Reposting here from RR-Line. I started cutting hay on land of my own and occasionally others about 30 years ago.  I didn't need a model hay wagon till 2014. I'd been seeing GHQ's kit in magazines and catalogs, but when I went to build it, I found an issue.

GHQ's 60-012 is a simple soft-metal kit, but there are a few easy changes that improve its realism a good deal. I used ACC to build it, though epoxy would also work. It might also be possible to use low-temperature solder, but I haven't tested the melting point or solder wetting characteristics of the castings.

After cleaning up the small amount of flash, I used Blacken-It on all the parts. I've done my share of loading and unloading hay wagons, so I automatically started assembling the sides with the longitudinal boards inwards. But they didn't fit. The picture GHQ provides as 'instructions' show them outside, leaving the stakes so they'd be a real pain in the butt in real life: They'd break bale strings if a kicker is in use, they make it much harder to slid bales across the floor



Here I've used nippers to trim one end down so it fits between the sides, boards in. The loose end isn't trimmed yet.



The wheels and tires aren't wonderful, but I decided to use them on this one. This wagon is only 16 feet long by 8 wide with 5 foot sides. It won't even hold 50 bales, so there's no call for flotation tires or rear dualies. I went for the homebrew look, using old car tires. GHQ made the axle castings with plenty of gluing surface for the wheels. Sturdiness is good, but it would be more realistic if they stood clear of the spindles. I haven't tried that yet (my layout has pieces of several different farms). I didn't glue the tongue in place till I fixed it up a bit and put the wagon on its wheels.

I also wound up with two extra wheels, plus axles & tongue. Perhaps I'll scratchbuild a more modern wagon after I finish the kits.

I cut off the pin on the loose end of the tongue. Then I filed the tongue a little thinner and added two straps, drilled so it could be attached to a tractor drawbar with a hitch pin. I brush-painted the body with a thin wash of ancient Floquil Caboose Red (the can it's in is probably older than my ex). The tires got a thinned application of Engine Black, but it doesn't really stand up to this close-up. I'd need magnification to do a job which left the edge of the rim consistently red but the edge of the tire black.



I made a few additional improvements to a second kit:



As purchased, the vertical posts are about 4.5" x 5.5". This isn't awful for a wood-sided wagon, but the horizontal boards being the same dimensions is way too heavy. I rubbed these across a big flat file till the slats were down to about 3" thick.

As most of the rest of the 'running gear' is wood, I cut pieces of .040 square basswood to brace the front bolster and the rear axle posts. Ideally, the rear braces would end on the same crossbeam as the front, but this model isn't going to be picked up & turned over very often.



Now, at least from a distance, it looks structurally sound.

Here are the two upgraded GHQ hay wagons at Heubach's farm in East Bexley, MA on my layout. 



The "Gothic Arch Dairy Barn" in the background is a styrene scratchbuild I did in a 2011 RR-Line thread. Ask if you want to see it soon.

Good catch on the location of the horizontal boards. I'd never know the difference. But your reasoning makes sense.

They look great now!

Great looking wagons James, and good info for anyone else building these.
Yours with the stakes on the outside look much better.  Nice red you used too.

Thanks, Dave, Phillip and Rob.  Here's making small square bales full-size in 1994, using equipment dating to around 1980:

James, does that baler toss the bale into the trailer, or does it require human help? If it tosses the bale, then how does the stacking process work?

Pete
in Michigan

Pete, the bale flying over the front gate of the hay wagon was launched by the baler's hydraulic kicker. Without a wagon rider, the jumble grows till there's risk of a bale landing right but falling out.  Then you swap wagons and the pickup truck driver takes the load to the barn for unloading.  Maybe 100 bales can be jumbled into that wagon.

Wagon rider is a job requiring strength, endurance and the ability to see approaching bales out of the corner of your eye and decide which way to duck in time. But done right it gets 130 or 140 bales into the same wagon, and they unload faster, with less risk of strings breaking.

James,

The wagons look great and I thought the B&W photo of the wagon looked off. However, I didn't catch it until you made it right .

Great job.

Tom 

Quote from: jbvb on February 10, 2025, 01:51:32 PMPete, the bale flying over the front gate of the hay wagon was launched by the baler's hydraulic kicker. Without a wagon rider, the jumble grows till there's risk of a bale landing right but falling out.  Then you swap wagons and the pickup truck driver takes the load to the barn for unloading.  Maybe 100 bales can be jumbled into that wagon.

Wagon rider is a job requiring strength, endurance and the ability to see approaching bales out of the corner of your eye and decide which way to duck in time. But done right it gets 130 or 140 bales into the same wagon, and they unload faster, with less risk of strings breaking.

Definitely not a job for me!  What do those bales tend to weigh?

Pete
in Michigan

The "small square bale" typically weighs 40-45 lb.  There are larger square bales that have to be handled by machinery, plus round bales in both the old Allis-Chalmers size and the more modern ones that need bucket forks or a bale spear.

Sounds like you really know your hay James.
I'm always amazed on these forums how much knowledge outside of trains that folks have.  One of the good things about the interweb.  Ask a question and someone will know.
Like other have said about the unloading, not a job many folks would want to do.

Quote from: jbvb on February 10, 2025, 09:28:53 PMThe "small square bale" typically weighs 40-45 lb.  There are larger square bales that have to be handled by machinery, plus round bales in both the old Allis-Chalmers size and the more modern ones that need bucket forks or a bale spear.

Thanks, James!

Pete
in Michigan