Reviving a Hay Trolley

Check out our channel for other videos of mid-century farming equipment and our small cattle herd.
We have between 5 and 10 acres that we hay each year. Bailers are expensive, and our old barn already had a hay trolley, so we plowed onward to do loose hay. But getting that trolley going and keeping it running isn't always the simplest task! This is an FE Myers 8 Wheel Cannon Cross Draft trolley.
Special thanks to:
Hollis for getting the trolley down so we could begin its restoration
Katie and Morgan for lending climbing harness and rope on multiple occasions
The Tindalls for use of their 40' ladder so we could reach the middle section of track
Joseph for helping us secure that ladder to allow us to do the repairs, couldn't have done it without him.
The Watts for their 30' ladder to reach a different section of track in the loft in an additional repair

[@austinmetro6317]

Very nice work

[@seanpierce3394]

The trolly is very cool. Good on ya for bringing it back to life.

[@bigredc222]

It doesn't get much scarier than a 40' extension ladder with nothing in front of you.
I spent a lot of time on extension ladders as an electrician, and I was scared every time.
Thanks

[@TheCajunHomestead]

Great video, it was interesting seeing the system in use. I think I will make my track like yours, when I build the barn. Keep up the great work , I have learned some stuff from you.

[@alexa.davronov1537]

That was a great deal of work. Didn't know there such devices exist.

[@cozycowfarm]

Neither did we! But as we look around they are hanging everywhere! Depending on where you live you might be able to spot some now too!

[@alexa.davronov1537]

@@cozycowfarm Well look mate, I live in Russia and just happened to learn about this basic tool that every decent western farmer had in the past and which we Russians - didn't. I doubt that I will ever have a chance to spot any one tbh. Just came across your channel for a close up. Cheers.

[@josephwhittaker6441]

Wonderful video, thank you. I remember seeing these in more regular use as a kid. I often saw them used with a pan system for the hay in place of the method you use, but I think you're harness method works more efficiently with less hay spill.
I also remember seeing them used with a winch system in place of a tractor, horses or a truck. I wonder if that is a modification you have considered? Nevertheless, your loose hay system does seem to work very well. In place of that, the bale stack is more efficient to save space, so you can increase storage quantity, but quality loss issue become more dominant, in my experience.

[@cozycowfarm]

What is a pan system? The only systems we were familiar with were hay forks, hay slings, and harpoons but we''d love to learn about other methods!
We've thought about using a winch and it will probably happen at some point. We just don't have a (functional) winch right now.I'd love to mount it so we could do both pull directions with a single winch and switching the cable back and forth.

[@josephwhittaker6441]

@@cozycowfarm There were two types that I have seen used. The first was a type made back in the Twenties by Vessot of Quebec for International Harvester.
It was a kind of steel tray that sat on the hay wagon deck, with heavy rings at each corner.
When lifted to the trolley, it ran the distance you wanted, then tripped from the side. It was intended to lift the whole load as one stack. I recall it was difficult to work with, and heaven help anyone in the way of that swinging metal pan!
As the barn filled, it required more workers in the loft to shift the hay over from where it fell.
The other one I saw worked like a hay sling, opening in the middle. It was made in 1939 by McCormick, out of Ontario I think, and was basically a wooden frame with sheet metal, and the bottom of the pan had skids underneath if the pan needed to be set down on the ground.
The idea was a good one if you had three or four on the go, since you could put a whole load down, pick up an empty pan. and go back out to the field for more. Then either someone loaded the hay up into the loft, while you were gone, or you did three or four at once when you got back. They were easy to cover with a tarp as a temporary haystack, if needed. They tripped open in the middle like a hay sling, and had travel locks on the corners to secure them to the wagon, as well as slide bolts to keep the middle secure. The bolts had to be unlocked before you raised the pan to the trolley, or it wouldn't dump.
I think the reason they were discontinued was due to the steel shortages during the war. The last one I ever saw still in use was in Manitoba at a family dairy near the border.

[@cozycowfarm]

Thanks so much for your description! Those sounds really neat!