In the 1930s I suspect the output from ABC and Abercorris, such as it was, was
probably collected from the quarry by lorry and delivered direct to the
customer, cutting out rail tranport entirely. Around that time slate coming down
the Ratgoed tramway from Cymerau was being loaded onto a lorry where the tramway
joined the road at Islwyn, much to the annoyance of the GWR, who eventually were
forced to accept the practice and charge just for the section of tramway used.
My article in the 1988 Journal (which is an expanded version of the one in the
Railway Magazine) goes into the railways's traffic in the 1930s and 1940s in
some detail.

Richard

--- In corris-discuss@..., Dan Crow <gwernol@...> wrote:
>
> Richard,
>
> Looking at my copy of Slate Quarrying at Corris, Abercwmmeiddaw
> ceased
> working in 1920, but was worked on a small scale between 1932 and
> 1939. Its not clear how the output was shipped during this period -
> presumably by road to Machynlleth. The de Winton was recorded in the
> sale of 1893 - it may well have been sold in the closure of 1905, it
> wasn't recorded in the 1920 valuation of the quarry.
>
> Abercorris closed in1928, with "sporadic" working in the 1930s.
> Again
> no indication of transportation after the closure of the UCT.
>
> Fascinating stuff.
>
> Dan
>
> On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 11:10 AM, rgcorris <RSG_Corris@...> wrote:
> > I am not sure if Abercwmmeiddaw and Abercorris were still working on any
> > significant scale in the 1930s - I can't put my hand on my copy of Slate
> > Quarrying at Corris to check - but if so, they were not sending material out
> > on the Corris. I think ABC's De Winton had probably gone well before that
> > period as otherwise some intrepid photographer would have recorded it. Last
> > time I looked there were buildings that could well have housed it on one or
> > two of the levels.
> >
> > Richard
> >
> > --- In corris-discuss@..., Dan Crow <gwernol@> wrote:
> >>
> >> Thanks Richard, for the very detailed and informative reply. Sir
> >> Haydn Jones' impact on the district was indeed significant. The
> >> replacement
> >> of the UCT with road transportation is interesting and as you say,
> >> says a lot about the relative proximity of the Corris Uchaf quarries
> >> to the road. Presumably Abercwmmeiddaw had a similar arrangement - I
> >> believe they had a de Winton vertical boilered locomotive that
> >> worked the internal quarry lines for at least a while.
> >>
> >> As you say, the remoteness of the Aberllefenni and Ratgoed quarries
> >> was a blessing for the railway.
> >>
> >> Thanks again,
> >>
> >> On Thu, Mar 5, 2009 at 3:55 PM, rgcorris <RSG_Corris@> wrote:
> >> > In the nineteenth century the UCT almost certainly carried a larger
> >> > quantity
> >> > of slate than the line from Aberllefenni, and was a highly successful
> >> > transportation link at a time when there was no real alternative. It is
> >> > under-documented in that it was built, it did its job, and it closed
> >> > when
> >> > there was no longer a need for it. More pertinently, by the time the
> >> > first
> >> > enthusiasts and cameras started visiting Corris, it was coming to the
> >> > end of
> >> > its life so it rarely features in reports and photographs - and of
> >> > course
> >> > photographers found steam locos and carriages more interesting than
> >> > goods
> >> > vehicles anyway; there are few shots of the main line featuring waggons
> >> > before 1930, when they were all there was left to photograph in trains.
> >> >
> >> > Braichgoch quarry stopped sending slate on the Corris as a protest
> >> > against
> >> > the management's increase in shipping rates; the quarry bought a steam
> >> > lorry
> >> > and carried its products by road to Machynlleth for transshipping onto
> >> > the
> >> > main line direct, and saved a significant sum in doing so. The GWR tried
> >> > to
> >> > attract this trade back to the Corris but eventually gave up when it was
> >> > pointed out that they still took most of the traffic on the main line
> >> > anyway. So essentially the UCT was replaced by road transport as, unlike
> >> > more remote quarries, the road links from Corris Uchaf were of good
> >> > quality
> >> > and provided relatively easy routes. Indeed, the improvement to what is
> >> > now
> >> > the A487 pre-dated the construction of the railway and its branches, and
> >> > it
> >> > was only while rail was able to carry material more efficiently than
> >> > road
> >> > that it remained the best method of transport.
> >> >
> >> > The same fate might have overtaken the main line if Sir Haydn Jones'
> >> > time
> >> > running Aberllefenni Quarry had not been marked by his instructing the
> >> > quarry to use the Corris whenever possible; if he had not been concerned
> >> > to
> >> > keep the line going he might also have bought a lorry and there would
> >> > have
> >> > been an end to the Corris fifteen years earlier than actually happened;
> >> > there is little doubt that in that case the locos would have been
> >> > scrapped.
> >> > And what might have happened to the Talyllyn if that had been the
> >> > case.....
> >> >
> >> > Richard
> >> >
> >> > --- In corris-discuss@..., Dan Crow <gwernol@> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> I'm intrigued by the sadly under-documented UCT. It always seemed a
> >> >> weak link to the quarries in and around Corris Uchaf. How did
> >> >> Braichgoch and others ship slate over the railway after 1926? Were
> >> >> direct inclines ever considered, particularly from Braichgoch? While
> >> >> the tramway would have been very difficult to convert to locomotive
> >> >> working, its early demise suggests that it wasn't that successful as a
> >> >> transportation link.
> >> >>
> >> >> Sorry for all the questions, and many thanks for any answers that
> >> >> might be available.
> >> >>
> >> >> Dan
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >
> >
>