IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Dolgarrog, CONWY, LL32 8QA

The landscaped gardens of Dolgarrog Power Station display this disused pelton wheel runner from one of their generating sets. This Bruce Peebles turbine was originally installed in 1918 when the additional 1600 KVA turbo-alternator augmented the previously DC-only generating capacity of the old power station. It replaced short-lived no. 3 set by British Thompson Houston which had proved unsatisfactory. The turbo-alternator was later re-numbered 5 in the series of AC machines controlled from the new power station. It was decommissioned in 1966, after which the building was demolished.

Dating from 1907, and an integral part of the aluminium works Image, the power station has a capacity of 32MW and now sells electricity on the spot market. It dates from an interesting period of industrial diversification when natural resources were the key to better conditions for local people. Water is gathered from high, hanging valleys to the west.

The night of 2 November 1925 was dark and stormy in North Wales. The dam at Llyn Eigiau, up in the mountains west of Dolgarrog, fractured under stress and released a large volume of water down the valley to Coedty reservoir. At 9pm Coedty dam burst with an almighty roar, cascading millions of gallons of water and thousands of tons of Ice Age boulders down a narrow gorge onto the unsuspecting villagers of Dolgarrog. By the following day the death toll was 10 adults and six children. The nearby Aluminium Corporation factory (now the site of Surf Snowdonia ) was seriously flooded but the 200 or so workers there were all successfully rescued. The death toll might have been higher had not most of the villagers been attending a cinema show in the community hall on higher ground. Many of the boulders some weighing up to 500 tons lie in situ and some can be seen in this image. In 2017 Dolgarrog Community Council received a grant of £10,000 from the Lottery Fund Sharing Heritage programme. Money has been spent on new information boards interpreting the history and there will be a permanent museum / exhibition in a room at the Dolgarrog Community Centre.

Sadly this building is suffering neglect in Dolgarrog.

The night of 2 November 1925 was dark and stormy in North Wales. The dam at Llyn Eigiau, up in the mountains west of Dolgarrog, fractured under stress and released a large volume of water down the valley to Coedty reservoir. At 9pm Coedty dam burst with an almighty roar, cascading millions of gallons of water and thousands of tons of Ice Age boulders down a narrow gorge onto the unsuspecting villagers of Dolgarrog. By the following day the death toll was 10 adults and six children. The nearby Aluminium Corporation factory (now the site of Surf Snowdonia ) was seriously flooded but the 200 or so workers there were all successfully rescued. The death toll might have been higher had not most of the villagers been attending a cinema show in the community hall on higher ground. Many of the boulders some weighing up to 500 tons lie in situ. In 2017 Dolgarrog Community Council received a grant of £10,000 from the Lottery Fund Sharing Heritage programme. Money has been spent on new information boards interpreting the history and there will be a permanent museum/ exhibition in a room at the Dolgarrog Community Centre.

The night of 2 November 1925 was dark and stormy in North Wales. The dam at Llyn Eigiau, up in the mountains west of Dolgarrog, fractured under stress and released a large volume of water down the valley to Coedty reservoir. At 9pm Coedty dam burst with an almighty roar, cascading millions of gallons of water and thousands of tons of Ice Age boulders down a narrow gorge onto the unsuspecting villagers of Dolgarrog. By the following day the death toll was 10 adults and six children. The nearby Aluminium Corporation factory (now the site of Surf Snowdonia ) was seriously flooded but the 200 or so workers there were all successfully rescued. The death toll might have been higher had not most of the villagers been attending a cinema show in the community hall on higher ground. Many of the boulders some weighing up to 500 tons lie in situ. In 2017 Dolgarrog Community Council received a grant of £10,000 from the Lottery Fund Sharing Heritage programme. Money has been spent on new information boards interpreting the history and there will be a permanent museum / exhibition in a room at the Dolgarrog Community Centre.

The boulders and slate plaque depicting the Dolgarrog Dam disaster of November 1925 when part of the Eigiau dam wall above the village collapsed. The plaque outlines the story.

This was previously the local social club.

The Dolgarrog hydro-electric power station was originally opened in association with the adjacent aluminium works for electrical smelting. A number of high, hanging valleys collect water for the scheme which now sells electricity on the spot market.