Quarries Served By The Festiniog Railway
From Festipedia, hosted by the FR Heritage Group
By the 1870's 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
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:
[edit]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
This author has his website here.