Welcome

Gathering the Jewels features over 30,000 images of objects, books, letters, aerial photographs and other items from museums, archives and libraries throughout Wales.

Search the map

Thumbnail image of Wales,

New to Gathering the Jewels is G.I.S. A geographical search facility that will enable searching by location and place name.

Topics

Home » Industry » Slate industry » Machinery

Displaying results 1 to 6 out of 23

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Next >

  • This is the oldest known working compressor by Ingersoll Rand in the United Kingdom. It was manufactured in 1924 in the United States of America and was used at Garreg Fawr Quarry, Waunfawr, Caernarfonshire. It was acquired and renovated by the Welsh Slate Museum in 1985.
Ingersoll Rand compressor
  • The Korfmann air-driven chain-saw was manufactured in Germany c.1949-53. It was used to cut slate slabs underground at the Aberllefenni (and possibly Braich Goch) slate quarries, Merionethshire. The winch at the rear was used to pull the machine along the rock face.
'Korfmann' slate-cutting saw
  • The oilstore crane was used at the Dinorwig quarry's Gilfach Ddu workshops - now the site of the Welsh Slate Museum, Llanberis. It was used to lift the oil drums on to the stillages in the oil store.
Oil-store crane
  • This crane was built by Thomas Smith & Sons (Rodley Ltd) at Leeds, c.1937. During the Second World War it was used to clear the streets of London following air raids. It was moved to Wrexham and then to Evans Bros. Dwr Oer Slates, Blaenau Ffestiniog, where it was used from 1949 to 1974. In 1982 it arrived at the site of the Welsh Slate Museum, Llanberis, and was fitted with a new body in the McAlpine colours (yellow and green). The 3-cylinder 'blackstone' diesel engine is the original and it was rebuilt by Meurig Evans in 1949. The bucket is able to lift a load up to half a ton.
Smith Rodley crane
  • Between 1870 and 1925, this water wheel supplied the Dinorwig Quarry workshops at Gilfach Ddu with power. It was built by the De Winton company from Caernarfon and is the largest water wheel on mainland Britain, measuring 15.4 meters in diameter. It is estimated that it cost £560 to assemble and erect the wheel in 1870 and £3500 for the cast iron pipes, while the valves, the shafting, gearing and pulleys in the workshops amounted to £1393-19 shillings and the bridge which supported the pipes across afon Bala was built for £50-50 shillings. In 1877 the wheel itself was valued at £1200.
Water wheel
  • The Vivian Quarry incline. The incline (railway on a slope) was built in the 1860s and was in use until the 1920s. Slates were loaded on to the wagons which then travelled down the incline to the bottom of the mountain where they were unloaded. The slate was then carried from Dinorwig to the port of Felinheli (Port Dinorwig) by rail. The empty wagons would then travel back up the mountain as another loaded wagon travelled down the incline. After many years of neglect, the incline (known as V2) was restored to its original condition in 1998.
Vivian Quarry Incline, Llanberis