Welsh Slate Quarry Museum - August 2003

The Welsh Slate Quarry Museum is well worth a visit if you are in Llanberis.  Located in the former Dinorwic Quarry workshops alongside the Llanberis Lake Railway, recent changes to national museums mean that there is no longer an admission fee.  As well as the workshop buildings and telling the history of the slate industry there are a series of interesting trails around parts of the former Dinorwic quarry complex.
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The Museum, housed in the former Dinorwic Quarry workshop buildings is seen from high above on the hillside by the Vivian quarry.   (06/08/2003)
The Museum, housed in the former Dinorwic Quarry workshop buildings is seen from high above on the hillside by the Vivian quarry.
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The Vivian Quarry

The Vivian Quarry was set apart from the main Dinorwic complex but from the point of the museum is located conveniently adjacent to the main museum site.  The pit is now flooded and an example of a Blondin aerial ropeway has been erected to show how slate slabs and waste were remolved from these deep pits.

The Vivian Quarry pit.   (06/08/2003)
The Vivian Quarry pit.
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A pillar left in the Vivian Quarry.   (06/08/2003)
A pillar left in the Vivian Quarry.
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The Vivian pit viewed from higher up the hillside.   (06/08/2003)
The Vivian pit viewed from higher up the hillside.
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The Vivian Transporter Incline

To bring the slate back to ground level the Vivian Quarry had a series of transporter inclines, where individual slate wagons were moved between the levels on gravity balanced platforms rather than as rakes directly attached to the incline cable. The lowest level of the Vivian incline has been restored to working order and is used to demonstrate the movement of slate wagons (electrically, the slates are securely bolted into all the wagons!)

The Vivian transporter inclines, the lower section has been restored to working order.   (06/08/2003)
The Vivian transporter inclines, the lower section has been restored to working order.
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Looking up the bottom Vivian incline towards the winding house.   (06/08/2003)
Looking up the bottom Vivian incline towards the winding house.
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Slate wagons pass on the restored Vivian incline.   (06/08/2003)
Slate wagons pass on the restored Vivian incline.
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