Hendre-Ddu Tramway
Encyclopedia
The Hendre-Ddu Tramway was an industrial
narrow gauge railway built in 1867 to connect the Hendre-Ddu Slate quarry
to Aberangell
station on the Mawddwy Railway
. It consisted of a main line 3½ miles long and several branch lines and spurs serving other quarries, local farms and the timber industry.
. The Company specialised in slate slabs for billiard table beds.
The standard gauge Mawddwy Railway, opened in 1867 connected the Cambrian Railway at Cemmaes Road to Dinas Mawddwy, passing through the small village of Aberangell. Sir Edmund Buckley built the Hendre Ddu Tramway to carry slate from his quarry down to Aberangell station. Several other quarries had branches and spurs onto the Tramway, as well as a brickworks, a sawmill and several local farms.
The slate slabs for billiard tables were carried on special trestle wagons similar to those on the nearby Corris Railway
. Quarry workers rode in open cars which were occasionally also used for tourist excursions. During the First World War a branch was laid in lightweight portable "Jublilee" track from Cefn Gwyn along Cwm Caws for timber extraction.
When this work was finished in 1917 the track was lifted and re-laid on the trackbed of a long closed branch to Coed y Chwarel. It is believed that Baguley
petrol locomotive No. 774 was used on this line. This locomotive is now preserved as part of the collection of the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
.
During 1940 the Coed y Chwarel branch was again re-laid using Jubilee track for further timber extraction. This line was not lifted until October 1954 although the Hendre Ddu Tramway itself was converted into a road in 1941 for the safer conveyance of munitions which were stored in the Hendre Ddu Quarries during the war and for some years afterwards.
Industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...
narrow gauge railway built in 1867 to connect the Hendre-Ddu Slate quarry
Slate industry
The slate industry is the industry related to the extraction and processing of slate. Slate is either quarried from a slate quarry or reached by tunneling in a slate mine. Common uses for slate include as a roofing material, a flooring material, gravestones and memorial tablets, and for electrical...
to Aberangell
Aberangell
Aberangell is a village in Gwynedd, Wales named after the Welsh Folk-tale king Aberyn Angell .It stands at the confluence of the River Angell and the River Dyfi and was the terminus of the narrow gauge Hendre-Ddu Tramway and also had a station on the Mawddwy Railway. Aberangell has a very small...
station on the Mawddwy Railway
Mawddwy Railway
The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dovey Valley in mid-Wales that connected Cemmaes Road and the Cambrian Railway with Dinas Mawddwy....
. It consisted of a main line 3½ miles long and several branch lines and spurs serving other quarries, local farms and the timber industry.
History
Hendre Ddu slate quarry opened in the 1850s, and in 1864 the Hendre Ddu Slate and Slab Co. was established by Sir Edmund Buckley, 1st BaronetSir Edmund Buckley, 1st Baronet
Sir Edmund Buckley, 1st Baronet was an English landowner and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1878....
. The Company specialised in slate slabs for billiard table beds.
The standard gauge Mawddwy Railway, opened in 1867 connected the Cambrian Railway at Cemmaes Road to Dinas Mawddwy, passing through the small village of Aberangell. Sir Edmund Buckley built the Hendre Ddu Tramway to carry slate from his quarry down to Aberangell station. Several other quarries had branches and spurs onto the Tramway, as well as a brickworks, a sawmill and several local farms.
The slate slabs for billiard tables were carried on special trestle wagons similar to those on the nearby Corris Railway
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....
. Quarry workers rode in open cars which were occasionally also used for tourist excursions. During the First World War a branch was laid in lightweight portable "Jublilee" track from Cefn Gwyn along Cwm Caws for timber extraction.
When this work was finished in 1917 the track was lifted and re-laid on the trackbed of a long closed branch to Coed y Chwarel. It is believed that Baguley
Baguley
Baguley is a locality in Wythenshawe, and an electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England.Historically within Cheshire, the town is mentioned as Bagelei in the Domesday Book of 1086.-History:...
petrol locomotive No. 774 was used on this line. This locomotive is now preserved as part of the collection of the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is a purpose-built museum dedicated to narrow gauge railways situated at the station of the Talyllyn Railway in Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales....
.
During 1940 the Coed y Chwarel branch was again re-laid using Jubilee track for further timber extraction. This line was not lifted until October 1954 although the Hendre Ddu Tramway itself was converted into a road in 1941 for the safer conveyance of munitions which were stored in the Hendre Ddu Quarries during the war and for some years afterwards.
Operation
The wagons descended by gravity and were hauled back by horses, later by a road tractor and then a Simplex petrol loco was used from 1922.Locomotives
| Builder | Type | Works Number |
Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motor Rail Motor Rail Motor Rail was a British locomotive-building company, based in Bedford. Formed in 1911 as The Motor Rail & Tramcar Co Ltd, they built petrol and diesel engined locomotives, mainly narrow gauge. During World War I over 900 locos were supplied for use on temporary military supply railways... |
"Simplex" 4wPM | 2059 | Acquired for the tramway in 1922 | |
| Hendre-Ddu Tramway | Lorry Lorry -Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:... conversion |
n/a | 1930 | Unsuccessful and short-lived conversion of an Overland lorry |
| Baguley Baguley Baguley is a locality in Wythenshawe, and an electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England.Historically within Cheshire, the town is mentioned as Bagelei in the Domesday Book of 1086.-History:... |
4wPM | 744 | Believed to be used on the Coed y Chwarel forestry branch. |