Sacred to the memory of the Leith Horse Car

Category

Library Item

Item no

29714

Title

Sacred to the memory of the Leith Horse Car which has succumbed to Electric Traction

Description

A photograph of a horse-drawn tram is placed on top of an illustration of a coffin on this card commemorating the end of Leith's horse-drawn trams.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1905

Size

9.0 x 13.8 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The first horse drawn tramcars, operated by the Edinburgh Street Tramways Co. Ltd, appeared in the Royal Burgh of Edinburgh on 6th November 1871 and ran from Haymarket to Bernard Street in Leith, via Princes Street. Routes were soon extended into other parts of Leith and Portobello, which were separate burghs at that time, and covered most of the city by 1882. The exception was the steeper areas from Stockbridge and Goldenacre which had proved difficult for horses. Alternatives were sought and by 1890 two cable routes had been opened for these areas, operated by The Edinburgh Northern Tramways Co. Ltd.

The city boundaries were extended to include Portobello in 1896 and work began to expand the cable system to cover all areas where the horse-drawn network had been operating. The last horse-drawn car ran on 24th August 1907. The system was now managed by the Edinburgh & District Tramways Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Dick, Kerr & Co. Ltd.

Although other areas, including Leith, had electrified their systems from August 1905 onwards, it wasn't until the expiry of the lease of the tramways within Edinburgh in June 1919 that the Corporation decided to embrace electrification.
Discover the history of Edinburgh's trams in Our Town Stories .

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Related subjects

Places > Edinburgh areas > Leith

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Land > Horse-drawn trams