We nonetheless got off to a good start in the morning. Frank Glatzl joined me in my Woodings CBI towing the rail-mower to provide technical and operational support services. My job was to keep the CBI and rail-mower moving, preferably in the same direction. We turned the rail-mower on several miles out of Llano, after passing over the plank crossing that had caused the belt to slip off the pulleys on the 17th. We had no more trouble with that crossing nor with the frog at the Stolz quarry siding. The results were immediately apparent as the two photos below show. Here's one looking east toward the uncut line:
Here's another looking the opposite way showing what we just cut:
This was an area where Frank and I had to get out of the motorcar and push it along to get it through the heavy growth of weeds. He also had to continually adjust the throttle and choke to keep the engine from dying as the blades came close to clogging up. But we managed to cut through nonetheless.
We were doing quite well when Frank looked back and noticed the middle blade was no longer cutting. We stopped and went back to check on the mower deck and found that the pulley had come off the driveshaft and was missing. Evidently the bolt that held it down had vibrated loose or sheared off. We walked back up the line about 1000 feet and found the pulley. Our mowing was done for the moment, however, but when the rest of the group pulled up, we asked if they had any 3/8" bolts, fine thread. Turns out nobody had a fine thread so we would have to wait until we reached the NAPA store in Kingsland to purchase some. Unfortunately that also meant no mowing on the way down, when we could have trimmed quite a few miles. Here's a photo of Frank standing by the inoperative rail-mower while awaiting the group.
We bought the bolts and continued on without mowing to Spyke's BBQ because by then it was 1:30 pm and stomachs were rumbling. After lunch, Frank and new RPI member Samuel Warren were able to remount the pulley, realign the mower deck drive belt, and get the mower operating again. That was very fortunate because the absolute worst weeds of the trip were just ahead.
The CBI began to bog down, big-time, because it couldn't get traction with the crushed weed juice lubricating the track and the wheels. Not to mention the weeds themselves were 2 to 2.5 feet high and impeded our progress forward. We made progress but only by pushing the CBI + rail-mower forward. Leland hooked up his M-19 in back of us with a tow-bar and tried to push us but we continued to bog down and the outlook for further progress darkened.
Here's a photo of CBI + rail-mower + M-19, surrounded by high weeds near the Campa Pajama Lane crossing as we try to figure out how to keep it moving forward:
Jerry Light saved the day. He took his hy-rail Gator off the rails at a crossing, drove to the next crossing and re-railed, then backed up to the CBI. We hooked up to the Gator and it pulled the CBI and rail-mower through the worst of the weeds. Meanwhile, Frank Glatzl ensured that the engine did not die and gave direction on when to continue forward. As a result we were able to cut through the choking weeds and clear the path for the rest of the group. I didn't get a photo of the lashup with the Gator (sorry Jerry), but I can testify that without it, Frank and I might still be trying to push the CBI and rail-mower to the next crossing.
We continued until the County Rd 127 crossing and there we all turned around. By then it was about 4:00 pm and time to head back to Llano. We continued mowing on the way back and that really made the railbed look good. But when we got to the 1431 crossing near the Antlers Hotel, Leland told us to turn it off, since we would have to make good time to get back to Llano on schedule. So there was a lot of railbed not mowed that would have looked better with a mowing, but on the other hand, the absolute worst areas did get cleared through for the April 28 Bluebonnet run (see railroadpartners.com for details).
Here's a photo of Frank with the rail-mower, on the east side of the 1431 crossing near the Antlers Hotel, after its herculean efforts in Kingsland had ended, pointed toward home base in Llano:
And here's the rest of the line-up, waiting to cross FM 1431 in the middle of Kingsland, on the way back to Llano,with Leland Stewart and Jerry Light looking on:
This is not a complete account of the work session by any means, since it focuses on the rail-mower operations. The vast majority of participants worked behind the rail-mower (which was in the front since it travels slowly when mowing) to trim and remove trees and vegetation obstructing the ROW. So probably a lot happened of interest in their activities of which I am unaware. Be that as it may, at least we had a great day on the rails and accomplished a lot.
The rail-mower deck will have to be removed and inspected and the blade driveshaft checked out to ensure there isn't a repeat. At least the rail-mower is proving that when it works, it works well, so it will be worth keeping in operating condition.
