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Dinorwic Quarry photos


Beardybloke

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After my third attempt to post this (busy server! ) and in light of my inability to work Martin Wynne's transfer utility, I've resorted to manual transfer of these photos and their original captions from RMweb 3:

 

 

After finishing my last ever exam yesterday, a wander around Dinorwic Quarry was called for! I'm trying to build a model of a quarry yard and workshop, so the opportunity was taken to wander around the northen edge of the quarry and snap away like a tourist icon_biggrin.gif

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I like the idea of the water tower built into the shed - it gives me a justification for having build one into my workshop! The shed part seems to be an addition to the workshop behind it, and seems to have been rather badly knitted together once you get up close!

 

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Seen from above, this has the remains of a stationary engine of some description in it, and judging from the insulators lying in the ground around, may well have housed a generator to power the electric incline nearby.

 

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Three quarters of the intrepid crew at the head of the cable troughing for the power station. After wandering off through a tunnel, we came back and found three lads wandering around after knocking off work on there (or so we assume - having found some empty cans of a certain Austrailian lager on the way back that weren't there before), with one of them pulling at the 3300V cable blink.gif blink.gif

 

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One of the oddly-shaped tunnels through the incline - although the clearance for loco chimneys appears to have been filled in, with a roof of rails all the way along it. On the next level up, there's one still in original condition.

 

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From the steps above the engine house, the remains of the electric incline can be seen, as well as the two tunnels through the previous incline that carries the cabling.

 

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Halfway along, this splits into two, with both parts coming out into the big pit at the back (one with a sheer drop with very little notice!)

 

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Visible in a few places, slate slab sleepers can be used to trace the course of some of the tracks

 

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A bit of modelling inspiration that I like, the retaining walls for this seem to have been extended haphazardly several times!

 

Only having a few hours, we didn't even get around a quarter of the quarry, but the plan is to wander back at least once in the month I've got remaining at Bangor cool.gif

 

Now... where can I find me a kit of a quarry Hunslet or two tongue.gif

 

The original thread can be found at http://www.rmweb.co....php?f=7&t=23134 and I'm going to put the photos from the second visit up shortly, if the exhausted server lasts that long!

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Very nice pics! I remember the first show now, it got me thinking of doing a small quarry layout... guess what? It's done it again! :rolleyes:

 

For those interested in Welsh quarries, there's a really useful thread on the quarry Hunslet over on http://ngrm-online.com I would post the link but you have to register to see it.

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Nice photos pity about the lack of sun. Will be all hand built buildings then. Will it be scale O 16.5 then. Looking forward to part two.

Attempting something along those lines at the minute, Industrial... in 009 though, as that's what most of my stock was in so far! The photography was a combination of poor sunlight and my now-defunct camera, I seem to remember that the second installment had some better sunlight. I thought that I'd been cunning and saved the page before the old site was temporarily shut down, but all I succeeded in doing was saving a 'server error' page - typical!

 

Very nice pics! I remember the first show now, it got me thinking of doing a small quarry layout... guess what? It's done it again! rolleyes.gif

 

For those interested in Welsh quarries, there's a really useful thread on the quarry Hunslet over on http://ngrm-online.com I would post the link but you have to register to see it.

You'd best get making it then... I won't ask for it for this year's ExpoNG, but how about next year's? wink.gif

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  • 1 month later...

Right... finally got around to posting the Dinorwic photos from the second visit... it's only taken a month and a half :blink:

 

I seem to have generated a fair bit of interest! Thanks for the links and photos everyone :D

 

Went up to Dinorwic again last week while the weather still held, but on the other side this time, and up to Australia level where the sawing tables still are, along with a big engine house with a lot of hardware still in - it would seem that it would have cost more than the scrap value to get it back down :huh:

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The large bits of rust in the centre of the frame appear to be the remains of a generator - possibly driven by the machinery inside.

 

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A much more intact electric incline than shown previously!

 

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This appears to have been bolted onto the cable to hold it in place... :blink:

 

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This is on the level above, and has a small loco shed/blasting shelter to its right that still has one rail heading into it.

 

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There's still a lot of wiring drums and winding gear present on the inclines and other places, and seems largely intact in a lot of cases.

 

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There are several bits of almost complete pointwork around too!

 

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This is something that's really quite modellable - slate slabs forming a rudimentary edging to the track.

 

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Indiana Jones eat your heart out!

 

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This was quite eerie - a load of coats and boots that although tattered still appear to be waiting for the next shift to start :huh:

 

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A shelter for the loco to run into when blasting is taking place - there are a lot of these around for quarrymen too, with walls around 3ft thick.

 

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Couldn't resist seeing if I could get the same image as I got 2 years ago!

 

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Where the incline has fallen away over a tunnel, revealing the construction of the tunnel roof. It's walled off underneath to prevent anyone getting clocked by falling slate.

 

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The cutting shed up on Australia level, still with all of the drive shafting and cutting tables. To the right of the interior photo is a large area for storing the dressed slate in bays.

 

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Taken from the engine house, I couldn't resist trying a framed shot :blush:

 

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The power station seen from above on the way back to the car - not that you can see it particularly well from the photo, but you could see the water welling up from below.

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  • 2 years later...

The top 2 images are of the engine shed where Holy War the last steam hunslet working in the quarry was kept overnight. I'm having a model of Holy War being made for me at the moment by a member of this parish & i'm seriously thinking about doing a model of Dinorwic quarry.

The photos you have taken are fantastic was it easily accessible ?? I would like to take a trip up the quarry at some point next year to have a wander round & take some pictures. I've a very good book on Dinorwic quarry & it gives a very good account of all aspects of work within the quarry.

 

Simon

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  • RMweb Gold

Great pics. I have done some climbing in the quarries and some exploring as well which is great fun. There are loads of semi-intact tunnels, ladders etc that you can wander round with care.

 

You can get up to the Australia cutting shed by walking up from just past Dali's Hole (now fenced off by the quarry owners). Park at Bus Stop Quarry after driving through Deiniolen, walk along the track past the large generator/transformer shed, then past Dali's Hole on the left (hole with copper-blue water and some remains of white trees (if they are not submerged). Past the huge hole of Twll Mawr on the left until you get to a series of inclines. Follow those up and you should see some of the buildings in the photos a few levels up.

 

Cheers, Mike

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Thanks for the kind comments gents!

 

The quarry was easily accessible the last time I was up there in 2008, though I did drop by this Easter and nothing much seemed to have changed. However, as it was snowing at the time I decided against a trip up some slippery slate inclines! Incidentally, if you do go up there, be careful on the inclines as a few of them now have holes under the trackbed where tunnels under them have partially collapsed.

 

I'd seriously think of having a model of Dinorwic - it's a great prototype full of variety. The only (mostly) completed building that I've got on my layout at the minute is loosely based on that loco shed but significantly enlarged, and I've now got a 4mm cabless Quarry Hunslet in the build queue...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just to illustrate beardy bloke's point about collapsed inclines - this is the worst bit on the way up to australia level... It is dodgy! The alternative is not great either - tipped slate waste climbing is pretty dodgy too - it slips very easily. also much gorse has started to grow around it making it a bit painful at times too.

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Just to illustrate beardy bloke's point about collapsed inclines - this is the worst bit on the way up to australia level... It is dodgy! The alternative is not great either - tipped slate waste climbing is pretty dodgy too - it slips very easily. also much gorse has started to grow around it making it a bit painful at times too.

 

I've a sneaking suspicion that we walked down over that having reached Australia level from the north, and then saw the state of the incline once we were down!

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  • 3 months later...
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