Edinburgh- Dalkeith

1831-1860

Edinburgh's Railways  -  Edinburgh to Dalkeith ©

©    peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

Opening

This was Edinburgh's first railway.  It ran from Edinburgh St Leonard's station in Edinburgh to Dalkeith.   St Leonard's station was beneath the slopes of Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park.

This was a 4ft 6ins gauge horse-drawn railway.  It opened on 4 July 1831 to transport coal.  A passenger service was introduced from 2 June 1832, at first using a converted stage coach.  2

The line ran to the south to:

-  Niddrie

-  Sheriffhall

-  Dalkeith

Branches to Leith and Musselburgh were added in 1838.

This railway was absorbed into the North British Railway in 1845 and converted to steam operation.    1

Closure

Passenger services to St Leonard's were withdrawn in 1846 when the North British Railway opened Bridge Street station on the site now occupied by Waverley Station.  1

St Leonard's station re-opened briefly to passengers in 1860, but this service lasted for only a few months.    3    

1:  'Yesterday's Railways: Edinburgh'  Publ: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society  ISBN 0 9508595 0 8

2.  Edinburgh Transport -  The Early Years  [DGL Hunter]

3.  'The Last Trains  -  Edinburgh & SE Scotland'  Moorfoot Publishing, 1979    ISBN 0 906606 01 2

 

 

STATIONS mentioned on the EDINBURGH RAILWAYS pages

B

Balerno

Balgreen

Barnton

Berwick

Blackford Hill

Burntisland

C

Canal Street

Canonmills

Corstorphine

Craigleith

Craiglockhart Road

D

Dalkeith

Dalry Road

Davidson's Mains

Duddingston & Craigmillar

E

East Pilton

G

Glasgow

Gorgie

Granton Gas Works

Granton Road

H

Haymarket

L

Leith Central

Leith Citadel

Leith North

Lothian Road

M

Morningside Road

N

Newhaven (Cal)

Newhaven (NB)

Newington

Niddrie

North Bridge

P

Perth

Pinkhill

Portobello

Princes Street

S

Scotland Street

Sheriffhall

St Leonard's

T

Trinity

W

Waverley

Map

 Map of some of Edinburgh's Railways since 1831 ©

 

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