Penrhyn Quarry Railway
The Penrhyn Quarry Railway first opened in 1798 as the Llandegai Tramway.
It became the Penrhyn Railway in 1801 although on a different route.
Constructed to transport slate from Lord Penrhyns' slate quarries at Bethesda to Port Penrhyn at Bangor, Wales.
The railway was around six miles long and used a gauge of 1 ft 10.75 in. Note technically the gauge was always 2ft 0.5in over the centres of the rails
It is one of the oldest narrow gauge railways in the world; and it was closed in 1962.
Penrhyn Railroad (1801-1878)
The success of the Llandegai Tramway encouraged the owners of the Penrhyn quarry to consider a similar tramway from their slate quarry to Porth Penrhyn. The plan subsumed the existing tramway into a longer railroad that connected Bethesda to the sea.
Construction started on 2nd September 1800, relaying and extending the Llandegai Tramway, with the first slate train traveling on 25th. June 1801. The new railroad was also 2 ft 0.5 in gauge. The connection to the Llandegai flint mill continued to be used until 1831. The railroad was operated by horse power along with balanced inclines and gravity.
1804 Description of the Penryn Iron Railway by Benjamin Wyatt of Lime Grove, near Bangor. The line is 6.25 miles long and divided in to five stages. It was begun in October 1800 and finished in July 1801. It uses wheels that were concave and running on an oval pofile rail thus avoiding the problems with the normal 'L' shapped rail. [1]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh, Scotland), Monday, December 31, 1804