953 nut 51,775 #1 Posted January 29 From hay to the Department Store to the atomic bomb, Louden was there We generally picture a farm barn to be a large two-story structure with the hay loft on the top floor. Prior to the invention of the HAY TROLLEY moving hay to an upper story was impractical and outdoor hay storage was commonplace. Hay barracks were introduced in the New World by Dutch. Used to cover stored hay, these simple open-sided structures consisted of four or more wooden posts supporting a roof which could be raised or lowered to protect hay stacked beneath. Some hay barracks had a permanent location on a farm, other barracks were portable, set on skids so they could be moved to wherever they were needed Hay Barracks From 1860 through 1920, there were perhaps up to 100 companies making hay trolleys in North America as small, cottage manufacturers. But, as manufacturing of hay trolleys peaked, companies were consolidated into a few large manufacturers that dominated the market by 1945. The most beautiful hay trolleys were made by small manufacturers whose names have been lost to history. Trolleys Company records indicate William Louden received a U.S. patent for the world's first hay carrier on September 24, 1867. Louden Hay Carrier In 1868, he opened his first shop to manufacture his hay carriers in Fairfield Iowa. In the early 1890s, the company opened a factory in downtown Fairfield that is still in existence and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Louden Cross draft The company expanded in the 1890s and 1900s as Louden invent new products including a flexible barn door hanger (1895), barn litter carriers and tracks (1898), all-steel cow stalls (1907), individual automatic watering bowls for cows (1912), an Easy Feeding Hog Trough (1914), and an industrial line of Overhead Carrying Equipment (1917). The company also expanded geographically opening branches in Canada (1900), Minneapolis (1903), Albany, New York (1912), and Chicago (1915). By 1915, the factory in Fairfield employed 100 men, and the company operated another large factory in Guelph, Ontario. By 1920, Louden Machinery Company had sales of $2.5 million(30.8 million in today’s money). Louden continued to expand its product line in the 1920s and 1930s, adding a wide array of products, including barn cupolas, exhaust and intake hoods and louvers, fans, valves, pulleys, power hoists, concrete mangers, a patented garage door hanger (using overhead door tracks for ease in opening and closing), playground equipment including slides, see-saws, gym sets, "swing bobs," and "whirl-arounds". In 1906, the company established an Architectural Department, sometimes referred to as the Louden Planning Service or the Barn Plan Department, began offering free "barn planning service." The company's architects designed barns "to promote more efficient use of space and labor saving devices," including the use of Louden equipment. The Architecture Department's projects include Homewood Farms for the president of Deere & Co., as well as several barns that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Architecture Department also designed specialized dairy barns, horse stables, hog and chicken houses, and farmstead sites. The company reported that it had planned more than 25,000 barns by 1939. The department also published a catalog of barn plans, including round barns, that was published in multiple editions in the first half of the 20th century. The Architecture Department ceased operations in approximately 1947. Louden planning During World War I, Louden's monorail litter carrier was adapted to industrial uses, including the manufacture of ammunition. By the 1920s, the company earned much of its revenue from industrial applications of Louden Monorail to carry equipment in factories of companies such as Allis-Chalmers and General Motors. The company also established a Louden Engineers division to design custom adaptations of Louden Monorail in a variety of contexts, including factories, foundries, industrial dipping machines, clothing handling, bales of cotton, motion picture lighting. During World War II, the company reached record production levels, fueled by demand for the company's overhead handling equipment, including the improved Louden "Super Track" monorail systems. Military applications of Louden Monorail included its application for material handling devices used in the manufacture of the first atomic bomb at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and for material handling in a B-29 bomber plant in Marietta, Georgia. "Super Track" systems were also used by the Rocket Express Company to construct department store monorail rides for children during the mid-20th century. Rocket Express Louden monorail 4 8 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beap52 587 #2 Posted January 30 Spent many an hour in our barn using a trolley. Not for moving loose hay but swinging between bales of hay we stacked up there. My two brothers and I would stack up bales and swing to and fro. The barn is gone, the trolley is gone but memories remain. 2 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
