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List of quarries served by the Ffestiniog Railway

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The Festiniog Railway served a cluster of quarries around the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales. Most of these were slate quarries, although granite quarries and zinc mines were also connected by narrow gauge tramways to the railway.[1]

Map

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Narrow gauge quarry tramways around Blaenau Ffestiniog. Not all lines shown, not all lines existed at the same time

The quarries

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Name Mineral Opened Closed Years connected Notes
Blaen y Cwm Slate 1820 1911 1876–1911 Connected to the FfR via the Rhiwbach Tramway
Bowydd Slate 1800 1870 1854–1870 Merged with Votty to form Votty & Bowydd quarry
Brooke's Granite 1919 ? ? Connected by a tramway branching off at the north portal of Moelwyn Tunnel
Bwlch-y-Slater Slate 1824 1960 1866–1956 Connected via the Rhiwbach Tramway
Cesail Slate 1827 1877 1836–1877 Became part of the Oakeley Quarry
Conglog Slate 1872 1920? 1874–1920 Remote quarry connected by the Cwmorthin Tramway
Cwmorthin Slate 1810 1937 1850–1937 Connected via the Cwmorthin Tramway; became part of the Oakeley quarry in 1900, the two quarries were connected underground
Cwt-y-Bugail Slate 1835 1972 1867–1961 Last quarry using the (by then partly lifted) Rhiwbach Tramway
Diphwys Casson Slate 1760 1972 1860–1955 Last of the major quarries to be connected to the Ffestiniog Railway
Graig Ddu Slate 1840 1946 Connected via the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway
Groby Granite Granite 1901[2] Circa 1932 1914-c.1932 Connected by a short, steeply graded branch worked by FfR locomotives.
Hafodty (Votty) Slate 1801 1870 1851–1870 Joined with Bowydd quarry to form Votty & Bowydd
Llechwedd Slate 1846 Present 1848-1980s Currently worked on a small scale and the site of the Llechwedd Slate Caverns tourist attraction
Maenofferen Slate 1848 1999[3] 1848–1975 Became the major owner of quarries connected via inclines at Duffws station, continued to use the stub of the FfR through Blaenau into the mid 1970s. Untopping operations continue in 2007.
Nyth-y-Gigfran Slate 1840s 1882 1867–1882 Sometimes known as Glan-y-Pwll quarry. Became part of the Oakeley Quarry
Matthews (Rhiwbryfdir) Slate 1825 1871 1842–1871 Became part of the Oakeley quarry
Manod Slate c1850 Present 1866-1930s Sometimes known as Bwlch y Slaters and now given the name Cwt y Bugail. Connected to the Festiniog by the Rhiwbach Tramway[4]
Moelwyn Slate Slate 1826 c 1900[5] 1867–c 1900 Remote quarry connected to the FfR by a series of seven inclines; worked intermittently and never successfully.
Moelwyn Zinc Zinc, Manganese and Silver c1892[6] by 1919 1892-by 1919 Zinc mine just west of the north portal of the old Moelwyn Tunnel.[7]
Oakeley Slate 1878 2010[8] 1878-1950s Formed by the amalgamation of the Cesail, Matthews and Glan-y-Pwll quarries. Was the largest single quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Was the home of the Gloddfa Ganol tourist attraction in the 1980s and 1990s. Now worked as an open pit by Alfred McAlpine Ltd.
Rhiwbach Slate 1812 1953 1860–1953 Remote quarry situated 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Duffws station and connected via the Rhiwbach Tramway
Syenite Setts Granite 1874 1916 ? Quarry later worked as Brooke's[9]
Votty & Bowydd Slate 1870 1964 1870–1962 Formed by the amalgamation of the Hafodty and Bowydd quarries.
Wrysgan Slate 1830s 1946 1844–1946 Connected to the railway near Tanygrisiau via a single long incline ending in a tunnel.

Images

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  • The ruined mill at Blaen-y-Cwm, in 2005
    The ruined mill at Blaen-y-Cwm, in 2005
  • The remains of Conglog mill
    The remains of Conglog mill
  • Cwmorthin Quarry seen from across the lake
    Cwmorthin Quarry seen from across the lake
  • Maenofferen adit and mill
    Maenofferen adit and mill
  • The inclines leading down from Diphwys Casson into Votty & Bowydd
    The inclines leading down from Diphwys Casson into Votty & Bowydd
  • Llechwedd and Oakeley from the north. Llechwedd is on the left, the slate tips on the right are Oakeley
    Llechwedd and Oakeley from the north. Llechwedd is on the left, the slate tips on the right are Oakeley
  • The incline connecting the Wrysgan quarry to the Festiniog Railway at Tanygrisiau
    The incline connecting the Wrysgan quarry to the Festiniog Railway at Tanygrisiau
  • The remains of Diphwys Casson mill above the Votty & Bowydd pit
    The remains of Diphwys Casson mill above the Votty & Bowydd pit
  • The Rhiwbach engine house
    The Rhiwbach engine house
  • The cliffs of Nyth-y-Gigfran
    The cliffs of Nyth-y-Gigfran

References

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  1. ^ James I. C. Boyd (1975). The Festiniog Railway: Volume 2. The Oakwood Press.
  2. ^ "The Vale of Ffestiniog: Historical processes and background". Gwynedd Archeological Trust. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
  3. ^ "MAENOFFEREN;MAEN-OFFEREN;MAEN Y FFEREM;MAEN OFFEREN SLATE MINE, BLAENAU FFESTINIOG". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales.
  4. ^ Sallery, Dave. "Manod / Welsh Slate's 'Cwt y Bugail Quarry': A brief history of the quarry".
  5. ^ "MOELWYN SLATE MINE". The Royal Commission on the Historical and Ancient Monuments of Wales.
  6. ^ Robinson, Iain (25 September 2011). "On the slopes of Moelwyn".
  7. ^ (Map). 1:2500. Ordnance Survey. 1919. {{cite map}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ "Quarry losses hit Snowdonia town". BBC Wales News. 17 March 2010.
  9. ^ Robinson, Iain (11 March 2012). "Around Llyn Ystradau…an interesting circular walk".

Bibliography

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Main article: Ffestiniog Railway

See also

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