South Leith Railway Station

Category

Library Item

Item no

36232

Title

Page from Leith Miscellany, volume II, South Leith Railway Station

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1935

Type

Photograph

This is the oldest surviving railway station in Scotland, dating from 1831.

This railway was opened in 1831 by the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway Co. for mineral traffic - mainly coal from the Lothian coalfield. The trains were horse-drawn. In 1845 the company was bought by the North British Railway Co. who introduced passenger traffic. Two years later - 1847 - the horses were replaced by steam locomotives. The journey to Portobello took five minutes, and this service continued until the opening of Leith Central station and the introduction of the Edinburgh suburban circular route.

The platform, as shown in the second photograph, could scarcely accommodate a modern locomotive.

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Related subjects

Landscape > Landscape architectural facilities > Fences

Places > Edinburgh areas > Leith

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Transport > Infrastructure > Platforms (Railways)

Transport > Infrastructure > Rail tracks

Transport > Infrastructure > Railway stations

Transport > Infrastructure > Station houses