22668
Walking down the inclines from the Moelwyn Slate Quarry which were used to carry slate down to the Ffestiniog Railway in the valley below. In the Moelwyn Mountains close to Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.
Between 1826 and 1828 the Rothschild's Royal Cambrian Company attempted to locate commercially viable slate deposits on the eastern slopes of Moelwyn Bach. In 1841 Humprhey Jones of Ruthin opened a quarry here, though it was only worked intermittently.
In 1861, the Great Moelwyn Slate Company Ltd. was founded and purchased the quarry, re-opening it in 1865. A series of seven inclines were installed in 1866 to connect the quarry with the Ffestiniog Railway more than 1100ft below.
The quarry was never a significant success. It was closed by 1869, re-opened in 1873 as the Union Slate Company Ltd., closed again in 1875, re-opened in 1891 as the Moelwyn Slate Company and operated until 1897.
The quarry and the inclines remain largely intact, though Llyn Stwlan the upper reservoir in the Ffestiniog Power Station pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme sits just below the quarry and has obliterated the upper incline and mill. The Ffestiniog Railway's deviation around Llyn Ystradau has also destroyed the lower section of the final incline.
22668
Walking down the inclines from the Moelwyn Slate Quarry which were used to carry slate down to the Ffestiniog Railway in the valley below. In the Moelwyn Mountains close to Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.
Between 1826 and 1828 the Rothschild's Royal Cambrian Company attempted to locate commercially viable slate deposits on the eastern slopes of Moelwyn Bach. In 1841 Humprhey Jones of Ruthin opened a quarry here, though it was only worked intermittently.
In 1861, the Great Moelwyn Slate Company Ltd. was founded and purchased the quarry, re-opening it in 1865. A series of seven inclines were installed in 1866 to connect the quarry with the Ffestiniog Railway more than 1100ft below.
The quarry was never a significant success. It was closed by 1869, re-opened in 1873 as the Union Slate Company Ltd., closed again in 1875, re-opened in 1891 as the Moelwyn Slate Company and operated until 1897.
The quarry and the inclines remain largely intact, though Llyn Stwlan the upper reservoir in the Ffestiniog Power Station pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme sits just below the quarry and has obliterated the upper incline and mill. The Ffestiniog Railway's deviation around Llyn Ystradau has also destroyed the lower section of the final incline.