Llyn y Gadair - Page 1

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Llyn y Gadair Page 2

[Pic 1] Llyn y Gadair Quarry - General view (1990)

Located next to - and named after - the lake in pic 1 (above) Llyn y Gadair is a small qaurry with several seperate working lives that have left very different remains, plus a number of unfinished or aborted schemes. The view above displays the sites location with, disappearing into the distance, an exit tramway course (that was never properly finished) but which almost reaches the site of the Welsh Highland Railway station at Rhyd Ddu - culminating in several unfinished supports for what would have carried a bridge over very boggy ground. This tramway course can be seen crossing over an earlier tramway route (that led to the tips running out into the lake) which is defined by a light line in the grass running off (middle) left from the tips to a (off camera) pit.

The photo is taken from atop a waste tip (dating from the last phase of the quarries working life - see pics 2 & 3 below) from which an incline drops down to the exit tramway from the lower left side. Also of note is the fine building (middle picture) that is still in use by the local farmer, and the 4 sqaure columns that were part of an aborted new mill over by the trees - see pic 7.

[Pic 2] Llyn y Gadair Quarry - Upper mill (1990)

Located at the head of the waste tip (from which pic 1 was taken from) is this fine mill remains - probably dating from the 1920's working period - with open workings close by (left of photo) that were clearly worked around that time. I termed this 'Upper Mill' purely because it's higher up than the other two known mill sites.

[Pic 3] Llyn y Gadair Quarry - Waste tip (1990)

This is the waste tip running north from the Upper mill - complete with intact rails and the poor remains of the incline drumhouse. Strange how there are no rails leading to the (long out of use) incline - the last workers of the site obviously had another way of getting product down to lake level.

(Continued on Page 2)

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