JohnnearCfon
18 years ago
Ynys Pandy Slate Mill Shadow

26-11-06

Having realised in February 2006 that not only was the time of day critical to get this but also time of year, I had to wait another 9 months for the sun to be right again!

đŸ”—Personal-Album-8-Image-004[linkphoto]Personal-Album-8-Image-004[/linkphoto][/link]

Prince of Wales Slate Quarry Incline Head

29-05-05

đŸ”—Personal-Album-8-Image-006[linkphoto]Personal-Album-8-Image-006[/linkphoto][/link]

Cwm Bychan Top End of Ropeway

Towers heading down valley towards Nantmor

24-04-05

đŸ”—Personal-Album-8-Image-007[linkphoto]Personal-Album-8-Image-007[/linkphoto][/link]





Vanoord
18 years ago
I think I'm allowed to turn these into a discussion if I want :D

Is the aerial ropeway still there? I shall stick it high on my list of things to do if it is: it looks very like a ski chair lift to me.

Any idea what sort of age it is?
Hello again darkness, my old friend...
JohnnearCfon
18 years ago
That photo was taken April 2005. I would imagine they are all still there. As can be seen from that photo as well as the top "terminus" there are at least 4 intermediate towers still extant. There are the remains of several others plus various artifacts, including (near the bottom) a circular rock cage, although I am sure it was previously a medievel torture instrument!

đŸ”—Personal-Album-8-Image-009[linkphoto]Personal-Album-8-Image-009[/linkphoto][/link]

I am sure I remember Emma Peel being locked in a similar thing on The Avengers!

As for the age of the towers, I am not ure off the top of my head, I will look it up.
Vanoord
18 years ago
Cheers John :)

Were the 'cars' fixed to the wire or were they removable?
Hello again darkness, my old friend...
merddinemrys
18 years ago
They would have been removable - they would have come off the cable at the top and bottom stations to be loaded and unloaded. There was a similar one near where I live - pictures at http://www.davel.f2s.com/hendrecoed/Merioneth-Manganese/mines/egryn/index.html 
JohnnearCfon
18 years ago
The haulage system was built circa 1925 and only used for about 4 years.
JohnnearCfon
18 years ago
"Vanoord" wrote:

Cheers John :)

Were the 'cars' fixed to the wire or were they removable?



They were removable This photo shows a closeup of how that was acheived. The original photo shows 4 of the "carriers" still attached to the semi circular bar where they were parked after being detached from the cable and before being reattached after loading.

đŸ”—Personal-Album-8-Image-010[linkphoto]Personal-Album-8-Image-010[/linkphoto][/link]
simonrl
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18 years ago
Would they have automatically detached themsevles from the haulage cable? Like a modern ski lift (sprung operated clamp on the cable) or would it have needed stopping each time for the hoppers to be manually shifted from the cable to the loading/unloading area?

And when was the system built?

I had a look in a couple of the adits once, to the left (with your back to the top station) a very short one that looked to have collapsed) and to the right a flooded one IIRC, had no wellies or torch that day though so didn't look further.
my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by
JohnnearCfon
18 years ago
Not sure how it operated.

Built circa 1925
ChrisP
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18 years ago
As this is a single cable system, the power source would be further down the valley, which would rotate the entire system (an endless rope in effect). The terminal is pictured in John's photo, this had a large pulley where the rope changed direction, and a shunt rail which is what the carriers are resting on now. The load was suspended on the carriers, which had an inverted V shaped saddle so they sat on the rope and were pulled along by it. As the carrier approached the shunt rail the wheels caught on it, and the carrier was pushed onto the shunt rail and the V shaped saddle was no longer resting on the rope so the carrier and load stopped.

Hope that makes sense... ::) ::)
simonrl
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18 years ago
Thanks both.

ChrisP, was the carrier held in place solely by friction with the cable wedged in the V shaped saddle? Seems a very neat approach to making a detachable carrier.
my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by
ChrisP
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18 years ago
"simonrl" wrote:

Thanks both.

was the carrier held in place solely by friction with the cable wedged in the V shaped saddle?



Yep that's right, in effect the carrier hung on the rope by the saddle. The wheels only came into play at the shunt rail, so carriers could be taken off the cable to be stored or loaded/unloaded. A very cunning sytem!
simonrl
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18 years ago
Very cunning yes, simple engineering with no complex mechanisms.

But then I guess the payload couldn't sue if the carrier fell of đŸ™‚
my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by
merddinemrys
18 years ago
The person stood underneath it at the time could! If they lived to tell the tale!
grahami
18 years ago
See LeeW's post to useful links concerning the PDMHS pdfs - one of the documents there is a description of the Cwm Bychan Mine with some plans and illustrations. And refers to an intermediate ropeway station removed for scrap.

Interesting.


The map is the territory - especially in chain scale.
owdsnuffy
18 years ago
Yeah the ropeway is very much still there took photo's of it 17/09/2007. still looking in good nick!

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