Cwm Dyli is the location of a hydro-electric power station on the southern flank of the Snowdon range in North Wales . At the time it was built, it was the largest hydro-electric power station in the United Kingdom . It is Britain's oldest power station, and is believed to be one of the oldest Grid-connected hydro-electric stations in the world.
17-458: The station was built in 1905 by the Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway company, backed by North Wales Power and Traction Co Ltd to supply electricity to its own electric railway and connected slate quarries and mines . The railway was planned to run through the same valley as the power station and be fed with an electrical feeder, but the enterprise ran short of funds and the attempt
34-648: A completed bridge over the A498 at the southern end of Beddgelert village near the Royal Goat Hotel and nearby bridge abutments in a field. The abutments of the Afon Glaslyn bridge were also constructed and the one of the west bank is now a Welsh Water Authority measuring station. The PBSSR and North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways were later amalgamated and became the Welsh Highland Railway . Some work undertaken for
51-699: Is a small village in Snowdonia , North Wales which is a starting point for walks up Snowdon (via the Rhyd Ddu Path ), Moel Hebog , Yr Aran and the Nantlle Ridge . It lies on the A4085 between Beddgelert and Caernarfon , at its junction with the B4418 to Nantlle and Penygroes . Rhyd Ddu railway station is one of the stops on the Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon and Porthmadog . T. H. Parry-Williams ,
68-687: Is carried from the lake through a tunnel and two 30-inch (0.762 m) diameter, 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) long pipelines. The pipeline featured in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough . The generating equipment at Cwm Dyli up to 1989 comprised: The four wheels drove: The total electricity generating capacity was 6.5 MW, at 10 kV. The following graph shows the annual electricity output in MWh from Cwm Dyli between 1921 and 1986: Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway The Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway ( PB&SSR )
85-480: The North Wales Power and Traction Company to promote lines between Portmadoc and Beddgelert with extensions at either end. These culminated in a proposal in 1901, for a 1 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 597 mm ) narrow gauge electric railway to use three phase alternating current at about 630 volts using the system devised by Ganz of Budapest . The PB&SSR would have run from
102-611: The Gwynant Valley and on to Betws y coed. No work was done on this line. The North Wales Power and Traction Co Ltd , the sole PBSSR backer, overspent on the construction of the power station. It started generating electricity in September 1906, but meanwhile, completion of the railway and electrifying the NWNGR took a back seat, and in January 1906 J.C. Russell , Chairman and Managing Director of
119-501: The NWNGR, insisted on terms for a two-year delay which included expenditure on "restoring the NWNGR for present steam working and providing one steam locomotive for a sum not exceeding £2,500". This resulted in the arrival of Russell as NWNGR property. In the event this delay led to an abandonment. Sections of abandoned cuttings and embankments of the original route still survive in the Beddgelert area. These include an abandoned embankment,
136-663: The PBSSR was used for the Welsh Highland Railway. Ten electric locomotives were ordered from Bruce Peebles & Co. Ltd. of Edinburgh who held a licence from Ganz. At least six were built, although none were delivered. All six were scrapped during the First World War . The electrification project was abandoned about 1906 and a steam locomotive "Russell" was ordered from the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds . It
153-549: The gradients to allow the use of steam locos. The electricity was to be produced at a hydro electric power station further up the Gwynant Valley and surplus power was to be available for local domestic and industrial use. This part of the scheme was actually built and the power station still operates. 52°55′52″N 4°08′02″W / 52.931°N 4.134°W / 52.931; -4.134 Rhyd Ddu Rhyd-ddu ( / ˌ r iː d ˈ ð iː / ; Welsh: [ˌr̥iːdˈðiː] ; lit. ' black ford ' )
170-596: The time. Electricity produced here was also used to power the Carnarvon Long Wave Wireless Telegraph transmitting station built by Marconi in 1913–14 near Waunfawr . Supplying power directly to the National Grid , it is Britain's oldest power station, and is believed to be one of the oldest Grid-connected hydro-electric stations in the world. It was first commissioned in 1906 and has been in fairly continuous operation since then, although it
187-607: The western end of Black Rock sands via Morfa Bychan, Borth y gest, Portmadoc and, using part of the Croesor Tramway , to Beddgelert to link with the South Snowdon Quarries (hence the title) in the Gwynant Valley. There was no intention initially to connect with the North Wales Narrow Gauge system which, at that time, terminated at South Snowdon , a station near the hamlet of Rhyd Ddu . No railway construction
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#1732852491091204-478: Was a 1 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 597 mm ) narrow gauge railway intended to connect Porthmadog (then spelled Portmadoc ) with the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways link terminus at Rhyd Ddu . Although some of the line was constructed between 1901 and 1906, it never opened and eventually became part of the Welsh Highland Railway . There were several attempts by
221-720: Was abandoned. The company was renamed the North Wales Power Company Limited. In August 1906, power from Cwm Dyli was used to power the Oakeley Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog carried over the Crimea Pass by a long overhead transmission line at 10,000 volts. It also supplied Dinorwic and Pen-yr-Orsedd quarries. Cwm Dyli was claimed to be the largest electricity generating plant of its kind in Great Britain at
238-459: Was closed for upgrading in 1990. A single turbine now produces up to 9.8 megawatts (MW). Known locally as the "Chapel in the valley", on account of its exterior design, it employed 13 men. Today, however, it is controlled remotely from Dolgarrog in the Conwy valley . Water for the site primarily comes from Llyn Llydaw , some 320 metres above the power station, where rainfall is very high. The water
255-403: Was intended to electrify all the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways once the two lines were connected. In 1914, local councils got together to try to get the building restarted but failed due to the start of World War I. Another attempt was made after the war which resulted in the building of the Welsh Highland Railway following most of the same route but with changes made near Beddgelert to ease
272-567: Was started but, by 1903, a revised scheme was being put forward to link up with the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Beddgelert extension. This resulted in a further revised scheme being approved in 1904. It appears that there were legal problems with the powers given and, in 1906, these were reapproved with amendments. Work started around 1906 and continued for a couple of years before being abandoned (certainly no work done after 1910). The line from Snowdon (Rhyd Ddu)
289-413: Was virtually complete for well over a mile and was used for a while (mainly during World War I ) to extract timber from Beddgelert forest. At the Beddgelert end a roughly laid track for horse-drawn wagons was also used for timber. The original intention to run to Black Rock had been forgotten and no mention was made of the line to South Snowdon quarries. However, in 1908, they did promote a further line up
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