Dinorwic and Penrhyn Slate Quarries

Here are the locomotives – the iron horses – that enlivened the workings of the neighbouring quarries e.g. Cackler, Cegin, Ogwen and Winifred.

Locomotives Cackler and George B are seen at work in Dinorwic Quarry and in neighbouring Penrhyn Quarry are seen others - Cegin, Ogwen, Glyder, Winifred, Marchlyn and Nesta – and slate wagons are seen ascending and descending inclines without the need for such power. There are shots of Dinorwic's Padarn Railway and of Port Dinorwic [Y Felinheli].

Giants of the quarrying world are seen here to have declined and fallen on hard times. The National Slate Museum now occupies the workshops of the disused Dinorwic Quarry, which closed in 1969, the quarry itself now housing a hydro-electric pumped-storage power station. The Penrhyn Quarry, once employing nearly 3,000 men, is still open, employing about 200 people.