News
BSAC Divers recover historical slate wagon from Snowdonia lake
A team of BSAC divers have raised a 110-year-old Welsh slate wagon from the depths of a lake in Snowdonia, North Wales.
Members of Rhosneigr Sub-Aqua Club on Anglesey discovered the important piece of industrial history while diving Llyn Padarn, Llanberis.
The wagon, with a wooden chassis and measuring around 4ft long by 3ft wide, is thought to have been used to transport slate from Dinorwic Quarry to the seaport at Y Felinheli.
Rhosneigr SAC member, Rob Geal from Newborough, said: “We usually dive in the sea off the North Wales coast, but sometimes come to inland waterways for a change.
“Two years ago, a group of eight of us were diving in Llyn Padarn when, just below the site of the old quarry hospital and the current rail tracks, we came across the wagon lying on the lake bed about 20 metres down.
“We examined it and as it looked very interesting we decided it would be a good idea to come back at some time in the future and try to raise it.”
Earlier this year saw members come together to establish how they would successfully raise the 80 kilogram wagon from the lake bed.
Rob said: “We bought a top of the range 100 kilo lifting bag, which is basically a balloon that can be taken underwater, attached to an object and then inflated to bring it gradually to the surface.
“With our own boat waiting on the surface, we went down and attached special straps capable of lifting up to four tons to each corner and then fixed them to the bag, which was then gradually inflated using air from our own personal cylinder and a separate one which comes with it.”
Due to the heavily silted nature of the lake bed, visibility was poor, taking the divers around four hours to completely raise the wagon to the surface.
Rob added: “Upon examination, we found that quite a bit of it was still intact, including the wooden chassis, one of the four metal wheels it originally had, a wrought iron shaft connecting the wheel to the axle and a piece of wrought iron for connecting it to other wagons.
“It was decided that as it must be part of the history of the old slate railway, we’d hand it over to the Llanberis Lake Railway. It’s great to think that we’ve recovered a piece of the region’s industrial history.
“It’s certainly one of the most interesting things we’ve ever found. All we usually see when we go down is the odd dumped car.”
An initial inspection by railway bosses found that as the wagon has a wooden chassis, it must be one of the earliest used on the line which would make it at least 116-years-old as all wagons, post-1900, were made completely from metal.
Emlyn Pritchard, manager of the Llanberis Lake Railway, is delighted that the club decided to hand over the wagon.
“It’s part of the heritage of this railway and the whole area and as such is an important industrial artefact,” he said.
“We’ve not yet done a full investigation but judging from its appearance, it’s one of the wagons used on the old slate railway, part of the route of which we now run on.
“We’ll be delighted to have it on exhibition at the railway.”
Source: www.bsac.com
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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