The John Deere lawn tractor is used to mow the shoulders of the Steel Valley segment of the Great Allegheny Passage from the Bristol Metals building in Munhall, at the end of the Waterfront Shopping Center, to the Riverton Bridge in McKeesport, approximately five miles. Since most of the shoulders were former railroad ballast and gravel, mowing this section beats up the mowing deck and blades pretty badly. Though we’ve maintained the John Deere, the mowing deck is bent and, after ten years, mows poorly. Ironically, They-working bought this John Deere lawn tractor for our group ten years ago, in March 2011.

We’ve found that as this mower deck has aged, it has become bent and no longer mows evenly. It also requires frequent repairs, replacing bearings, belts, and blades. With the current mower deck, the mowed portions of the trail look like it’s been beaten with a club instead of cut cleanly with a sharp instrument, even with newly sharpened blades.

Our group of volunteers is proud of the work we do on the trail and want it to look its best. The John Deere lawn tractor is still running like new, so we do not yet need a new machine, just the mower deck. This will allow us to feel that the work we do on the trail looks great and is a worthwhile return for our labor.