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Water Balance Incline, Aberllefenni Slate Quarry

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NPRN275917
Map ReferenceSH71SE
Grid ReferenceSH7677010060
Unitary (Local) AuthorityGwynedd
Old CountyMerioneth
CommunityCorris
Type Of SiteINCLINED PLANE
PeriodPost Medieval
Description
Part of the Aberllefenni Slate Quarry and one of the best suriving examples in the Welsh Slate Industry. This water-balance up-haulage incline was used for transporting slate waste to the top of the waste tips on the southern hillside, a necessity due to the narrow and restricted nature of the valley floor. Water was used to raise loaded waggons by counter-balance.

The incline is around 85m in length and survives almost intact. It is built of slate rubble, as is the drumhouse which retains its roof and some slates. The drum is intact together with the associated wire rope and brake mechanism; a lean-to building on the east side was the brake-man's cabin. A water pipe carried the water to the tank waggon (tryc dwr) which survives at the head of the incline. This is a large rivetted steel plate tank with flanged wheels that ran on rails and contained a lever device for draining it when it reached the bottom on the incline.

Louise Barker, RCAHMW, June 2010