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I actually like that look... and the push cart rolls right through the weeds.
The grass will be removed when the rails are dug down to ground level, but it will grow right back again. I'm going for the old fashioned narrow gauge look with no raised roadbad or gravel ballast...
The ties will be totally below grade so that all you'll see will be just the rails.
Keep us posted on your drivetrain tests! I'm no scientist but I think you're going to need a mighty strong spring to keep that cog from slipping, as it doesn't have the large meshing surface area that a bicycle drivetrain does.
It already works with the heavy weight of the racheting sprocket and the 1/4 thick steel arms. The force isn't anywhere close to that of a bicycle where you can stomp down on the cranks with the whole weight of your body. On the the pull cart, you're just pulling horizontally with your arms. I'm still going to put a spring on the arm to keep the sprocket from coming off the chain when it's coasting. Because the pull handle sprocket is the only freewheeling cog, the chain is always in motion as long as the cart is moving.
I had an extra truck so I made it into a little scooter and have been playing around with trying to ride it as a rail skateboard, but it doesn't work. You can't correct your vector to stay balanced on it because it's running on rails.
But it does work as a RAIL LUGE...
With the extremely low center of gravity you can rip around the curves! Woohoo!
I did a bunch of testing and they need more mechanical advantage, so the lever arms will need to be extended. It's made going down hill a whole lot safer!
Welding supports under the frame members made it possible to put the pivot points on the control arms closer to the brake pads which gave the brake pedal a lot more mechanical advantage...
You going to have something to rest your feet against to 'row' that thing? I can see myself sitting on it and pushing against the brake pedal to get leverage as I'm pulling on the bar to try to get it going.
That piece of wood is only temporary just for brake testing and will likely be a much narrower central pedal because so little pressure is needed to stop the cart.
I hadn't planned on any footrests because the "upright chair" seating position is quite a bit higher than the lever which clears my knees by only a few inches. I'm already track testing the mechanism and it pulls very easily uphill, so I'm not sure if I'll need any foot rests or not. but if I do, there's plenty of room on each side of a much smaller permanent brake pedal.
and the push cart rolls right through the weeds.
)
