Glynrhonwy quarries

The Glynrhonwy quarries (also known as the Glyn-Rhonwy quarries) were two adjacent quarries in the Glynrhonwy area, north-west of Llanberis, in Carnarvonshire (now Gwynedd), Wales.

Glynrhonwy
The west wall of the upper pit of Lower Glynrhonwy Quarry
Location
Glynrhonwy
Location in Gwynedd
Locationnear Llanberis
CountyCarnarvonshire (now Gwynedd)
CountryWales, UK
Coordinates53°07′25″N 4°08′53″W
SH 563 607
Production
ProductsSlate
TypeQuarry
History
Openedearly 1700s
Closed1930 (1930)

They were:

  • Upper Glynrhonwy quarry, known locally as "Glyn Ganol" or "Middle Glyn", which operated from 1861 to 1930,[1] and
  • Lower Glynrhonwy quarry, known locally as "Captain Taylor's Quarry", which operated from the early 1700s to 25 January 1930.[2]

The quarries operated internal railways of 2 feet (610 mm) gauge and were served by Glynrhonwy Siding off the LNWR's Caernarfon to Llanberis branch.[3][4]

Lower Glynrhonwy was acquired by the Air Ministry in 1939 for munitions storage. It occupied the site until 1961.[5] During the Second World War the site generated two extra trains per day on some occasions.[6] The railway siding was taken out of use on 18 December 1956.[7]

A 100 MW pumped storage project, marketed as a "quarry battery", received approval in 2017 and as at 2019 had reached the "detailed engineering design" stage.[8][9]

References
  1. Boyd 1981, p. 252.
  2. Boyd 1981, p. 251.
  3. Boyd 1981, p. 248.
  4. The siding and adjacent quarrying, via National Library of Scotland
  5. "RAF bomb disposal". digiDo.
  6. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Map XXVIII.
  7. Dunn 1958, p. 719.
  8. "Green light for Welsh storage". 8 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  9. "Project Status". Snowdonia Pumped Hydro.

Sources
  • Boyd, James I.C. (1990) [1972]. Narrow Gauge Railways in North Caernarvonshire, Volume 1: The West. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-273-5. OCLC 650247345.
  • Dunn, J.M. (October 1958). Cooke, B.W.C. (ed.). "The Afonwen Line-2". The Railway Magazine. London: Tothill Press Limited. 104 (690). ISSN 0033-8923.
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bangor to Portmadoc: Including Three Llanberis Lines. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-906008-72-7.
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