Hay Carrier Light

I managed to snag an old hay carrier off the farm before my folks sold the property back in 2020. It had hung in our block shed for as long as I can remember. I always wondered what it was for and what its purpose was. It was attached to a section of chain and suspended from some old timbers that spanned the trusses. As I got older, I looked into it and discovered what it actually was.

A suspended iron rail or timber spanned the length of the hay mow. For all you city folk, that’s the upper floor of the barn where the hay and straw are stored. The rail was suspended from the peak of the barn, and a wheeled carrier rode on it. The carrier used pulleys, ropes, and various styles of forks or hooks to move crops into the barn, where they could be loaded and unloaded with ease.

The brand of my particular carrier is a “Strickler.” It was manufactured in Janesville, Wisconsin, by the Strickler Hay Tool Company. This model was mounted on a pair of angle irons held together by a clasp and suspended by a hanger. A stop could be fastened in the desired location to halt the carrier. I am guessing the operator had to get up to the peak to somehow move it. I am not sure how that was accomplished, but I for sure would not have volunteered for that job.

The stop triggered a mechanism with a clasp that released the drop pulley with the hay forks. Depending on the style of hay forks used, it may have utilized a second rope to trip the forks open and drop the load.

To get the full story of hay carriers, I highly recommend Hay Trolley Heaven. The folks over there know a heckuva lot about these old farm tools. Additionally, they have a wealth of knowledge about the variety of brands that were manufactured over the years. This is where I found information on my Strickler system. Another great resource is the Hay Trolley Heaven Facebook group.

I wanted to turn this into a decorative piece to showcase a piece of history from the farm. I decided to make it into a light fixture for our cabin. Our cabin used to be a granary in the dooryard of the farm. Mom and Dad had it picked up and moved to our woods in the early 1990s. It has been our home away from home since I was a kid.

We spent summers back there fishing and swimming in our pond. Every opening weekend of gun deer season, the whole family would stay there for a family get-together and hunting. It was also just a place to gather with family and friends. I decided this piece of history should be at the cabin, where it felt most fitting with the farm vibe.

As you can see, it was pretty dirty. I gave it a bath, and I was surprised to see that there was still red paint on it. This unit is missing the drop pulley, and I had no luck finding one–but that’s okay! I also sourced a section of rail through a seller on ebay. I purchased a 4-foot section that came with the J-hooks to hang it. I bought two eye bolts to hang it from the beam. Originally, there would have been some sort of bracket mounted at the peak of the barn.

I had a friend of mine sandblast all of the components and then put a coat of deep red paint on the chassis, silver paint on the pulleys, and matte black paint on the rail. I think it turned out very sharp!

This was a surprise gift for Dad for Father’s Day, so I spent the afternoon at the cabin and put everything up without him knowing. I told him the old light that was there fell off and he should probably see what happened. He was pleasantly surprised to see this hanging up in its place. Although, it sounds like he lost a little sleep last night thinking something catastrophic happened to the light that was there. Oops

I purchased the sockets and wire components on Amazon and sourced the vintage lamps at Menards. I cut all of the wire to size, wired the sockets, and ran it all to the junction box. I do need to find an escutcheon plate for the junction box on the ceiling, and then the project will be completed.

It fits the aesthetic and lights the room very nicely. I am pretty happy with how this turned out, and it fits in perfectly at our cabin. It’s a piece of our farm’s history that we can enjoy whenever we are at the cabin.

What do you think? Have you done something similar? Share your thoughts and comments below.