Cullipool slate tramway

[eastglosmog]

I was on the Isle of Luing (one of the slate islands) recently and had a chance to examine the remains of the Cullipool slate tramway.

In the 19th Century slate from the Slate Islands was an important industry and major source of employment.  The slate, though, was never as good as the products of North Wales, Cumberland or Westmorland, being thick and having a crinkly  surface.  None have been worked since 1965.

They were split and cut by hand.

The tramway served to transport slate from the slate quarries around Cullipool to the quay in Cullipool for some 100 years or so.  Here is  a map of it about 1898 taken from the NLS website:

The quay was built for the slate traffic and is still in use by fishermen:

 

No track remains in situ, but a rebuilt wagon on a short stretch of rebuilt track can be seen by the Atlantic Islands Center (well worth a visit), which was built on the site of an old engine house (the location can be seen on the map, to the left of the words "Slate Quarry").  The track from the quay to the northern quarries ran on the gravel path in front of the wagon.  Tracks carrying waste from the southern quarry (known as No.5) ran from here to the shore, where the slate waste was dumped:

 

Much of the route of the tramway can be seen in the next photograph, taken from above No.3 quarry (the last to be worked).  It follows the grey gravel track running above the beach from quarry No3, past the flooded No. 4, before becoming the straight tarmac road through the middle of the houses.  The flooded No.5 quarry can be made out in the middle distance.  The beach is entirley made of slate waste.  Quite a bit of Cullipool is also built on slate waste as well, which is causing a bit of concern, as the slate waste is gradually being eroded, loosing about 0.5m a year on average over the past 10 years.  (During the gales at the end of February / beginning of March, waves were beating against the houses nearest to the coast.) The white building on the island on the right hand side of the photo is Fladda lighthouse.

 

This photo shows the entrance to No.3 quarry, showing where the tramway entered during the latter days of quarry activity.   Slate waste was dumped on the beach directly at this point as well. The island to the right of Fladda, shaped somewhat like USS Monitor, is Belnahua, an island (like Easedale to the north) which was mainly slate quarry.  It was abandoned when the workforce all went off to enlist in 1914.  It is apparently well worth a visit, but I did not have time to go over to it.

 

For a short while, the tramway extended north from No.3 to some small quarries cut in the cliffs to the north (Nos. 1 and 2).  It was a precarious, twisting route and some is now washed away and a rockfall has made passage difficult. 

 

Apart from the restored bit by the Atlantic Island Center, the only bit of rail I found was this bit of bridge rail, up in No. 1 quarry:

 

Rather remarkably for such an obscure location, there is a Pathe News reel of the tramway in operation in 1938 together with quarry working and slate making, to be found here: https://www.britishpathe.com/video/slate-quarry-issue-title-antipodes-calling/query/QUARRY+BLASTING

It is best watched with the sound off, as the commentary, typical of its time, is rather cringe-worthy.

 

[decauville1126]

Sorry, but I can't see or access any of the images. Perhaps if someone has seen them ok they could advise - it could just be me!

[Chris116]

5 minutes ago, decauville1126 said:

Sorry, but I can't see or access any of the images. Perhaps if someone has seen them ok they could advise - it could just be me!

The site had to be taken down earlier and it is now catching up with where photos are. Wait a day or two and it should all be getting better.

[rogerfarnworth]

Excellent item and photos!