Edinburgh Transport
Types of Transport |
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Ships to London |
Shipping
1800s
The newspapers of the 17th century
advertised ships sailing to from Leith, the port of Edinburgh, to
destinations around the world - often sailing in fleets, departure times
depending on the weather.
By the mid 19th century, there
were steamships with regular timetables, advertising 'reduced fares'.
Granton Harbour had
been build as an alternative departure point for London. The Chain
Pier at Newhaven offered local trips within the
Firth of Forth. |
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Coach Routes |
Coaches 1700s
1800s
Maps Inns
The newspapers of
the early 18th century carried a few adverts for individual stagecoach
journeys from Edinburgh. By the mid-18th century, a monthly
service to London had been established, taking 10 days in summer and 12 in
winter.
By the late 18th
century the London Diligence was running a daily service to London - the
fare £4 17s 0d.
Local coach services
in and around Edinburgh did not become established until the 19th
century. |
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Union Canal |
Barges
The
Union Canal opened in the early 19th century, extending from
Fountainbridge in the centre of Edinburgh to Falkirk. Prospects for
development of the canal system were good, until the railways arrived.
In the 1890s, Edinburgh Photographic
Society held outings to
Almond Dell,
travelling by decorated barge on the canal. |
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Davidson's
Mains Station |
Railways
Railways were opened from Edinburgh
to:
1831: Dalkeith
1836: Granton
1842: Glasgow
1842: Berwick
1874: Balerno
1879: Newhaven & Leith
1884: Edinburgh Southern Circle
Maps of
Edinburgh in the late 19th century and early 20th century show many
railway lines for goods and passenger traffic.
Here are some adverts for the
introduction of new
diesel multiple unit services to Edinburgh in
1958.
Many of Edinburgh's railway lines
from the early 1900s have now been abandoned. However, there are now plans to open
some new
stations. |
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Trams at Joppa |
Trams
Edinburgh's tramway system began, in
1871, with horse-drawn trams.
These were replaced by cable trams
from 1899 onwards, then by electric trams from 1919.
This site includes several
maps of tram and bus routes
in the early 1900s. |
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Charabancs at The Mound - 1921 |
Buses
Edinburgh had a good network of
horse-drawn bus routes by 1869. These were soon to face competition
from the tram system, introduced two years later, but views of Princes
Street in the 1890s still feature many of the horse-drawn buses.
The first motor-bus service, from the
Post Office to Haymarket was introduced as early as 1898.
Charabanc tours of Edinburgh were popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
Open top buses returned to give tours around Edinburgh around 1990 and are
now a common site in the streets throughout the year. |