Quarries Served By The Festiniog Railway

By the 1870s the Festiniog Railway was connected to some 16 quarries by over 30 inclines, either by direct connection, or by the 2 main feeder tramways (i.e. Rhiwbach & Cwm Orthin). Indeed the combined length of the various quarry lines and spurs (some 14 miles) marginally exceeded the length of the main line itself.

A splendid map of the area is included in a book by Graham Isherwood called Slate- From Blaenau Ffestiniog, and is reproduced here

Overview Articles

Slate and The Festiniog Railway

Gravity slate trains

Slate Waggons

Quarries

Quarries served (in order up the line) included:

• Brooke's Quarry - granite quarry connected directly to the FR
• Moelwyn Quarry (Moelwyn Mawr & Moelwyn Bach) - connected directly to the FR by an impressive series of 7 inclines.

• Wrysgan Quarry - connected directly to the FR (1872) by impressive parabolic incline just below Tanygrisiau.
• Groby Granite Quarry - connected to the FR via the Groby Branch

• The Cwm Orthin Tramway, which connected directly by Cwmorthin Quarry Incline to the FR above Tanygrisiau served -
  • • Cwm Orthin Quarry (New Welsh Slate & Tai'r Muriau)
      • An extension linked to Conglog Quarry

• Nyth-y-gigfran Quarry (Glan-y-pwll & Gloddfa Twm Ifan James) - connected directly to the FR by incline at Glan-y-pwll.

• The Dinas Branch (originally the "main-line") served on its western side -
  • • Welsh Slate Co. (ex-Holland) (became lower Oakeley) - connected to the FR by incline in 1838
    • Rhiwbryfdir / Mathews (became middle Oakeley / Gloddfa Ganol) - linked by incline to the FR at Dinas.
    • Cesail / Holland's Quarry (became upper Oakeley) - linked to the FR in 1839.
  • and on its eastern side -
    • Llechwedd Quarry (Greaves, incl. Tal y Weinydd) which linked directly by incline to the FR (1852).

• The "Diffwys Branch" (later to become the main-line to Blaenau Ffestiniog) served -
  • • Diffwys (Diphwys Casson, incl. Henwaith, Penfridd & Twll Newydd) connected with the FR in 1860 via the Bowydd incline (later to become No.1 incline of the Rhiwbach Tramway). Direct incline connection to FR in 1863.
    • Maenofferen Quarry (incl. David Jones') connected to the FR via the Diffwys & (later) Rhiwbach inclines.
    • Votty And Bowydd Quarry (Chwarel Lord Newborough, & Percival's) connected directly to the FR in 1854, later using Rhiwbach Tramway incline No. 1, and later still a direct incline link to the FR at Duffws.

• The Rhiwbach Tramway of 1863 (which utilised the former Bowydd incline referred to above) also served -
  • • Cwt-y-bugail
    • Blaen y Cwm (incl. [Pen-y-] Ffridd)
    • Rhiwbach Quarry, the principal reason for the construction of the Tramway.
    • Bwlch y Slaters (Bwlch Manod & Manod)

• The Festiniog and Blaenau Railway also linked to the Festiniog Railway and in turn connected to:
  • • Graig Ddu Quarry
    • Manod Quarry

See also

• Slate And The Festiniog Railway
• Slate Index
• Template:Quarries (table)

References

An invaluable source of information on the slate quarries of the area (and from where some information has been taken) are the following 3 books by Alun John Richards -

• • "A Gazeteer of the Welsh Slate Industry", 1991
  • "The Slate Railways of Wales", 2001
  • "The Slate Regions of N & S Wales and their Railways", 1999, all published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch

The author has his website here.