There is an excellent small industrial railway museum in the stable yard, with some interesting locos, trucks, track and points as well as the Penrhyn fire engine. Exhibits are well displayed with a reasonable amount of information.
FIRE QUEEN os a 0-4-0 tender loco from 1848 and the oldest loco in the exhibition. Its wheels were attached to its boiler and it had many features more typical of marine engineering
NUMBER 1 is a squat powerful loco from 1870 used at Becton Gasworks in London and is one of the oldest examples of a purpose built industrial loco.
HAYDOCK is a standard gauge heavy duty industrial loco used to take coal from the mines to BR.
VESTA is a standard gauge side tank used by the Hawarden Iron Works and was a popular design for industrial or shunting on the main line. The 6 wheels spread the load, giving it a better grip on the track, although it wasn’t as good on sharp corners. (Youngsters will recognise it as the typical Thomas the Tank engine design.)
NUMBER 3 is a 3’ gauge loco built in Gateshead in 1885 for the Kettering Furnace company and carried ironstone from the quarries to the iron works in Kettering.
WATKIN is a de Winton 0-4-0 tank loco with a vertical boiler used in the Penmaenmawr quarries.
HUGH NAPIER is named after the forth Lord Penrhyn and the last to live in the Castle. Now beautifully restored, it is a cabless loco made by the Hunslet Engine quarry for use in the former Penrhyn quarries.
CHARLES is another Hunslet loco used to pull empty slate wagons back from Port Penrhyn to the mines at Bethesda. His two younger sisters, Blanche and Linda now run on the Ffestiniog Railway.
There are examples of slate wagons and flat beds to carry timber or slate slabs. There is a Nantlle tramway wagon. Examples of rolling stock from the Penrhyn quarries include an officials car and workmen’s coaches.
There are two velocipedes used to carry quarrymen to work on the Padarn Railway,. There is also the Padarn Railway pedal car which was 4’ gauge and used by the chief engineer at the Dinorwic quarry to travel between his home and office and also when inspecting the track.
