Anglesey

Porth Wen Silica Brickworks, Anglesey

The steam engine was built by Thos C Fawcett Ltd, Leeds and the knapping machine was by W H Baxter Ltd, Leeds.
The inscription on the knapping machine reads :-
    'Lubricate this breaker well'
    'tightened bolts prevent all rapping'
    'and be sure all parts are clean'
    'thats the way to keep it'
    'KNAPPING'

Porth Wen brickworks	Porth Wen brickworks	Porth Wen brickworks	Porth Wen brickworks
Porth Wen brickworks	Porth Wen brickworks
Brick drying floorworks	Brick drying floorworks	Brick drying floorworks	Quayside, Porth Wen
The loose boiler	The loose boiler	The loose boiler	The boilerhouse
The boilerhouse	The boilerhouse	The boilerhouse	The boilerhouse
The boilerhouse	The boilerhouse	The boilerhouse
Base of a chimney	Base of the quayside crane	'Thos C Fawcett' steam engine	Porth Wen brickworks
Stone bins and crushers	Stone bins and crushers	W H Baxter's knapping machine	W H Baxter's knapping machine
Kiln area	Beehive kilns	Beehive kilns	Beehive kilns
Beehive kilns	Beehive kilns interior	Beehive kilns interior
Incline brakedrum	Incline brakedrum	Incline brakedrum	Incline top bunkers
Incline top	Incline from quarries	Incline from quarries	Rail near gateway

Parys Mountain

The crater to Cairn's Mine	Anglesey Mining headgear	Parys Mine level	Mona Mine buildings
Cairn's Windmill	The waste tips	Precipitation ponds	Precipitation ponds

Blaenau Ffestiniog

Blaenau Ffestiniog Town

BR Station and 150245

Hunslet 2207/41 No 5

Hunslet 2207/41 No 5

Votty and Maen Offeren quarries

Oakeley Quarry - SH 6940 4665

Oakeley Quarry incline

Oakeley Quarry incline

Oakeley Quarry incline

Oakeley Quarry viaduct

Votty Quarry - SH 7075 4615

Votty Quarry	Votty Quarry	Votty Quarry	Votty Quarry
Votty Quarry	Votty Quarry	Votty Quarry

Llechwedd Quarry - SH 7000 4700

No 3 'Coalition' is a 1930 rebuild of 'Edith', Bagnall 1728/90
No 4 'Eclipse' is a 1927 rebuild of either 'Dorothy' WB 1568/99 or possibly ' Margaret' WB 1445/95

No 3 'Coalition', Llechwedd Quarry

No 4 'Eclipse', Llechwedd Quarry

No 4 'Eclipse', Llechwedd Quarry

4wBE Wingrove Rogers loco

The Copper Mines of Snowdonia

Britannia Copper Mine, Snowdon (or 'Brittania') - SH 6246 5449

The Miners Track was in use by 1813 and by 1898 had gone through the 'Green Lake', 'Snowdon' and 'Great Snowdon' mining companies to become the 'Brittania Mining Co', responsible for most of the existing leftovers. Despite new equipment, a aerial ropeway, electicity and a Pelton Wheel, mining finally finished in 1916.

The crusher and offices looking across Llyn Llydaw	The crusher building	The crusher building	The crusher building
and the crusher itself!	The barracks at Llyn Teryn	A historical view of the site
The barracks across Glaslyn	The barracks	The barracks	The barracks and tramway
The trail level tips at the barracks	The trail level tips at the barracks	Sleeper at the trial level	The trial level
The trial level	The trial level	The trial level	The trial level

Cwm Bychan Copper Mine, Beddgelert - SH 6041 4754

Dating from 1720, the mines at Cwm Bychan worked until c1875 but are well-known for the one-mile-long aerial ropeway that ran down to Nantmor, next to the Welsh Highland Railway. It was built c1925 for an attempted re-working of the mine but it was unsuccessful, lasting only 4 years or so.

Cwm Bychan aerial ropeway	Cwm Bychan aerial ropeway	Cwm Bychan aerial ropeway	Cwm Bychan aerial ropeway
Cwm Bychan Copper Mine	Cwm Bychan Copper Mine	Cwm Bychan Copper Mine	Cwm Bychan Copper Mine

Croesor and Rhosydd

Croesor Valley and Quarry

Croesor Tramway and Quarries - SH 6450 4563

The Croesor Tramway opened in 1864 and died a slow death that lingered on into the 1950s. It served quarries on the ridges either side, Croesor, Rhosydd and Pantmawr using long, steep inclines and a tunnel to Fron-boeth. Blaencwm hydro-electric power station was built in 1904 to provide power to Croesor quarry.

Tramway below Blaencwm	Blaencwm powerhouse	Blaencwm incline	Blaencwm incline
Blaencwm incline winding house	Blaencwm incline winding house	Blaencwm incline winding house
Croesor Tramway junction	Croesor Tramway junction		Level on the Cnicht

Pantmawr Quarry and Fron-Boeth Quarry - SH 6458 4525

Pantmawr Quarry opened in 1864, the connection to the Croesor Tramway opened in 1879 via the two-stage incline and the quarry was disused from 1913. The extension to Fron-Boeth Quarry was built in 1889 via the tunnel, one of the few in North Wales on a tramway 'mainline'. Fron-Boeth Quarry had closed by 1908.

Pantmawr and Fron-Boeth inclines	Incline to Pantmawr Quarry	Upper incline to Pantmawr Quarry
Pantmawr and Fron-Boeth incline	Pantmawr and Fron-Boeth junction	Tunnel to Fron-Boeth Quarries

Incline to Croesor Quarry - SH 6552 4583

Work on Croesor Quarry began in 1854, the incline opening in 1864. Croesor Quarry was an early convert to hydro-electricity in 1904 but closed by 1930. However it had a second life from 1942 as an explosives store.

Incline to Croesor Quarry	Incline to Croesor Quarry	Incline to Croesor Quarry	Subway under Croesor incline
Croesor Incline ironmongery	Croesor Incline ironmongery	Croesor Quarry Incline wagon	Croesor Quarry Incline wagon
'pear' shaped rail at incline

Rhosydd Quarry

Rhosydd Quarry incline and tramway - SH 6590 4630

Rhosydd Quarry was one of the older quarries with minor workings up to 1853 when the Rhosydd Slate Co was formed. The usual chequered existence followed until closure in 1930. The spectacular 1500ft-long incline opened in 1864.

Rhosydd incline to Croesor	Rhosydd incline to Croesor	Rhosydd incline to Croesor	Rhosydd incline to Croesor
Rhosydd incline to Croesor	Rhosydd tramway above incline	Rhosydd tramway wagon	Rhosydd tramway wagon
Rhosydd tramway above incline	Tramway heading to incline

Rhosydd dressing floor and workshops - SH 6650 4620

Dressing floor and workshops	Dressing floor and workshops	Dressing floor and workshops	Dressing floor and workshops
Dressing floor ironmongery	Dressing floor ironmongery	Dressing floor vehicle chassis	Dressing floor and workshops
Dressing floor and workshops	Dressing floor rails	Incline to Quarry

Rhosydd waterwheel and tips - SH 6660 4632

Waterwheel pit	Waterwheel pit	Waterwheel pit
Rhosydd Quarry tips	Rhosydd Quarry tips	Rhosydd Quarry tips

Rhosydd reservoirs and leats - SH 6642 4687

Top reservoir	Top reservoir	Top reservoir watercourse	Lower reservoir pipework
Wooden launder to waterwheel	Wooden launder to waterwheel	Wooden launder to waterwheel	Wooden launder to waterwheel
Wooden launder to waterwheel

Dinorwic Quarry and Llanberis

The Garret incline A5 to A9, galleries and mills

Garret inclines A5 - A9	Garret inclines A5 - A9	Garret inclines A5 - A9	Garret incline A9 and drumhouse
Garret mills	Garret mills

Incline A4

'Turner Bros' milling machine	Incline A4 drumhouse	Incline A4 trackwork	Incline A4 trackwork
Incline A4 trackwork	Incline A4 trackwork	Incline A4 wagon body	Incline A4

Incline A3

Incline A3 point	Incline A3 drumhouse	Incline A3 drumhouse	Incline A3 drumhouse
Incline A3 drumhouse	Incline A3	Incline A3	Incline A3 wagon body

Anglesey Barracks

Anglesey Barracks

Anglesey Barracks

Anglesey Barracks

Anglesey Barracks

Inclines A1 and A2

Incline A2 drumhouse

Incline A2 drumhouse

Incline A1 to Garret

Incline A1 to Garret

Gilfach Ddu

Incline A1 to Garret

The tunnel to Braich

Building near Hospital

The Braich Inclines and Galleries

Long range photos of the Braich side of Dinorwic showing some of the transporters that took the slate wagons up and down the inclines.

Incline B6, below 'Australia'	Gallery C5 / C6, 'Australia'	Incline C1 'Bonc Fawr'	Incline C1 'Bonc Fawr'
'Pont Wyllt' incline, Wellington	Incline B5 (I think)	Unidentified tunnel, near B5

Vivian Quarry - SH 5866 6051

Vivian Quarry and it's inclines are part of the Museum complex but, despite being staged, are well worth seeing.

Vivian Quarry aerial ropeway	Vivian Quarry aerial ropeway	Vivian Quarry aerial ropeway	Vivian Quarry aerial ropeway
Vivian Quarry level	Vivian Quarry shelter	Vivian Quarry inclines	Vivian Quarry inclines
Vivian Quarry inclines	Vivian Quarry	Vivian Quarry	Vivian Quarry trackwork

Llanberis Village

There are quite a few preserved slate wagons dotted around Llanberis.

Llanberis rubble wagon

Llanberis slab truck

Llanberis slate wagon

Llanberis rubble wagon

Glyn-Rhonwy Slate Quarry - SH 5645 6085

Glyn-Rhonwy Slate Quarry

Glyn-Rhonwy Slate Quarry

Glyn-Rhonwy Slate Quarry

The National Slate Museum

National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum
National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum
National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum	National Slate Museum
National Slate Museum	The Waterwheel, National Slate Museum	The Waterwheel, National Slate Museum	The Velocepede, National Slate Museum
National Slate Museum.yard

Llandudno, both Ormes and Penrhyn Castle

Great Orme mines and quarries - SH 770 830

The Bishop's Quarry (on land given to the Bishop of Bangor by King Edward I in 1284 - the church sold the land in 1891.
The copper mines dates from prehistoric times to the late 18c.
The water tower at Gloddaeth Hall, Llandudno, is similar to a 17c dovecote in the grounds but probably dates from the 1880s.

The Bishops Quarry, Great Orme	The Bishops Quarry, Great Orme	The Bishops Quarry, Great Orme
Great Orme copper mine	Great Orme copper mine		Gloddaeth Hall water tower

Little Orme Quarry - SH 8180 8255

The Little Orme Quarry opened in 1889 by the 'Little Orme's Head Limestone Co', stone being loaded direct into ships at it's quayside. The quarry was worked by a 3ft gauge railway system worked initially by a 'De Winton' type vertical boilered loco 'Little Orme' followed by a secondhand Manning Wardle loco, then 3 new Kerr Stuart locos up to 1927 and after by 3 vertical boilered Sentinal locos, the ghosts of De Winton? It closed in 1931 when it was taken over by APCM. The quarry worked on three levels, the smaller top level was connected to the main level by a rope-worked incline. The main and lower level were operated by the rail system. All the stone left by sea from a small wharf below the lower level.

Little Orme Quarry, 1898	Little Orme Quarry, 1898	Little Orme Quarry, 1911	Little Orme Quarry
Incline brake house	Incline brake house	Incline brake house	Wagon body or tank
Quarry floor bunkers	Quarry floor bunkers	Little Orme Quarry quay	Lime kiln at entrance to Quarry

Penrhyn Castle, Bangor

Slate wagons	'Charles'	'Fire Queen'	'Howarden'
'Haydock'	'Kettering Furnaces No 3'	Penrhyn Quarry carriage	Penrhyn Quarry carriage
RH 327904 'Acorn'	Timber bogies	De Winton 'Watkin'

Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda

Penrhyn Quarry - SH 6190 6575

Penrhyn Slate Quarry at work	Penrhyn Slate Quarry at work	Penrhyn Slate Quarry at work	Penrhyn Slate Quarry, Bethesda
Penrhyn Slate Quarry, Bethesda	Penrhyn Slate Quarry, Bethesda	Penrhyn Slate Quarry, Bethesda

Pontcysyllte and the Dee Valley

Pontcysyllte - SJ 2705 4200

Pontcysyllte	Pontcysyllte	Pontcysyllte	Pontcysyllte
Pontcysyllte	Pontcysyllte	Pontcysyllte	Pontcysyllte
Pontcysyllte	Pontcysyllte		Froncysyllte

Froncysyllte - SJ 2735 4123

Froncysyllte	Froncysyllte	Froncysyllte	Froncysyllte
Froncysyllte	Froncysyllte	Froncysyllte	Froncysyllte

Llangollen

Photos of the Llangollen Railway can be found here :-  The Great Little Trains of Wales 

Berwyn or Clogau Quarry

Llangollen Mill sluice gates

Buckley, Flintshire

Hancocks Wharf, Buckley

Phil Pritchard took these photos of Hancocks Wharf tramway in Buckley and say that "A tunnel led from Hancock's Lane End Brickworks to Hancocks Wharf, near Buckley Town Station on the WM&CQ Railway. The wharf had a parallel track (to the siding) with a loading trolley of its own to align the narrow gauge wagon with the standard gauge wagons. The narrow tunnel had a signal on the top of the hill controlling access and was partially excavated a few (many) years ago. The trackwork into the tunnel used standard gauge bullhead rail laid on its side."

The tramway was originally part of the 'Aston Tramway' running to the River Dee in the early 1800s. When the railway arrived in 1862 the tramway became little used so a wharf was built on the railway and the tramway re-vitalised, lasting until the 1940s. There were two very unusual features, one was the track and the other the unloading arrangements. The track was traditional bullhead rail but laid on its side so that plain unflanged wagon wheels ran in the groove. Even points were made in this fashion. This could only be done in straight runs so old tramplates were used for changes of direction. At the wharf the tramway wagons were loaded straight into railway wagons using a traverser system set at a level between the tramway and the railway. Each railway wagon could take 6 tramway wagons.

Hancocks Wharf tramway, 1869	Hancocks Wharf tramway, 1897	Hancocks Wharf tramway, 1909
Knowle Hill tunnel portal	Knowle Hill tunnel portal	Cutting approaching the tunnel
Hancocks Wharf track	Hancocks Wharf track	Hancocks Wharf track close-up	Hancocks Wharf track close-up
Trackwork below the tunnel	Pointwork with a moving blade	Hancocks Wharf	Hancocks Wharf
Hancocks Wharf	Hancocks Wharf	Hancocks Wharf	Hancocks Wharf tramway rail
Hancocks Wharf notices	Painting of the tunnel	Painting of the wharf.

Acknowledgments, sources and further reading.

Robin Harrison and 'RWH Trains' on Youtube, Phil Pritchard, Adam Roper

There's dozens of good books and websites on the industries of North Wales so these are just a few that are particularly relevant :-
'Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire - Volumes 1-3' by J I C Boyd
'The Festiniog Railway - Volumes 1-2' by J I C Boyd
'Industrial Locomotives of North Wales by V J Bradley
'Rhosydd Slate Quarry' by M J T lewis and J H Denton
'The Old Copper Mines of Snowdonia' by David Bick
Bulletin, Vol 9, No 5, 'Brittania or Snowdon Mine', The Peak District Mines Historical Society
Clwyd-Powis Archaeological Trust , Report 1548, Hancocks Tramway, Buckley
The Great Orme Mines - www.greatormemines.info