1 thought on “Weary Quarrymen Ride “Car Gwyllt” Home, 1900s Wales”
**Who uses the Car Gwyllt?**
Most Welsh slate quarries were steep excavations in Eryri and worked in horizontal levels called “lefals.” These levels were connected by inclined planes, where slate descended on small rail wagons powered by gravity. The slate was split into slabs and roofing tiles on the middle levels, with waste dumped in large pits. Finished slates were lowered to the base via more inclines and transported by narrow-gauge railways.
In larger quarries, some workers lived on-site during the week, while others commuted from nearby villages, ascending the inclines in empty wagons each morning and walking down in the evening.
At Graig Ddu Quarry near Blaenau Ffestiniog, workers used a “**car gwyllt” (wild car)** to ride down the inclines, speeding their descent. The quarry had four inclines, and the men could descend 1,000 feet in about eight minutes, reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour. Their improvised transportation even gained attention, featuring in a 1935 Pathé News film, Railway Curiosities.
Graig Ddu closed by the 1930s but briefly reopened during WWII to supply roofing slates for repairing blitz-damaged homes. The “car gwyllt” tradition was unique to this quarry, as its layout was ideal for a controlled yet fast descent.
If anyone has any questions ask me on [X (@dbw77](https://x.com/DBW77)) as I’m there more often! Generations of my family worked the mines so I should be able to answer!
**Who uses the Car Gwyllt?**
Most Welsh slate quarries were steep excavations in Eryri and worked in horizontal levels called “lefals.” These levels were connected by inclined planes, where slate descended on small rail wagons powered by gravity. The slate was split into slabs and roofing tiles on the middle levels, with waste dumped in large pits. Finished slates were lowered to the base via more inclines and transported by narrow-gauge railways.
In larger quarries, some workers lived on-site during the week, while others commuted from nearby villages, ascending the inclines in empty wagons each morning and walking down in the evening.
At Graig Ddu Quarry near Blaenau Ffestiniog, workers used a “**car gwyllt” (wild car)** to ride down the inclines, speeding their descent. The quarry had four inclines, and the men could descend 1,000 feet in about eight minutes, reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour. Their improvised transportation even gained attention, featuring in a 1935 Pathé News film, Railway Curiosities.
Graig Ddu closed by the 1930s but briefly reopened during WWII to supply roofing slates for repairing blitz-damaged homes. The “car gwyllt” tradition was unique to this quarry, as its layout was ideal for a controlled yet fast descent.
If anyone has any questions ask me on [X (@dbw77](https://x.com/DBW77)) as I’m there more often! Generations of my family worked the mines so I should be able to answer!