower Transferred to Frank Glatzl's Home

Brought the rail-mower over to Frank's place today so he can do some finishing up work.  We were going to do some work together this morning but didn't have time.  I couldn't load the rail-mower up on my 12-foot trailer yesterday due to the rain.  It was still raining this morning but my wife suggested I load the Woodings CBI onto the 16-foot trailer, park it out of the way, and then load up the rail-mower on the 12-foot.  I had not wanted to bring the Explorer and trailer around to the other end of my 40-foot track because I knew I'd end up with a muddy mess everywhere.  She had a good idea but it took an hour and 45 minutes to accomplish it, so I was left with only enough time upon arrival at Frank's to off-load the rail-mower and store it in his garage.  We then headed out to lunch with other RPI members and the RPI Annual Meeting in Temple.  Here's a photo of the meeting, with RPI President Leland Stewart standing in the background:

But I digress.

The remaining work Frank will take on is adjusting, mounting and testing the Wisconsin L123S1 carburetor (a Walbro WHG carb), including using a die to extend the threads on the engine governor rod; mounting the finished link to raise and lower the mower deck; mounting the handle for the link; installing stabilizers on each side of the front axle so it won't swing freely; and mounting a breather tube from the carb to the engine body.

After that work is done Frank will test the rail-mower and then bring it to our Dec. 10 work session at Kingsland, TX, where we will see whether it will cut some grass.  I will bring my CBI on the 16-foot trailer to pull it with and then load up both at the end of the day and bring them back.  That's the plan for now.  I will see if I can do some sandblasting of the hood for the Bolens 1250 tractor body on the rail-mower, and prime and paint it and otherwise get it ready for installation on the rail-mower.  A lot of hard work since we acquired a trailer for the rail-mower last Dec. 18 is coming to a conclusion with this field trial on the 10th.

More Rail-Mower Work

Today I got out my angle grinder and cut off the exterior portions of the front axle that were left hanging after we cut off the front wheels of the Bolens 1250 now powering our rail-mower.  They were in the way of the mats that I plan to install so we can carry work equipment on the rail-mower.  Here's one that has been cut off and the other one just before cutting it off:

Fortunately, there was just enough room to be able to attack the axle from all four sides, so eventually I was able to cut through it completely.  Frank Glatzl is fabricating stabilizers to place on each end so the axle no longer can swing freely.

I also received the L123S1 (Wisconsin part no.) Walbro-made carb that will go on the rail-mower today.  Here's a photo of it next to the original LMH-18:

The original just won't work anymore and in fact is missing some pieces from inside it, according to my small-engine guy.  Hopefully the new one can be modified to work, at least one poster on a website indicated that it is a substitute for the LMH-18.

I am taking the rail-mower over to Frank's place on Saturday morning, where he will see if we can make the L123S1 work on the Bolens 1250.  If it does, we will also see if we can mount a breather tube, get the front axle stabilizers mounted and finalize the bracket for the lift arm that replaces the hydraulic cylinder.  From there we will carpool up in my Ford Explorer with the rail-mower to the RPI Annual Meeting in Temple, TX.  After letting fellow RPI members inspect the rail-mower, we will return Frank to his home and leave the rail-mower with him to finish up whatever details need to be completed.  Then we will get together at Kingsland, me bringing my CBI and Frank the rail-mower, for its first actual trial.

More developments:  I finished the ramps for my 16-foot trailer today.  Got two pieces of 8-foot long, 4-inch wide steel C-channel.  Drilled two holes through one end, close to the end and attached a six-inch long piece of angle iron with carriage bolts, going crosswise so it has fit into the end of the trailer to hold the ramp in place.  Then I used the angle grinder to cut an angle at the end to enable the wheels and any other part of the CBI or rail-mower to pass over the angle formed by the ramps and the trailer floor.  I don't think there will be any problem but will be watching carefully when I test it out next week.  This setup has to bring the CBI and the rail-mower back home from Kingsland after our Dec. 10 work session and I want to be sure it will do so.

Gathered up all the metal scrap I had been saving for the last three years or so and brought it down to Austin Metal and Iron yesterday to make big money.  I received $ 19.00 for about 100 lbs.  At least it helped me buy a 20' section of steel C-channel, cut into two eight-foot and one four-foot sections.  I am going to use the 8-footers as ramps to load the Woodings CBI and rail-mower onto my 16 foot trailer.  Last time I tried to get the CBI onto it, the steel fence posts I was using bent badly and several colleagues had to help push it onto the trailer at the excursion site.  So that won't happen again, God willing and the creek don't rise.  I used my angle grinder to clean off the ends where they had made two cuts with a cutting torch.  Then I cut off two six-inch pieces of angle iron to bolt to the ends of the C-channel pieces to hook them into the trailer supports (I don't have a welder so can't just weld them).  Tomorrow I will drill the holes and mount the angle iron using bolts.  Will also finish up a bunch of small chores relating to the rail-mower.  Would have liked to be outside working on it today but I had to finish up preparing a liability insurance application for RPI, as well as the YTD financial reports for the Annual Meeting. 

I will be taking the rail-mower over to Frank Glatzl's place on Saturday morning to do finishing work on it.  I found and ordered an L123S1 carb by Walbro the other day and it looks like it may be delivered to me by Friday.  So we will modify, mount and test it as well as make some other last-minute changes.  Then we will carpool up to the RPI Annual Meeting in Temple, where the rail-mower will be available for inspection by RPI members, assuming Leland Stewart, RPI President, approves of the display.

Another Fun Day

Saga of the rail-mower continues.  The lawn tractor repair shop guy called me up to let me know he found a WHG carb he could loan me to see if it would at least get the rail-mower working for the Dec. 10 work session at Kingsland.  He also provided the name of a shop in Dubuque, Iowa, that sells Wisconsin parts that might have a Walbro LMH-18.  I went over and picked up the carb and expressed my thanks.  He is real interested in the rail-mower and I promised he could take a look at it after he gets back from a week-long hunting trip.  I did check to see if the WHG fit on the Bolens 1250 engine, but it looks as though the mounting holes on the carb do not line up with the holes on the engine.

About that time I decided I had better change the oil in the CBI's Tecumseh engine before the real cold weather rolls in.  The Woodings CBI motorcar will be towing the rail-mower so it is an essential element.  I started the engine up without problem.  But I smelled gas and got out of the cab to check the engine compartment in front.  I found a leak in the hose from the fuel pump to the engine, shut down the engine and investigated.  Turns out the fuel hose had enough slack in it so it could get into the path of the alternator belt, which cut a slot in it.  When the slot reached the fuel, the hose started leaking.  I cut the bad part of the hose off and re-mounted it.  The hose now sits an inch above and in from the alternator belt and can't reach the belt.  After solving that problem I finally changed the oil with SAE HD30.

In the evening I continued looking for a replacement carb for the Walbro LMH-18.  I finally hit upon the L123S1.  From the picture in the website, it appears identical with the LMH-18.  And the M&D mower website identifies the L123S2 as a replacement for the LMH-18.  Time is running short so I bought the unit, hoping against hope it will work and it will get here before Dec. 10.  Those are two big ifs.  If it doesn't happen, then I will just bring my BCS 725 two-wheeled tractor with sickle bar cutter and mow some big weeds along the ROW in various spots.  One way or another we will get some work done during that work session.

Safety Skirts Installed but Carb Problem Surfaces

Got the safety skirts installed yesterday and here's three views:

But now another problem has come up.  I ordered a carburetor from a second company Monday after the first one told me it didn't have any WHG-31-1 carburetors after all.  Called up the second company Wednesday to be sure they were shipping it and they said it would take three weeks.  Cancelled that order and began looking for a company that has one in stock but haven't found one yet.  Have looked on the internet for both the WHG-31-1 and the L106AS1 (the Wisconsin part no. for the original Walbro LMH-18 carb) and I have a few leads.  Time is growing short, however, since the Dec. 10 work session is rapidly approaching.  Wed. afternoon I took the carb off and took it to my small engine guy.  He identified three problems with it.  He suggested I go to his former employer, a lawn tractor repair shop whose owner has several hundred lawn tractors scattered around his premises.  I caught up with the owner there and left the carb with him to see if he could do anything with it or find a substitute that might work.  Pretty slim odds since it is an old carb but I'm trying a lot of alternatives at this point.  Will try to contact some companies tomorrow, hoping they aren't closed throughout the entire Thanksgiving weekend.

Safety Skirting Completed

Today I finished drilling the holes to mount pieces of conveyor belting on the sides of the rail-mower as safety skirting in case the mower deck kicks up any debris (not likely but better safe than sorry).  Then I drilled holes in the belting itself and finally I began mounting it to the rail-mower sides.

I wanted to use some clevis pins to hold them on, so the safety skirts could be removed quickly when necessary but I had to cut them down to size.  While I was doing so the angle grinder simply stopped.  Couldn't figure out why so I took it over to my small engine guy.  He diagnosed the problem as worn brushes.  I had a pair that came with the grinder so I installed them and sure enough it started working again.  By then it was getting dark, the dogs needed to be walked, so I decided to finish installing the skirts tomorrow.  At least this part of the job is almost finished.

I ordered a Walbro WHG-31 carburetor for the rail-mower, but got a notice Monday that the vendor's supplier stated they are out.  So that order was cancelled and refunded.  Found another vendor with one at almost the same price but a shorter period to return it if necessary, and I ordered it but now I doubt it will make it here by the weekend.  We will just have to see.

Am going to turn my attention next to the Woodings CBI, which will be pushing or towing the rail-mower.  I need to empty the stale gas from the fuel bowl and pour in some fresh.  Then I'm going to try running it.  If it runs, I will warm up the engine for five minutes and then change the oil.  I haven't run the CBI much but the oil is 2-3 years old so it's about time to change it out.  I probably also will push the rail-mower to the end of the track and run the CBI up and down a few times to confirm it is operational.  Don't want to load it up on Dec. 9, take it to Kingsland the next day for our work session and have it not run.

Started Drilling Holes for Mower Deck Shields

It was threatening to rain this morning so I pulled out my air drill and ran 100 feet of line from the compressor in the garage over to the carport.  Then I began drilling 5/16" holes in the rail-mower frame on which to mount the mower deck shields, made out of used conveyor belting that is 3/8" thick.  Got about seven done before it began really raining, out of about 27 I ultimately will have to drill.  May do some more this afternoon since it seems the rain has stopped.

I also ordered a Walbro WHG-31 carburetor from lawnmowerpros.com.  They had a reasonable price and a very good return policy so, if it turns out not to fit, I will be able to send it back.  I was amazed while shopping for this carburetor to find a number of sites trying to sell it for a thousand dollars or more.  Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.

Fabricating Shields for Rail-Mower

Spent the day fabricating shields out of used conveyor belting, 3/8" thick, to be pinned onto the front, rear and sides of the rail-mower with clevis pins.  These shields will deflect any debris that might be tossed by the mower deck.  As a realistic matter, there shouldn't be any obstructions in the middle of the rails for an operating deck to hit.  And certainly if we saw any obstructions while operating the mower, we would stop and remove them.  But the shields are to make real sure that debris won't go anywhere.  I also fabricated mats for the sides of the rail-mower on the inside, so we can carry tools, equipment and parts.  Here's a photo of the rail-mower with the side mats installed.

The belting to be used as shields is in the front.  The mats on the sides curve upward to the tractor body, preventing tools or parts from falling into the center opening for the mower deck linkages.  The mats will be bolted to the body when we are finished working on the engine and will come down about three or four inches from the position they are in right now.  I installed the hood even though it has a lot of work left to be done on it so as to provide a better idea of how the finished rail-mower will look.  Next up on this project is drilling the bolts.  I plan to use clevis pins to hold the front, rear and side shields, so we can take them off readily if necessary to inspect underneath the car.  The shield for the front has "Price Rubber Co., Montgomery, AL" and "Made in USA" embossed on it, which is rather interesting.

This was an all-day project.  Had to select the best piece of conveyer belting, measure and mark with a pencil the desired cut, put on my face mask, eye and ear protection, make the cut with a jigsaw, take the protective gear off, use my drill to wirewheel rust, grease and dirt off, give the piece a last cleaning with window cleaner, and paint it with low gloss black spray paint.  Had to make at least ten cuts, maybe more.  That doesn't sound like much but this material is truly tough to cut (that's why it will make a good shield).  I tried cutting with shears-didn't do it.  Also tried the angle grinder but it made a lot of nasty smoke, not good for the lungs.  The jigsaw was the only tool that could handle it, but at least I did have a tool to do the job.

And here is a photo of the rail-mower put to bed under the carport to close this entry:

Rail-Mower Deck is Mounted, Passes First Operational Test

A major step forward today, with the rail-mower deck successfully mounted onto the railmower itself.  Here's a photo of it (front facing to left), with more to come:

Frank Glatzl arrived a little after 8:00 am, the weather was perfect for working:  cloudy and cool, about 65 degrees, so we didn't have to put up the EZ-Up tent.  Frank brought the original carburetor with him, which he had been soaking in Lime-Away to try to clean up the interior idle circuit passage.  When he put it on and fired up the engine, however, the engine could not be adjusted, indicating the passage is still obstructed.  That means we will have to get another carburetor.  I've been doing some research on the internet, and talked to folks at V.E. Petersen Co., where a parts guy said that the Walbro WHG-31 carburetor is a replacement for the original Walbro LMH18.  An internet contact from the BolensTractorClub yahoo group confirmed that is the right carburetor and provided some further info on adjustments necessary to make it fit to the Bolens 1250 on the rail-mower.  So I am going to buy that carb (making sure the vendor has a favorable return policy) so we can finish up this project and get the rail-mower working well.

After we hooked up the deck, we powered it up and threw the PTO switch and, wonder of wonders, the deck operated perfectly.  Of course it wasn't going at full speed because the carburetor wasn't working well, but at least it passed its first operational test.  Before we take the rail-mower out to actually cut some grass on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Kingsland, I will install the two belt covers to keep the debris from caught up in the belts.

Here's two photos of the link that Frank fabricated for the rail-mower.  It replaces the hydraulic cylinder, which we will no longer need since all we will be doing is raising and lowering the rail-mower from the position for cutting (mower deck down) to the position for transport and loading (mower deck up about two or three inches).

The first photo shows the link with room on the clevis pin to add a lever about 9 or 10 inches long, which will be used to raise or lower the deck.  Once it is in position, the operator will slip a smaller pin (at bottom of the link in the first photo) into the link to hold it in position.  The link is actually a square tube inside another square tube, with a series of holes in the side for the smaller pin to slip into.  But, as we found out, Frank needs to drill one more hole to make the concept work.  He took the link back with him to do that.  We winched the rail-mower up onto my tilt trailer to move it to the rail and the deck had no problem clearing anything.  That was another test it passed.  However, I will normally be carrying the rail-mower on my 16-foot trailer with the Woodings CBI that is going to pull it.  And since that tandem-axle trailer won't tilt, I will have to haul the rail-mower up a set of ramps.  The deck will have to clear the edge of the trailer as it passes over.  That will be the real test.  Am going to work on getting long ramps to make the angle as shallow as possible.  Here's a photo of the rail-mower on my 12-foot trailer:

Next up is a photo of the mower deck just prior to installation.  This was a very anxious moment because I had taken the measurements some 10-11 months before and had no way of knowing whether the deck would fit underneath or not.  We pushed and pulled the deck into position after raising the motorcar trailer front and back with some boards.  We found almost immediately that the plywood floor needed to be cut wider to allow the various linkages enough room to work properly.  So I cut it with a jigsaw and then, as we progressed, I had to widen it further, eventually ending up with a cut-out about the width of the tractor frame.

 To determine how the linkages were hooked up, we went inside to take a look at some photos I took of the Bolens 1455 mower deck assembly as mounted the other day.  Then we hooked up the linkages on the rail-mower the same way and they worked, once they had enough room.  Here's Frank hooking up the linkages, a view of the right side with the discharge chute sticking out, and a closeup of the left side:

The closeup gives you a good idea of how the mower is mounted, but it is far from how it will appear when it is field-tested Dec. 10 at Kingsland.  The belts will be completely covered by two covers that fit over the top of the deck, to keep debris away.  Next, we will have a long piece of conveyer belting curving from the side of the trailer up against the tractor frame to carry tools and parts without them falling down into the cut-out area.  Finally, I will attach additional conveyor belting to the side of the motorcar trailer to ensure that any debris that might be kicked out will drop harmlessly inside the rails.  I will install belting on the front and back as well.

Here's some more photos of the rail-mower after it has passed its first operational test and been transferred to the rail that runs under my carport.  Will be moving out the tables and rolling the rail-mower under the carport for protection from rain, dew, hail and sun, possibly tomorrow.  In the meantime, the engine assembly has been covered with a heavy canvas tarpaulin for protection.

Frank also noticed that the front axle could cause a problem because it is swinging freely, given that there are no longer any spindles connected to main frame.  So he is going to fabricate two pieces of flat stock that will bolt together over the sides of the axle to prevent it from swinging up or down.  That should take care of that.

After Frank left, I had some additional chores to do.  First I slipped in a pin to hold a pin being used for the linkage.  Then I removed a temporary shear bolt from the drive shaft, where it connects to the mower gearbox, and installed a longer one with a lock nut.  Finally, we had had to remove a cross brace bar from forward of the rear axle since the deck assembly needed space.  So I mounted it on the other side of the axle, closer to the back of the trailer.  We are going to try to provide additional bracing under the plywood floor somewhere in the middle of the rail-mower since we want to carry tools.  But that will have to wait until we finalize everything else, then we will figure out where to put it and how to mount it.

Last but not least, photos of Frank and Ed with big smiles after a good day's work and every prospect for a successful field test at Kingsland on Dec. 10:

That actually doesn't end the day's story.  After Frank left, I also bolted the BCS 725 two-wheel tractor's teeth to the mounting platform.  Once I get in a pre-filter I have ordered, I will install the air filter cover and it will be good to go.  Here's two photos showing the new teeth in the sickle bar and a freshly painted muffler, and a side view, with the wheel rims cleaned up and painted the same silver color as the muffler.

The BCS is now almost ready to tackle tough mowing jobs along a railroad ROW involving tall, weedy plants.  I think it is wide enough (45 inches) to cut a wide swath and the teeth are spaced far enough apart (two inches) so it can handle some pretty thick brush as well.  But the proof will be when it is put to the test, probably not until a work session early in 2012.  End of a long story about a long, eventful day in the evolution of our specialized RPI tools.

Mower Gearbox Repairs: One Down, Two to Go

My small-engine guy came over this evening and we installed a new gasket, oil seal and three new shims on the mower gearbox off the Bolens 1455.  Then we took that gearbox and installed it on the Bolens 1250 rail-mower.  We switched gearboxes because we took the 1250 gearbox off the deck, removed the pulley, and found it needs not one, but two oil seals, and I didn't have any extra ones on hand.  While we have the pulley off we will install a new gasket and new shims as well.  Then we will install that gearbox on the Bolens 1455 mower deck.  I have a third gearbox to serve as a backup to these two so we will go into that as well and replace whatever needs replacing.  I sure don't want to have to manhandle those decks around any more than necessary, so it's good we are fixing problems before they develop into major trouble.  Frank Glatzl is coming over Saturday to get the rail-mower engine going and mount the mower deck onto the rail-mower, so I wanted this issue out of the way before then and am glad it is.  The only other thing I have to do before Saturday is get the rail-mower moved onto my 40-foot track so we can work with the mower deck in what will be its normal environment.  That's a challenge since my Explorer is in the shop for repairs and may not be out until Friday afternoon, but maybe it will happen. 

On the BCS two-wheeled tractor, yesterday I removed the muffler, which had quite a bit of surface rust, and wirewheeled it clean.  Then I painted it with two coats of Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and one of Rustoleum Silver.  I also painted the mower teeth platform with both primer and Gloss Black spray paint.  I spent about an hour cleaning congealed grease and dirt off as much of the tractor as possible.  Today I  removed the wheels, cleaned up the rims with a wirewheel, and then gave the them rusty metal primer and silver spray paint treatment.  The tractor is starting to look more like it did on the showroom floor.  I took off the air filter, which looked pretty well shot, and bought an identical replacement at A-Line Auto Parts.  Also ordered a new pre-filter so I can keep the one that was on it as a spare.

Working on BCS 725 Sickle-Bar Mower

Picked up the new teeth for the BCS 725 two-wheel tractor's sickle bar mower attachment this morning and immediately got to work.  I took off the bolts on the clamp-downs that hold the teeth in place and some other bolts and removed the old teeth.  Here's a comparison photo of the old (10 out of 15 teeth broken off and all of the remaining with the cutting edges broken off) with the new:

The new teeth look mighty good.  I expect they will be more than a match for even the tallest weeds we run across on the Capital Metro ROW.

Next I decided to wirewheel the clamp-downs.  Then I took off the height adjusters and wirewheeled them.  After that I began priming and painting (gloss black) those parts.  While waiting for the sides to dry, I cleaned up some 18 bolts with a wirewheel, after soaking them in degreaser to get the grease off.  Finally, I wirewheeled the sickle bar platform that the teeth are mounted on.  Tomorrow I will tape the items I don't want to spray paint and then prime and paint that part as well.  Then I will reinstall all of the various items I had taken off.

Here's some photos of the BCS 725 before beginning this process:

This afternoon I received in the mail the shims and gaskets for the mower deck gearboxes that I have to either repair or check to be sure they don't blow a leak like the 1455 deck gearbox did.  Will call up my small-engine guy tomorrow to see if he can come over before Saturday so we can at least look at the rail-mower gearbox before Frank Glatzl arrives to work on it with me then.

Progress on Various Fronts

Last Wednesday I drilled some holes in the battery tray for the Bolens 1250 rail-mower engine and installed a GT-PREM battery with tiedown.  One more item off my to-do list.  Today I fixed 4 different lighting wires that had been pulled off by birds building a nest on the battery of my Woodings CBI motorcar.  I also installed a new headlight to replace one the &%$ birds ruined.  Am going to roll up a rag to place on top of the battery so they won't try that again.  I was real proud that I was able to diagnose and fix the electrical problems myself, using a digital voltmeter.  I plan to use the CBI to push or pull the rail-mower during its trial run on the Capital Metro track at Kingsland on Saturday, Dec. 10, so fixing the rear lighting was not optional.


A postal notice arrived indicating I have a parcel, so will pick it up on Monday.  Probably is the new set of teeth for my BCS two-wheel tractor.  Once it is installed, will try the BCS out on my overgrown acre of weeds in the front yard.  Then it will be ready to be used on tall weeds along the Capital Metro ROW, such as at Campa Pajama Lane in Kingsland and along the old stockyard up near the Llano depot.

Meanwhile, my spare parts for the Bolens 1455 mower deck gearbox are enroute.  They were "accepted for delivery" in Crown Point, IN, from Sam's Bolens today so they should be here by Tuesday.  Once they arrive, I will ask my small-engine guy to help me get into the rail-mower gearbox to change out an oil seal, a gasket and several shim gaskets.  Then we can rest a little more easy that it won't start leaking right away once we power the rail-mower mower deck up for the first time.  That could happen this coming Saturday, Nov. 19, if Frank Glatzl and I are able to get the deck mounted and the engine running.

Mower Gearbox Issue

Brought my leaking mower gearbox from the Bolens 1455 tractor over to my small engine guy yesterday and he showed me how to take it apart.  When we got into it, we found an oil seal on the bottom shaft (where the leak was coming from) had evidently been hammered into place, leaving it bowed in areas and helping to cause the oil leak.  We also found two shims on the bottom shaft.  However, the parts diagram shows a gasket and up to 10 shims can be placed on that shaft.  So it appears someone took out the old gasket but did not replace it.  The two shims by themselves may not be enough to prevent oil from leaking, especially under high pressure.  I called up Sam's Bolens, a reliable supplier in Indiana, and they had both shims and gaskets in stock.  I ordered nine shims and three gaskets, which I hope will be enough to deal with this gearbox as well as the gearbox on the rail-mower deck, and the spare gearbox.  Will have to schedule a session with the small-engine guy to put the 1455 gearbox back together and check the other two and fix them as well if required.  I wouldn't want a leak on the rail-mower deck gearbox to causing the gears to seize up and ruin the gearbox.  Prevention is better than cure, etc.  Hope to have all that done by 11/19, when Frank Glatzl is scheduled to come over for our next rail-mower work session.

Cleanup

Took the mower gearbox off the Bolens 1455 mower deck the other day and now have it on my workbench.  Am still trying to figure out how to open it up.  My small engine guy said to start at the bottom, but the bottom is the rotating pulley, held on by a large bolt.  So somehow I have to keep that pulley from moving so I can remove the bolt.  Once I get into it, will replace whatever gaskets and seals I encounter.

Also put a hold-down on the 1455 battery so there will be no more sparks flying from contact with the hood.

Bought a tap for 1/2" diameter, NC-20 threads so I could clean out the threads on the 1455 hubs.  The wheel weight bolts did not want to go back in the other night because the threads were clogged.  I cleaned them out and they should be good to go now.

Photos of Bolens 1455 with mower deck

Here's some photos of the Bolens 1455 with its mower deck today, after yesterday's blow-out of the mower gearbox:

I took the mower deck off this afternoon, with the help of two guys who were at my place doing some landscaping work, so I now have the gearbox accessible.  Next is taking the gearbox off the deck and then starting to take it apart to determine what blew out, although I probably will replace all gaskets and seals just in case.  This mower does promise to do a good job no matter how tall the weeds.  And the rail-mower itself will be using a 12hp version of this engine to power only the mower deck so it should be equally powerful.  But we have to take care of the gearbox seal and gasket issue so we do not face blown seals or gaskets more than once.

Bringing Bolens 1455 Tractor Up

Today my small engine guy and his brother came over to help me get the Bolens 1455 garden tractor running.  This is the tractor I would like to use to mow grass and weeds at the Llano wye and along the Cap Metro ROW.  We put the parking pawl bushing back on and filled it up with hydraulic fluid.  Added some gasoline and oil and then turned it over.  Took a couple of tries but the engine caught and was running well.  So I backed it out of the shed, gave it a turn around and brought it back to attach the mower deck I bought from Oregon and had shipped down.  It took a while before we got it mounted, but then the rear wheels were rubbing against the wheels on the deck.  We had to jack up the rear end and switch the rear wheels around on the hub to bring them in several inches.  We got them put back on and finalized all the connections (including no-seize on the PTO-mower driveshaft).  Then we brought the tractor over to the driveway, turned it on and engaged the PTO.

Well, the mower got going and it sounded impressive.  We ran it for several minutes and then disengaged the PTO.  We were talking about the test when suddenly sparks started coming from the front of the engine.  I had forgotten to reinstall the battery tiedown and the battery moved far enough for the positive terminal to contact the hood.  Not good, but it appears no permanent damage.

When we moved the tractor off the driveway, there were some puddles on it.  We looked under the tractor with a flashlight and it was full of gear oil slung out from the mower gearbox.  It appears the pressure of operation, probably after many years of disuse, caused the gaskets and/or oil seals on the gearbox to fail.

This has implications for the rail-mower, since the identical mower gearbox on its deck probably has just as old gaskets and seals, as does the spare gearbox I have in the garage.  I think we are going to need to go into all of them, replace the gaskets and seals, and hopefully that will prevent further problems.

One more item to get done, sooner rather than later.  Frank Glatzl and I are planning another work session on Saturday, Nov. 19.  He is going to come out and try to get the mower deck mounted to the rail-mower trailer.  Naturally it would be good that the potential mower gearbox problem is taken care of by then.  Always something, eh?  But the good thing is, we are finding out about possible problems before they strike, allowing us to keep to our proposed schedule of testing the rail-mower on the next Llano branch work session on Saturday, Dec. 9, up in Kingsland.

Bought some hydraulic fluid

I took advantage of a trip through Marble Falls today for a work session at Kingsland, TX, to stop by the Marble Falls Tractor Supply Company store to look for some tractor hydraulic fluid I had seen on their website.  Don Duff, a former Bolens dealer who now lives in North Carolina with his son Peter, told me in a conversation about my Bolens 1455 garden tractor that I should use hydraulic fluid created for hydrostatic transmissions, like the one on the 1455.  He specifically mentioned the Traveller brand at TSC as the one they use.  I didn't remember seeing it at my local TSC so I went by the Marble Falls one and bought a two gallon jug.  I dropped into our TSC later today for something else and checked the shelves, and of course they had it.  But I am glad to have the fluid he recommended since he and Pete have a reputation as experts on the Eaton transmissions used in the Bolens tractors.  When I asked him about whether it would be necessary to purge the transmission after refilling it, he emphatically said "no", that there is no need to do so.  That sounds good to me.  The name of the hydraulic fluid is "Universal Tractor Trans/Hydraulic Fluid" by Traveller and it cost
$ 18.99 for two gallons before tax.

Also today I received a used steering wheel for my Bolens 1455 and a "hood stop assembly" (a glorified sort of hinge) for the hood on the Bolens 1250 rail-mower.  My 1455 steering wheel right now has three really deep cracks so I could see it is going to break after just a bit more use.  So I found a used Bolens 1250 steering wheel on ebay and won an auction for it.  Fortunately it does not have any cracks and seems to be in good condition, other than cosmetic wear and tear, which doesn't bother me.  The hinge for what used to be the Bolens 1250 will be used once I have cleaned up and gotten the hood into shape to be installed on the rail-mower.  I won it in an ebay auction from the same seller and he shipped it with the steering wheel.

Continuing to Work on Rail-Mower Hood

Last evening I was waiting for my small-engine guy to come over to install a throttle cable on my Sears Craftsman lawn tractor.  While waiting I cut a piece of aluminum in half to use as a support for the shaped support I created earlier this week (see previous posts).  Then I drilled holes in all three pieces with which to attach them to the hood.  So that is out of the way.

My small-engine guy came and got the Sears tractor back into operation.  I asked him to look at my sandblaster since it isn't running and I'd like to use it to clean the rust off the hood.  He took the hose off the bottom ball valve and found pieces of rock and of a drill bit that were impeding the flow of sand.  He also found the hose was blocked and cleaned it out.  The sandblaster began to operate and he took some of the paint off the hood but the flow was pretty intermittent.  He recommended that I take the bottom ball valve off and clean it out.  I am also going to buy another ball valve to replace one on the top of the sandblaster that has a stripped post.  At least I know what I need to do now.  Perhaps I can get the hood cleaned up on Sunday.

We also figured out some issues with the Bolens 1455 tractor with front-end loader.  We determined that it did not need 1" ID O- and Quad-rings on the parking pawl bushing.  I had found a 1" O-ring on it and replaced it with 1" Quad-ring and O-rings, as the parts diagram appeared to call for.  Turns out the Quad and O-rings were supposed to be mounted on the pawl itself, rather than on the bushing.  I also ordered and received a new bushing.  The new one should be a big improvement over the old, which had scratches inside it that allowed the hydraulic oil to leak out.

The next issue was whether to replace the sealing washer on the bushing.  We decided to hold off adding hydraulic fluid at that time (also because we didn't have the right size socket to tighten it up  anyway).  Today I looked for a new one and the closest I could find to the Bolens 1719869 sealing washer called for was a BPP 6001-12 parallel British Dowdy seal.  Even found a company in Houston that sells them.  But I called an Eaton transmission expert in NC, Don Duff, and he said as long as the original sealing washer is not deeply scratched or damaged it should be fine to put back on.  At least now I know what to look for if I need another.  The BPP 6001-12 is .968" ID and the Bolens one is 1" ID so am not sure it would fit but I suspect it would.

Mr. Duff did recommend taking the hydraulic lines off the transmission and the hydraulic cylinder to ensure all of the old fluid is drained out.  He also recommended using Traveller hydro gear oil, made for hydrostatic transmissions, available from Tractor Supply.  These were helpful suggestions and I will probably follow them to make sure that 1455 runs properly.

He also mentioned that he thinks he has a set of Wisconsin YQ-16 points for the Bolens 1250 we have mounted on the motorcar trailer.  I am going to call him back on Monday since Frank Glatzl has strongly recommended that I pick up a set as replacements for when the current points wear out.

All in all, these are helpful developments bringing us closer toward our goal of getting all our equipment up and running. 

Work on the Bolens 1250 Hood

Yesterday I decided to spend some time figuring out how to permanently attach the Bolens 1250 hood to the tractor body.  The hood is really rusty but could be cleaned up reasonably well, primed and painted.  However, the front part where the hinge used to be has entirely rotted off so we need to develop a new point of attachment for a hinge.  Here's two photos of the hood as it is:

I spent some time considering possible solutions and going out to my pile of scrap metal (in the dark, with a flashlight) to bring back pieces that might work.  After deliberating I decided that a piece of the old motorcar trailer frame would work just right.  It's a piece of aluminum C-channel.  So I cut a piece 21 inches wide and then cut off one of the sides of the "C", leaving this piece:

By then it was 10:30 pm or so so I had to call it a night.  But tonight I returned to the job and shaped the piece so it would fit inside the front of the hood.  Will have to support it with two pieces of scrap aluminum to reach the proper height, but I think it's going to work fine.  I will bolt it to the hood on one side and then run a piece of 1 inch wide conveyor belting along it so I can bolt it into the other side as well.  I had been planning to bend two "ears" to bolt to the side edges but found out that aluminum 1/4 inch thick breaks, rather than bending.  So on to plan B.  Here's a photo of the shaped support inside the rusty hood:

Of course the hood needs to be sandblasted, primed and painted before we get to that point but at least the conceptual work and the support itself are done.  I will need to attach an 11.75" continuous hinge to the surface at the top and then to the bolt holes on the tractor body.  That will allow the hood to be raised and lowered while attached to the body.  I also just bid dols 4.99 for a hood support assembly for a Bolens 1250 on ebay and won it so should be getting that in the next several days.  Hopefully that will be one of the last parts needed for this project.

Additional Followup Work

This morning I drilled out holes in the front bumper attached to the Bolens 1250 tractor body so I could bolt down the body to the front of the motorcar trailer (the bumper sits on the cross-member we added in front).  I actually had tried to use four different 5/16" drill bits but none of them worked until I found a cobalt bit, which is used for "tough metals."  Well, it was tough enough and cut right through.  So the tractor body is now officially part of the trailer.  Here's a photo of the bolts holding the front bumper down to the trailer:

 Also cleaned up the mower deck driveshaft and some old Bolens clevis pins with a wirewheel in preparation for priming and painting them tomorrow.

After I finish painting the driveshaft, I plan to mount it on the 1250 mower deck so it is ready for mounting onto the rail-mower itself.  We can't mount the deck until Frank Glatzl finishes the link that will raise and lower it.  Plus he has the carb for some adjustments.  Once he is ready we will install those two items and then see about mounting and operating the deck.  If it works, it will be ready for a field test, either at Llano or Kingsland.  I am also going to take a closer look at the hood and see what I can do to replace the hinge that rotted off.  Might need to fabricate something out of aluminum to connect to the new hinge.

Clean-Up Work

Did a little clean-up work on the rail-mower day before yesterday.  I relocated two cross-members on the underside of the trailer's plywood floor to the first bolts holding the axle.  However, that meant I would have to run a 3/8" bolt through a 1/2" hole on the cross-members on all four corners.  I decided that that would probably end up wallowing out the hole on the cross-member.  But I didn't have any bushings.  So I went to Tractor Supply and bought a 1/2 x 3/8 x 1 inch bronze sleeve bearing.  Then I cut it into four pieces and when I bolted on each cross-member, I pressed the makeshift bushing into the cross-member, thereby ensuring the 3/8" bolts would not wallow out the 1/2" hole.

I also had to bring the cross-members back to the vise on my workbench in the garage twice to do some more trimming of the corners so they would fit inside the axle brackets.  But finally they fit OK.

I also re-installed the towbar tongue that Frank Glatzl straightened out for the trailer.

Needless to say, this all took way longer than I should have spent but I am determined to keep that motorcar trailer in good shape as long as possible.

In other related news, my small-engine guy came over Monday night and helped me put the Bolens 1455 mower deck together.  Plus he diagnosed a problem with a pawl bushing (don't ask) and two seals on the pawl that need to be replaced.  I ordered the bushing, which arrived today, and bought the seals yesterday at Hydraulic House in Austin.  Once a throttle cable for my Sears lawn tractor arrives, I'll call him up to come over to get both tractors running.  I plan to use the 1455, which has a front-end loader, to mow along the Capital Metro ROW since the bucket can help prevent us from running into large stones or other obstacles that might damage the mower deck.  Here's a photo of it, without the deck at this point:

 

Rail-Mower Photos

Took some photos of the rail-mower as mounted on the motorcar trailer with the Bolens 1250 hood on it.  The hood's hinge actually rusted off so if we want to keep it on, we will have to find a way to re-attach a new hinge to its front.  Plus will have to re-attach the muffler but otherwise this is how it may eventually end up looking:

I also took a photo of the detached rear transaxle and (blown) tires at rest:

This morning I decided to finish up some rail-mower-related activities.  So first I took out a spare mower gearbox, mower deck hangers and studs, and the motorcar trailer towbar that Frank Glatzl straightened out for me and I spray-painted them.

Then I bolted down the rear of the Bolens 1250 tractor body to the motorcar trailer and also the angle iron pieces in the front that are going to bolt through the front bumper, anchoring it to the front of the trailer.  I needed to drill two holes through the bumper, but found my 5/16" drill bits were not equal to the task.  A 7/32" bit had better luck until it snapped off.  So I had to postpone finishing that task until I can go off to Tractor Supply for new bits this afternoon.

Then I removed the rear cross-member from under the deck to see how it would fit on the next set of bolts toward the rear end.  It needed some trimming on one edge with the angle grinder on each side, so I did that.  Also needs a bushing, about .52" diameter, since we are changing from a half-inch hole to a 3/8" hole.  I am going to see if I can find one at A-Line Auto Parts when I go out this afternoon.

Railmower Takes Shape

Frank Glatzl arrived this morning and we achieved a great deal on the railmower project, mainly due to his tireless work.  Our first order of the day was to install the new governor on the engine, so we put the engine back up on the motorcar trailer and opened it up.  We cleaned out the interior a bit more and then Frank put the used governor that he got from E-bay on.  When we started the engine up after reconnecting all the wiring and fuel lines, it ran much better with the newly-installed governor (but of course there was something else that needed work--more later).  Here's the engine installed back on the Bolens 1250 tractor body:

Before we could re-install the engine on the tractor body, I decided to wirewheel and paint a particularly scruffy-looking metal plate.  While the paint was drying, I removed four nuts from bolts on the mower deck to be mounted on the rail-mower since Frank said they needed washers.  I put the washers on and reinstalled the nuts so that's one less potential problem down the line.  I asked Frank if he could find a way to get the mower driveshaft off the old gearbox so we could install it on the gearbox now on the Bolens 1250 mower deck.  I anticipated a great deal of difficulty but Frank observed there was oil on the shaft so he just took a hammer and punch and punched it off.  I was astonished when he said it was done.  In the process of re-installing and reconnecting the engine, I changed out a piece of fuel line that looked worn.  Aside from tightening various bolts, that was my main contribution to the operation.   Although we bought a push-button switch to replace the PTO interlock safety switch, we couldn't use it because its stem was too short.  So we used the interlock switch off the transmission gearbox, which was still good, and it worked fine.   I did polish up the contacts of that switch to be sure it worked.

We also installed a 350 CCA lawn and garden tractor battery off the Bolens 1455 tractor.  When the moment came to try out the Bolens 1250 engine, Frank turned the ignition switch and it started up right away.  Although it ran better with the governor now repaired, Frank noticed it was surging.  He diagnosed the problem as a probable obstruction in one of the carburetor passages.  At the end of the day he took the carburetor off the engine and took it home to work on cleaning it out.  Here's a photo of Frank with the engine on the body and the fuel tank and new battery hooked up:

With the engine re-installed and operating OK, carb problem excepted, that was about as far as we could take that part of the project.  But Frank still had an hour or so before he had to head home so we decided to see if we could get the Bolens 1250 tractor body mounted on the motorcar trailer.  I aired up the tires to the best of my ability (one just didn't want to hold air) and we pushed the 1250 to a point under the hoist I built for that purpose.  The front wheel linkages came right off.  We then brought some chain and hooks and wrapped the chain around the tractor body to support it from the hoist, since our next step would be to remove the rear wheels and hydrostatic transmission.  It took about 7 or 8 tries but we finally just the right point at which the body would balance when supported solely by the chain.  Here's what it looked like at that point:

This photo shows the entire hoist with a puller hanging from the overhead bar.  That is what we used to lift up and support the tractor body.  Frank is removing the bolts that hold the rear transaxle to the body:

We removed the transaxle and dragged it around the water tank to the other side, leaving the transmission propped up in its normal position.  This photo shows the tractor body without it, suspended by the hoist:

As we hoisted the body up, the tires dropped off the front axle, leaving the body by itself:

Here's another view of the suspended body:

Our next move was to bring the motorcar trailer over and position it under the suspended body.  We did so and swung the body over it and let it down.  We then reviewed the positioning of the body in relation to the trailer parts and found that the floor needed to be cut out a bit more, which I did pretty quickly with a jigsaw, and the front cross-member needed to be removed, which we did.  We plan to move it to the next set of bolts forward, closer to the axle.  Frank also noticed that the rear cross-member will need to be moved a few inches back, closer to the rear axle, to get it out of the way of the mower deck.  I plan to do both of those jobs in the next several days.

We brought the trailer underneath the suspended body again and let it down onto the trailer.  Then we put a bolt through one of the two rear bolt holes that are going to secure the body to the trailer.  I am going to bolt down the special holders Frank made to secure the front of the body and use the holes in their vertical sides to drill through the front bumper.  Then I will put bolts through the holes to secure the front bumper to the trailer.  Here's the body now sitting on the trailer, looking much as it eventually will when finished:

I have a strip of metal intended to help support the wooden floor in the middle.  Once we have figured out where the deck will go, I will insert that strip and bolt it to the side frame members.  There are still other things that have to be done, for example, we need to ask around for some lift handles and brackets so we can move the rail-mower when setting on or off.  I also am thinking about installing pieces of conveyor belting on the sides to absorb anything that might get kicked up and thrown out.  The rail-mower as it is, however, looks good and I hope it will become a valued asset for RPI.