A slab of slate is hauled up while an empty rubbish wagon descends on
the adjacent track.  In the background slate workers make their way to the surface

Quarry surveyors are seen at work deep in the underground workings

An early Ruston diesel loco makes its way to the main line exchange
sidings with finished slates.

Pushing slate slabs to the incline foot from where they will be
hauled to the surface for processing.

Mining at Oakeley was based on the bargain system.  A group of four men made an agreement with the quarry as to what chamber they would work and how much slate they would (hopefully) produce.  Two men worked underground and two worked on the surface.  Their task was to process the slate sent up by their colleagues below.  In some cases the same chamber could be worked for up to thirty years.  Here the underground workers are seen labelling a slab for identification on the surface.

Surveyors work in the background while in the foreground
a loaded rubbish wagon is seen beneath a tripod crane.

An early view of a  slate splitter hard at work.

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