Allt Ddu - Page 2

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* Allt Ddu Quarry (Dinorwig Slate Quarry) *

[Pic 5] Allt Ddu Quarry - View towards the pits (Aug 1982)

Looking back (from the same point in pic 3) towards the main workings with the Village Branch tramway rising up, and turning right, on an embankment, while on the middle left is the Mill area (see Pic 6) plus the top of the Bonc Bach embankment (in the distance) can be seen - distinguished by its white railings. Note the sheer size of the Dinorwig tips in the background - and somewhere under those tips is the possible location of another old quarry (Bryn Glas) as well as part of the route of the old 1824-1843 Dinorwic Railway. Also, off to the right of the rising embankment, was the Bryn Llys quarry.

[Pic 6] Allt Ddu Quarry - Mill site (Aug 1982)

There are very few photo's of Allt Ddu and even fewer of the original mill site there so, although this isn't a great shot, it does show something of the layout here, with the main mill building in the middle distance. The original Allt Ddu mill was out of use by around the 1870s and the one seen here is the 1906 electric powered mill. This later served as relief for the main Dinorwig mills and even had Dinorwig product bought down the Village Branch for processing here - which then had top be taken back again! Still reasonably intact at the time of the 1969 closure it had, by 1982, become a broken shell of its former state. For reference the Chwarel Fawr incline head is close behind the camera and the tramway route out onto the Fawr tip can be seen running by the mill where it then (briefly) turned sharp left to its connection with the Village Branch tramway.

[Pic 7] Allt Ddu Quarry - Connections to Chwarel Fawr (Aug 1982)

Pic 7 shows the connections to Chwarel Fawr with the Bonc bach tramway (and embankment) running across the foreground (it started, out of view, from a point midway up the transporter incline up to Allt Ddu) and heading more or less north into trees where it met a tunnel into the main pit. The lower tramway, which connected to the base of the same incline, ran to the right of the black end faced house (along the line of trees) to meet another tunnel through into the pit. As can be seen later, all the features on view here have now long gone!

[Pic 8] Allt Ddu Quarry - Village Branch crossing (Aug 1982)

This view shows the loco hauled Village Branch crossing the road at the site of the bus circle, with the rails still then in situ. From here (off right of camera) this line then climbed steeply on an embankment and went on to make a connection with the Dinorwig system at the site of the steam mills - More on this tramway later. Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, the route led directly to the connection with the line up from the Allt Ddu mill. Note, in the far distance, the original horse tramway route (on an embankment) can just be made out.