© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Tom Beag inclined plane is a slate quarry installation located near Ballachulish in Argyllshire, Scotland. The site exploited the natural geology of the Appin Group, a Neoproterozoic rock sequence that underlies the landscape. The quarrymen worked graphitic pelites, calcareous pelites, calcsilicate-rocks and psammites—metamorphic strata ideally suited to producing roofing slate. The inclined plane formed the industrial infrastructure necessary to transport extracted slate blocks downslope from the working face, a common engineering solution in highland quarrying operations where gravity could assist in moving heavy material.
The inclined plane at Tom Beag represents the mechanisation of slate extraction during the nineteenth century, when Highland quarries became significant centres of production. The structure would have consisted of a wooden or stone track bed, along which slate could be hauled or lowered under controlled conditions. Such installations were integral to quarry economics, reducing the labour required to move finished slate towards processing facilities and eventual markets.
Tom Beag inclined plane is now protected as a scheduled monument under reference SM6051 by Historic Environment Scotland, recognising its importance as evidence of industrial heritage and the historic exploitation of Argyllshire's geological resources.
Tom Beag,inclined plane,Ballachulish is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6051. View the official record →
Tom Beag inclined plane is a slate quarry installation located near Ballachulish in Argyllshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM6051.
Tom Beag,inclined plane,Ballachulish is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM6051.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cnocan Dubh,fort,Ballachulish (0.6 km), Eilean Munde,St Munns Church & burial monuments (0.6 km), North Ballachulish, prehistoric ritual site NNE of Hotel (3.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Tom Beag,inclined plane,Ballachulish's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Tom Beag,inclined plane,Ballachulish stands on Appin Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is graphitic pelite, calcareous pelite, calcsilicate-rock and psammite.