A couple of queries!

Firstly, does anyone know the proper numbering of the floors?

The version I'm aware of has Floor 5 as being the one immediately below the open quarry, then 4, 3 and Floor 2 being the one with the long adit - and then Floor 1 being the flooded one below.

Whilst this is broadly logical, ie the floor numbers increase with height, it's also pretty illogical in that:
(i) the most recent floor has the lowest number, which can't be correct; and more fundamentally
(ii) how on earth would the quarry management have concluded that they should start at Floor 5 (or 6 if you count the open workings) and correctly guess that they would finish working when they'd got to Floor 1?!

My suspicion would be that the numbering system is a recent one and that the original system would have started with 1 at the top and then downwards. But would that have started at the pit, the mill or somewhere else?

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Secondly, a pic of a chamber from Floor 4 (ie two up from the long drainage adit).

🔗Rhiw-Bach-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-41195[linkphoto]Rhiw-Bach-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-41195[/linkphoto][/link]

Whilst I was editing this, my eye was caught by the top of the chamber:

🔗Rhiw-Bach-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-41196[linkphoto]Rhiw-Bach-Slate-Mine-User-Album-Image-41196[/linkphoto][/link]

Any ideas what it might be?

Choices would seem to be:
- some sort of marking / rock intrusion
- a bridge
- pipework

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I have the abandonment plans for Rb. I will have a look later.

I have the abandonment plans for Rb. I will have a look later.

Ta John, that would be very helpful :thumbup:

Are they scannable, perchance...? 😉

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No! They are massive!! I haven't a clue what scale they are at until I look at them, but they are large.

Right, starting from the bottom, the floor below the main tunnel is Floor I. It does appear to be a "l" so could be easily misinterpreted.

Above that is Floor H which is level with and has two (or possibly three) connections to the main tunnel on it's level section (there maybe one right at the foot of the incline, but it is a bit of a tangle there.

Above that there are Floors G, F, and E. The plan mentions "Three floors of 56' 6" E to H".

Still further up the incline and mainly in the pit, with chambers off the pit is Floor D.

The scale of that plan is 66' to one inch.

Another plan of the open pit workings (the pit now flooded with a causeway across is 50' to inch.

The third plan which shows the construction/progress of incline an tunnel is scaled but not labelled, it is 100' to one inch. That plan shows very few workings other than in the small pit near incline head, but location of bore holes. It also shows there was a proposal to bore a drainage tunnel across to the other larger pit. Dated August 1909 (oh dear I missed it's centenary!) :happybday:

It would seem to have been started at both ends (at differing dates) and met part way up the incline late October 1902.

I suppose I ought to mention Griff R Jones' book on "Rhiwbach SLate Quarry, Its History and Development" ISBN 0-9533692-2-6

Its interesting, but most of the illustrations, including plans, could have been clearer.

I have a tracing of the Rhiwbach Plan somewhere. I'll try and get it scanned one of these days (yes you can scan a large tracing or even a printed map/plan - Prontaprint have done several for me including my 6 foot plus long Oakeleys. The width is usually the problem...

Cheers

Grahami

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I suppose I ought to mention Griff R Jones' book on "Rhiwbach SLate Quarry, Its History and Development" ISBN 0-9533692-2-6

Grahami

it is almost completely out of print and I have obtained the last few off another book seller
🙂
Mike

As regards to the second photo I remember disscusing this with simon on the last trip and we thorght it might have been a pece of compressor pipe that has been used as a roof support

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I have the same query as Vanoord in regard to floor numbering, but for the Wrysgan slate quarry. The map posted on this site for Wrysgan also shows the lowest floor as floor 1. :confused:

When I was involved in the IA survey of Wrysgan, we had a copy of map which had been based the OS 25" map with the floors numbered so that the lowest was floor 8. The mill was on floor 4, and the top adit was floor 1. The map showed land ownership boudaries, so I would imagine the numbering was official.

Cheers

Grahami

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Just uploaded my version of Wrysgan which was cobbled together and then tidied up (!) from various sketches people produced during the IA survey in the 1980's. No doubt a lot has actually changed since then. Scale is only approximate.

Cheers

Grahami

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Thanks for the upload of the Wrysgan plan. Will be interesting to see your Rhiwbach plan if/when you get that scanned and uploaded.
🙂

If it's possible I would also love to see the scan,, I've been over the surface remains there many times .jools

For your info regarding scans, we do them in work (free to you lot) If they are plan copies (like building charts) and up to A0 wide 840mm Black and white.

Pm me if your interested.

Alternately most drawing office shops should do them but will charge something like 35 quid each. :lol:

Ta

pace

not *entirely* O/T but what is the access arrangement these days?

The situation at Rhiwbach is a bit cloudy at the moment, due to a change of policy by the landowners (the Forestry Commission). The recent death of one of the keyholders has added to the the confusion - and it sadly looks as if future trips may be difficult to organise.

This seems to mirror the problems at Pandora, where concerns from the landowner have seen access stopped - it seems to be an increasingly common occurrence.

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Shame :-(

Thanks for the reply - what to do about the prevailing wind in the world of access is the topic for a different thread me thinks!!!