A distant view of the
long abandoned Drum Quarry near Ffestiniog.
Graig
Ddu Quarry incline drumhouse
Looking down on the remains
of Graig Ddu quarry near Blaenau.
Snowdon is prominent
on the skyline.
Snowdon is the mountain on the right of this view.
This building is one of the best remaining examples of a quarry gunpowder magazine. Such buildings were remote from other quarry buildings and were often close to the tramway serving the quarry. The storage of gunpowder was taken very seriously and the walls, ceiling and floor had wood panelling to avoid possible sparks.
Some of the remaining
wood panelling on one of the walls.
A long disused slate planer
at Pen Yr Orsedd, these machines were used to give
a smooth finish to slabs
of slate.
A
Drum Kit
The drums to work quarry
inclines arrived as a kit from the manufacturers. The wooden cross
pieces were attached to the drum - "the spider" - using the Roman numerals
seen here, although this one has had an extra piece inserted at some time
at VIII. The marks of the rope as it wound the incline can be seen
on the left of the drum.
Llanberis
and Glynrhonwy Quarry
Above and behind Llanberis
were a number of small slate quarries, the workings of Glynrhonwy Upper
are seen in the background.
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page: Some archive views of the industry