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25-420: The hayloft is filled with loose hay from the top of a wagon , thrown up through a large door, usually some 3 metres (10 ft) or more above the ground, often in the gable end of the building. Some haylofts have slots or holes (sometimes with hatches), each above a hay-rack or manger in the animal housing below. The hay could easily be dropped through the holes to feed the animals. Another method of using

50-460: A milk wagon . Tank wagons carried liquid cargoes. Water wagons delivered to areas without piped water and for military camp use. In the early 1900s, the American street flusher used a gas-powered pump to clean city streets of litter or mud, and to wet down dust in dry seasons. Liquid manure wagons were low tank vehicles for spreading manure on fields in the 1860s-1900s. Oil wagons operated from

75-414: A " teamster ", a " bullocky " (Australia), a " muleteer ", or simply a "driver". Wagons have served numerous purposes, with numerous corresponding designs. As with motorized vehicles, some are designed to serve as many functions as possible, while others are highly specialized. The exact name and terminology used are often dependent on the design or shape of the wagon. If low and sideless it may be called

100-525: A common, important element in history and life, wagons have been the subjects of artwork. Some examples are the paintings The Hay Wain and The Haywain Triptych , and on the Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar . Trolley (horse-drawn) Among horse-drawn vehicles , a trolley was a goods vehicle with a platform body with four small wheels of equal size, mounted underneath it, the front two on

125-416: A dray, trolley or float . When traveling over long distances and periods, wagons may be covered with cloth to protect their contents from the elements; these are " covered wagons ". If it has high sides, with or without a permanent top, it may be called a " van ". A wagon might be unsprung if ordinarily used over rough ground or cobbles. A front axle assembly , in its simplest form, is an assembly of

150-490: A driver's seat or bench, leaving the driver to walk alongside the wagon or ride atop of one of the horses. Many freight wagons had a "lazyboard," a plank that could be pulled out for sitting upon then pushed back when not needed. In America, lazyboards were located on the left side and close to the brake because wagons were steered from the left side. In the United States and Canada, the large, heavily built Conestoga wagon

175-441: A hayloft is to create small bundles of hay (1–4 cubic feet), then hoist them up using a block and tackle —in this case a hay elevator to the room. This allows for more efficiency when moving hay around. The difference between a hayloft and a mow is significant. A mow is exposed to the weather, only elevated on a small platform off the ground. This is often used for drying hay. A hayloft is used for more permanent storage of hay. It

200-536: A short beam with a pivot plate, two wagon wheels and spindles as well as a drawbar attached to this. A pin attaches the device to a chariot , a wagon or a coach , making the turning radius smaller. Farm wagons are built for general multi-purpose usage in an agricultural or rural setting. These include gathering hay , crops and wood , and delivering them to the farmstead or market . Wagons can also be pulled with tractors for easy transportation of those materials. A common form found throughout Europe

225-406: A turntable undercarriage. The wheels were rather larger and the deck proportionately higher than those of a lorry . A large trolley is likely to have had a headboard with the driver's seat on it, as on a lorry but a smaller trolley may have had a box at the front of the deck or the driver seated on a corner of the deck and his feet on a shaft. With a very small trolley, the 'driver' may even have led

250-406: A two-wheeled "haywain" would be a hay cart, as opposed to a carriage. Wain is also an archaic term for a chariot. Wain can also be a verb, to carry or deliver, and has other meanings. Contemporary or modern animal-drawn wagons may be of metal instead of wood and have regular wheels with rubber tires instead of traditional wagon wheels. A person who drives wagons is called a "wagoner",

275-572: Is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods , commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from carts (which have two wheels) and from lighter four-wheeled vehicles primarily for carrying people, such as carriages . Animals such as horses , mules , or oxen usually pull wagons. One animal or several, often in pairs or teams may pull wagons. However, there are examples of human-propelled wagons, such as mining corfs . A wagon

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300-693: Is also why farmers are so determined to keep hay off the ground since it would absorb moisture. Haylofts in old buildings are now often used for other storage or have been converted into habitable rooms. However, farms that use small square hay bales may still use the hayloft for storage of hay. Many farmers now use bales of hay so large they must be handled by machinery, and these are normally stored in more open buildings or outside. Others have forgone hay in favor of grain or silage . [REDACTED] Media related to Hay lofts at Wikimedia Commons Wagon A wagon (or waggon in British English )

325-401: Is sheltered from the weather and where a modern-day attic would be. A struggle in any type of keeping hay is that it must be totally dry. Otherwise, when piled up in a hayloft, it will start to compost . The insulation provided by the other hay ensures that thermophilic bacteria involved in the decomposition will be at their ideal temperature, thus turning the good hay into the dirt. That

350-477: Is the ladder wagon  [ de ] , a large wagon the sides of which often consisted of ladders strapped in place to hold in hay or grain , though these could be removed to serve other needs. A common type of farm wagon particular to North America is the buckboard . Freight wagons were used for the overland hauling of freight and bulk commodities. They were not designed for transporting people and were not built for comfort. Many were constructed without

375-522: The American Civil War , these wagon trains would often be accompanied by the wagons of private merchants, known as sutlers , who sold goods to soldiers, as well as the wagons of photographers and news reporters. Special purpose-built support wagons existed for blacksmithing , telegraphy and even observation ballooning. In migration settings, such as the emigrant trails of the American West and

400-533: The Great Trek of South Africa, wagons would travel together for support, navigation and protection. A group of wagons may be used to create an improvised fort called a laager , made by circling them to form an enclosure. In these settings, a chuckwagon is a small wagon used for providing food and cooking, essentially a portable kitchen. In addition to horses and oxen, animals such as mules and goats have been used as draft animals for appropriately-sized wagons. As

425-584: The 1880s to 1920s and held up to 500 gallons of oil or spirits. In the city center of Schwäbisch Gmünd , Germany, since 1992 the city's plants are irrigated using a horse-drawn wagon with a water tank . Wagons have also served as the first mobile homes , as mobile workshops, and mobile kitchens. Travelling circuses decorated their wagons to be able to take part in the grand parade —even packing wagons for equipment, animal cage wagons, living vans and band wagons. Popular in North America was, and still is,

450-428: The float or show wagon, driven by six horses pulling a highly decorated show wagon with a token payload, and heavily painted with company or owner advertising. Horse-drawn wagons are popular attractions at tourist destinations for leisurely sightseeing. During the transition to mechanized vehicles from animal-powered, vehicles were built by coachbuilders and the bodies and undercarriages were substantially similar to

475-449: The front row of sacks which then held up the next and so on. The deck was at a good height for taking the bags onto the coalman's back and there was no protruding rear wheel to obstruct his access to them. Many ended up with rag and bone merchants who were likely to add side and tail boards to keep their purchases aboard. The largest and sturdiest trolleys were those used with lift vans . As in many fields, as time went by, people used

500-417: The horse as a pedestrian. They were normally drawn by a single pony or horse but a large trolley would have a pair. It was primarily an urban vehicle so that, on the paved roads, the small wheels were not a handicap. In any case, the axles would normally be sprung. It was typically used by market fruiterers and greengrocers but commonly also by coal merchants . These would have a headboard to stabilize

525-593: The horse-drawn vehicles. In modern times, the term station wagon survives as a type of automobile. It describes a car with a passenger compartment that extends to the back of the vehicle, that has no trunk, that has one or more rear seats that can be folded making space for carrying cargo, as well as featuring an opening tailgate or liftgate. In migration and military settings, wagons were often found in large groups called wagon trains . In warfare, large groups of supply wagons were used to support traveling armies with food and munitions, forming "baggage trains". During

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550-404: The rear wheels were 7 feet (2.13 m) in diameter, and the wagons weighed 7,800 pounds (3,500 kg) empty. Freight wagons in the American West were hauled by oxen, mules or horses. Freight wagon teams would generally haul between three and thirty-five tons of freight when hauling to mining outposts. On the return, they would haul ore to steamboats or to railroad depots. A delivery wagon

575-644: Was a predominant form of freight wagon in the late 18th and 19th centuries, often used for hauling goods on the Great Wagon Road in the Appalachian Valley and across the Appalachian Mountains. Even larger wagons were built, such as the twenty-mule team wagons , used for hauling borax from Death Valley , which could haul 36 short tons (32 long tons; 33 t) per pair. The wagons' bodies were 16 feet (4.88 m) long and 6 feet (1.83 m) deep;

600-445: Was formerly called a wain and one who builds or repairs wagons is a wainwright . More specifically, a wain is a type of horse- or oxen-drawn, load-carrying vehicle, used for agricultural purposes rather than transporting people. A wagon or cart, usually four-wheeled; for example, a haywain, normally has four wheels, but the term has now acquired slightly poetical connotations, so is not always used with technical correctness. However,

625-456: Was used to deliver merchandise such as milk, bread, produce, meat and ice to residential and commercial customers, predominantly in urban settings. The concept of express wagons and of paneled delivery vans developed in the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, delivery wagons were often finely painted, lettered and varnished, serving as image-builders and rolling advertisements. Special forms of delivery wagon include an ice wagon and

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