Penmaenmawr & Welsh Granite Co.
 Cover of a Company brochure from the 1920s | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Penmaenmawr |
| Locale | Wales |
| Dates of operation | 1830s–1960s |
| Successor | Abandoned |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
The Penmaenmawr & Welsh Granite Co. owned and operated a major granite quarry on the north Wales coast located between Conwy and Llanfairfechan. Granite axe-heads and other implements from Neolithic quarries at Penmaenmawr have been found throughout Britain.
In the 1830s commercial granite quarries were opened on Penmaenmawr to meet the growing demand for granite setts. The granite was lowered from the quarry by self-acting inclines to the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge tramway which ran to jetties from where the setts were loaded into ships. The standard gauge Chester to Holyhead railway reached Penmaenmawr in 1848, after which the majority of the quarry output was sent by rail.
The quarry and its internal narrow gauge railway continued to thrive during the nineteenth century. Production at the quarry continues in 2006, though the railway was replaced by trucks in the 1960s.
Locomotives
[edit]| Name | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penmaen | De Winton | 0-4-0VB | 1878 | The remains of the locomotive remain at the quarry | |
| Llanfair | De Winton | 0-4-0VB | 1895 | Preserved at Gloddfa Ganol until 1997.[1] Now at the Welsh Highland Railway, Dinas railway station. | |
| Louisa | De Winton | 0-4-0VB | Scrapped | ||
| Watkin | De Winton | 0-4-0VB | Preserved at the Welsh Highland Railway, Caernarfon | ||
| Hughie[2] | Hunslet | 0-4-0ST | 1899 | 706 | Delivered in January 1900. Out of use by April 1942. Scrapped by 1951 |
| Stephen[2] | Hunslet | 0-4-0ST | 1902 | 771 | Out of use by April 1942. Scrapped by 1951 |
| Singapore[2] | Hunslet | 0-4-0ST | 1903 | 798 | Scrapped 1951 |
| Donald[2] | Hunslet | 0-4-0ST | 1905 | 866 | Out of use in August 1948. Scrapped 1951 |
| Tiger[2] | Hunslet | 0-4-0ST | 1902 | 764 | Inside cylinders. Out of use by April 1942. Scrapped 1951 |
References
[edit]- ^ Industrial locomotives 1979. Industrial Railway Society. 1979. pp. 240–2412. ISBN 0901096385.
- ^ a b c d e Thomas, Cliff (2001). Quarry Hunslets Of North Wales. Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-575-6.