Many of us have looked around the upper parts of Dinorwig, mainly the Garret and Australia Quarries, but has anyone ever explored the lower part? The section I mean is right above the power ststion, and has many points of interest, including several tunnels linking to pits otherwise inacessible.

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I explored that part some years ago. The area has been badly affected by waste from the power station excavation being tipped in the main pit that was there. This was located behind the bridge that still stands. If you look carefully at photgraphs you can see the waste they created now extends HIGHER than the bridge. Quite incredible to think that was a PIT! I have a photo taken in the pit looking UP at the very same bridge.
The very old B&W film in Welsh Slate Museum shows a loco crossing the bridge with the pit in the foreground.
There are very few items left in that lower area apart from the aforementioned bridge, a lift incline, and a loco shed with pit and pit rail bars.

yep, on the map it's marked as a pit quarry, Sinc New York could it have been?
thanks

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Which map are you referring to?

The map/plan I have shows level names (and numbers ie C5A etc) and quarry departments (such as Braich, Garret etc). It doesn't show pit names.

The one I use is from a book 'Delving in Dinorwig', which doesn't give much idea of scale, but shows you where the pits are. Does your's show where the tunnels are?

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I'm not at home atm, but when I get back later tonight I'll check something in one of my books that might be relevant to this.

BTW, LAP, thanks for the old Dinorwic pics - would you mind if I moved them later to the archive album? As they're around 30 years old they'd be more relevant there I think.

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Thanks, will move them...

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I can move them if you like, I can do it without them being uploaded again - nice and quick and save you the bother 🙂

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I've only done two so far, so you could...

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Will do, later tonight, I'll move the remaining two and then remove them all from the user album if that's ok with you.

Feel free to keep uploading any others in the mean time of course.

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When they get scanned...
cheers 😉

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yep, on the map it's marked as a pit quarry, Sinc New York could it have been?
thanks

Hafod Owen I think?

The best book on Dinorwic I've read to date is Dinrowic The Llanberis Slate Quarry by Reg Chambers Jones. A good mix of information, historical fact and photographs. ISBN1-84494-33-0

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Here's a few photos of around the area JohnnearCfon mentioned. I took these back in January on a gloomy afternoon and never considered them good enough to put in an album, but as they're of relevance here...

Here's the bridge, with (as John says) evidence of the filling of the pit to above the level of the bridge.

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Personal-Album-1-Image-002/[/img]

If you've got the Dinorwic book mentioned in my last post, then compare this to the picture on page 170!

A view across the bridge:

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Personal-Album-1-Image-003/[/img]

And from the power station end of the bridge with an incline visible in the distance:

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Personal-Album-1-Image-004/[/img]

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Photos aren't that bad, have you any more?
I've got a different book to you, but'v never read the newest one you mentioned...

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I think it was named Twll Mour (big Twll I guess) after the sinc, as there is also a hugh **** next to the old sinc, which is maybe a little obvious...
Last time I went, my dad only had a analogue video camera, and tried to photograp the recording...
I think there were also some shots of Penrhyn on that tape, as we somehow persuaded the site operator to let us walk up to the edge...
😉
http://www.mine-explorer.co.uk/mines/Dinorwig_243/Dinorwig.asp 

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Tell ya wat though - that Table incline transporter, near the Compressor house, which goes down to Bonc Roller level (where the blondin is) is in amazing condition, but if that cable snapps - it could end up like some of the other runnaways.... I wonder if there is a way we can slow down the procedure. Must also get down to New York level next time.... 😉

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Seeing as I haven't been underground for a while, what with rebuilding two bathrooms, last Wednesday evening swmbo rushed off to attend to a poorly dog, so I seized the opportunity to leg it out of the door with a camera to Dinorwig and spent a couple of hours taking pics. The following are (mostly) from the western side of the workings - and I'll confess now to taking a few 'arty' shots ;)


This building is on the edge of the huge 'Australia' pit and is on a plateau with several others including what appears to be a blast shelter for the quarry loco.

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Dinorwig-18-07-2007-Image-001/[/img]


An incline winding house is silhouetted against a very blue sky - this was taken well after sunset with an exposure time of 10 seconds. The winder still has the wires round the drum, although these are rusted in place. The two incline trucks are still in place and although the roof is mostly collapsed, the incline head is in a much better state than most.

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Dinorwig-18-07-2007-Image-014/[/img]

For comparison, this is an incline which has been restored as part of the Welsh Slate Museum and is - apparently - the only one of its type still in usable condition. I've got a nasty suspicion it's not gravity-driven any longer: due to health and safety concerns it has been converted to use an electric motor.

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Dinorwig-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-030/[/img]


This is perhaps the only remaining Blondin still attached to its original wire. It formed part of a massive aerial tramway system, which winched slate in trucks up into the air from the pit and then to a plateau at the side from where it could be taken to the mill.

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Dinorwig-18-07-2007-Image-005/[/img]


The truck below would originally have been used with the aerial tramway system: the straps at the corners would have provided the attachment point. This truck is pictured in the grounds of the quarry hospital, which is now a museum.

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Dinorwig-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-031/[/img]


And finally, the iconic Dinorwig image: coats abandoned in a building from back in 1969 when the quarry closed. Although they appear to be mostly undisturbed, a search of Google images reveals that they have a habit of moving around quite a bit, presumably being posed by photographers.

[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Dinorwig-18-07-2007-Image-007/[/img]

The full photo album is at this http://www.aditnow.co.uk/album/Dinorwig-18-07-2007/?gowhere=%2f 

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Must get back here soon, it's like my little world... 😉
One thing we should all do is plan a climbing trip in Dinorwig to access some of the more inacessible bits... (not me.. vanoord)
However.. we're still no closer to finding out about that chamber...

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[img]http://www.aditnow.co.uk/showimage?f=/community/Dinorwig-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-051/[/img]

Dali's hole obviously drains via a tunnel. When last at Dinorwig my dad and I found the other end of the tunnel on the other side of the path and down a bit of an old incline. This was blocked - though there was a big stream of water spraying out. Anyone have any idea where the tunnel enters the pit. In my opinion it must be blocked for quite a significant length - as it takes quite some time for the pit to drain.

regards
Linden

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Found this link while looking for something else - there's a superb set of photographs, with some decent captions and explanations of the buildings and sites etc. Without looking I think your Dali's hole is Twll Harriet. I have a copy of the original of that strange sketch in "Delving in Dinorwic" - always meant to correlate it to the 1912 25in. O.S. but havn't. I've scanned some of my 1974ish negs - I'll upload some if I get chance today.


Graham

http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=1685746 

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