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Aberllefenni Slate Quarry
Aberllefenni quarry is the collective name of three slate quarries, Foel Grochan, Hen Gloddfa (also known as Hen Chwarel) and Ceunant Ddu, located in Cwm Hengae, just to the west of Aberllefenni, Gwynedd, North Wales. It was the longest continually operated slate mine in the world until its closure in 2003. Foel Grochan is the quarry on the north side of the valley, facing Ceunant Ddu and Hen Gloddfa on the south; all three were worked as a single concern throughout their history. Rock was mainly extracted underground, though all three quarries had open pits as well. History Aberllefenni quarry may have started operating as early as the 14th century. The earliest confirmed date is 1500 when the local house Plas Aberllefenni was roofed in slates from the mine. In the seventeenth century the Lloyd family owned the quarry, and it passed to the Campbell family in 1725. In 1806, John Davies gained control which passed to the executor of his estate, Pryce Jones, in 1824. It was Dav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and Ceredigion over the River Dyfi. The scenic Llŷn Peninsula and most of Snowdonia National Park are in Gwynedd. Bangor is the home of Bangor University. As a local government area, it is the second largest in Wales in terms of land area and also one of the most sparsely populated. A majority of the population is Welsh-speaking. ''Gwynedd'' also refers to being one of the preserved counties of Wales, covering the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd, both culturally and historically, ''Gwynedd'' can also be used for most of North Wales, such as the area that was policed by the Gwynedd Constabulary. The current area is , with a population of 121,874 as measured in the 2011 Censu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penrhyn Quarry
The Penrhyn quarry is a slate quarry located near Bethesda, North Wales. At the end of the nineteenth century it was the world's largest slate quarry; the main pit is nearly long and deep, and it was worked by nearly 3,000 quarrymen. It has since been superseded in size by slate quarries in China, Spain and the USA. Penrhyn is still Britain's largest slate quarry but its workforce is now nearer 200. History The first reference to slate extraction at Penrhyn is from 1570, when the quarry is mentioned in a Welsh poem. The quarry was developed in the 1770s by Richard Pennant, later Baron Penrhyn. Much of his early working was for local use only as no large scale transport infrastructure was developed until Pennant's involvement. From then on, slates from the quarry were transported to the sea at Port Penrhyn on the narrow gauge Penrhyn Quarry Railway built in 1798, one of the earliest railway lines. In the 19th century the Penrhyn Quarry, along with the Dinorwic quarry, domi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corris
Corris is a village in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, about north of the town of Machynlleth. The village lies on the west bank of the Afon Dulas (which here forms the boundary with Powys), around that river's confluence with the Afon Deri. Its railway station is the headquarters and museum of the Corris Railway, a preserved narrow gauge railway. The area has a community council. The community council system replaced the former parish council system and tackles local issues, acts as a contact point between local government and residents for information and resources on various issues. The community elects one member to represent Corris/Mawddwy ward of Gwynedd Council. Besides Corris, the ward covers Mawddwy community to the north-east. __NOTOC__ Notable people * Rhisiart Morgan Davies (1903–1958) a Welsh physicist. * John Disley (1928–2016), Olympic medal winning athlete at the 1952 Summer Olympics in the 3000 metres steeplechase. * Kathy Jones Kathy Louise Jone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Industrial Railways In Wales
Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominated by one or more industries * Industrial loan company, a financial institution in the United States that lends money, and may be owned by non-financial institutions * Industrial organization, a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure and boundaries between firms and markets * Industrial Revolution, the development of industry in the 18th and 19th centuries * Industrial society, a society that has undergone industrialization * Industrial technology, a broad field that includes designing, building, optimizing, managing and operating industrial equipment, and predesignated as acceptable for industrial uses, like factories * Industrial video, a video that targets “industry” as its primary audience * Industria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slate Mines In Gwynedd
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. Foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering, but instead is in planes perpendicular to the direction of metamorphic compression. The foliation in slate is called " slaty cleavage". It is caused by strong compression causing fine grained clay flakes to regrow in planes perpendicular to the compression. When expertly "cut" by striking parallel to the foliation, with a specialized tool in the quarry, many slates will display a property called fissility, forming smooth flat sheets of stone which have long been used for roofing, floor tiles, and other purposes. Slate is frequently grey in color, especially when seen, en masse, covering roofs. However, slate occurs in a variety of colors even from a single locality; for ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The 60% smaller island of Ireland is to the west—these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks, form the British Isles archipelago. Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a landbridge now known as Doggerland, Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about , making it the world's third-most-populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The term "Great Britain" is often used to refer to England, Scotland and Wales, including their component adjoining islands. Great Britain and Northern Ireland now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambrian Railways
The Cambrian Railways owned of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line. History Creation of the Cambrian Railways: 1864 The Cambrian Railways Company was created on 25 July 1864 when the Cambrian Railways Act of Parliament received Royal Assent. The company was formed by amalgamating most of the railway companies in mid Wales: the Oswestry and Newtown Railway, the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway, the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway and the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the most widely used track gauge around the world, with approximately 55% of the lines in the world using it. All high-speed rail lines use standard gauge except those in Russia, Finland, and Uzbekistan. The distance between the inside edges of the rails is defined to be 1435 mm except in the United States and on some heritage British lines, where it is defined in U.S. customary/ Imperial units as exactly "four feet eight and one half inches" which is equivalent to 1435.1mm. History As railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge (the distance, or width, between the inner sides of the rails) to be used. Different railways used different gauges, and where rails of different gauge met � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narrow Gauge Railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structure gauges, and lighter rails, they can be less costly to build, equip, and operate than standard- or broad-gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often used in mountainous terrain, where engineering savings can be substantial. Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often built to serve industries as well as sparsely populated communities where the traffic potential would not justify the cost of a standard- or broad-gauge line. Narrow-gauge railways have specialised use in mines and other environments where a small structure gauge necessitates a small loading gauge. In some countries, narrow gauge is the standard; Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Corris) is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales. The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, running originally from quays on the River Dyfi at Morben and Derwenlas, skirting the town of Machynlleth and then following the Dulas Valley north to Corris and on to Aberllefenni. Branches served the slate quarries at Corris Uchaf, Aberllefenni, the isolated quarries around Ratgoed and quarries along the length of the Dulas Valley. The railway closed in 1948, but a preservation society was formed in 1966, initially opening a museum; a short section of line between Corris and Maespoeth was re-opened to passengers in 2002. The railway now operates as a tourist attraction. A new steam locomotive was built for the railway, which was delivered in 2005. The two surviving locomotives, plus some of the original rolling stock, are preserved o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narrow Vein
The Narrow Vein Mudstone Formation (commonly known as the Narrow Vein) is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is silty, homogeneous or finely-laminated mudstone. It generally a medium blue colour. This formation has been commercially quarried as slate in several locations along its length. The formation is between and thick and runs from Dinas Mawddwy south-west to Cardigan Bay at Tywyn. Outcrops The formation is exposed in a number of locations in Mid Wales where glacial valleys cut across it. It is especially visible in the quarries along its length Commercial quarrying The Narrow Vein is one of the two major slate veins in Mid Wales that were commercially quarried. Narrow Vein rock is generally more splittable than Broad Vein rock and was often used to make roofing slates. The Narrow Vein was quarried in the following locations: * Bryn Eglwys where the Broad Vein was also worked, connected to the Talyl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broad Vein
The Broad Vein Mudstone Formation (commonly known as the Broad Vein, historically known as the Red Vein and in Welsh as Y Faen Goch) is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is silty mudstone, intensely bioturbated in places. It varies in colour from a pale to a medium blue. This formation has been commercially quarried as slate in several locations along its length. The formation is between and thick and runs from Dinas Mawddwy south-west to Cardigan Bay at Tywyn. Outcrops The formation is exposed in a number of locations in Mid Wales where glacial valleys cut across it. It is especially visible in the quarries along its length. Commercial quarrying The Broad Vein is one of the two major slate veins in Mid Wales that were commercially quarried. Broad Vein rock is generally dense, with few natural joints, so most of the commercial use was for slab and products such as mantlepieces, cisterns and (later) elect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
