Cedryn Quarry Tramway

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Cedryn Quarry Tramway
Locale	Wales
Dates of operation	c. 1861 – c. 1888
Track gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Length	4 miles
Headquarters	Dolgarrog

The Cedryn Quarry Tramway (later largely used as the route of the Eigiau Tramway) was an industrial narrow gauge railway that connected the slate quarries at Cedryn and Cwm Eigiau to the quays at Dolgarrog.

1 History
2 Route
3 References
4 See also

[edit] History

The slate quarry at Cedryn is first recorded in 1827. The output of this remote site was initially taken by horse pack to the quays on the River Conwy at Dolgarrog. A 5 mile long tramway was constructed in the period 1861-1863. The gauge was approximately 2 ft (610 mm) and was built using wrought iron T section rails.

[edit] Route

The tramway started at the foot of the quarry exit incline and passed over the Afon Eigiau on a wooden trestle. It crossed the Eigiau again at Bont-y-Cedryn and then skirted the site of what is now the Eigiau Reservoir. Passing the col at Hafod-y-Rhiw the line ran along a series of low stone embankments to the top of a short incline at Coed Ty.

At Pwll Du the line reaches the point where the Cowlyd Tramway was later to branch off. From here line continues to the top of the Dolgarrog escarpment which it descends via two steep inclines. The upper incline was also later used by the Eigiau Tramway, and is today utilized by the two large pipes which carry water to the aluminum works. The lower incline passed through a short tunnel under the road at Tyddyn Isaf, and this former incline and tunnel can be seen today adjacent to the former (wooden) community centre. The tramway continued from the foot of this incline across the marshland to the edge of the River Conwy at Porth Llwyd wharf.

[edit] References

Richards, Alun John (1999). The Slate Regions of North and Mid Wales and their railways. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 9780863815522.
Boyd, James I. C. (1986). Narrow Gauge Railways in North Caernarvonshire: Volume Three The Dinorwic Quarry and Railways, The Great Orme Tramway and other rail systems. The Oakwood Press. ISBN0853613281.