Transporting slate from Dinorwic was initially highly cumbersome, involving carting it down a steep road to the nearby Llyn Padarn before shipping it downriver to the sea. Proper development was prevented by the tax increases caused by the outbreak of war between England and France in 1792. In the 1830s, an extensive narrow-gauge tramway system was built within the quarry. The horse-worked gauge Dinorwic Railway was built in 1824, connecting the quarry to the coast at Port Dinorwic. This was replaced in 1843 by the gauge Padarn Railway running along the shore of Llyn Padarn and on to Port Dinorwic. In 1848, steam locomotives were introduced on the railway.