St Leonards (Edinburgh) railway station
Encyclopedia
St. Leonards railway station is a closed railway station on the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway
. It was Edinburgh's first station. The railway was built in 1831 to transport coal from the mining towns south of the city; and the following year opened passenger services.
St. Leonards was the terminus for the south of the city and was named after the nearby region.
Passenger services ceased in 1846, when the North British Railway opened the station at North Bridge
which later became Waverley, into which the services from Dalkeith were re-routed via Portobello. The station reopened briefly in 1860, but closed again within a few months. The railhead continued to see heavy use in its original intended role as a coal yard, until the area was redeveloped in the early 1960s.
Both the coal depot and the railway line are now gone, but the route of the line can still be followed, protected from development by the construction of a cyclepath where the tracks ran.
Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway
The Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway, also called the Innocent Railway, was Edinburgh's first railway. It carried coal from the mines in Lothian to its city centre terminus at St Leonards...
. It was Edinburgh's first station. The railway was built in 1831 to transport coal from the mining towns south of the city; and the following year opened passenger services.
St. Leonards was the terminus for the south of the city and was named after the nearby region.
Passenger services ceased in 1846, when the North British Railway opened the station at North Bridge
North Bridge, Edinburgh
North Bridge is a road bridge and street in Edinburgh linking the High Street with Princes Street, and the New Town with the Old. The current bridge was built between 1894–97. A previous North Bridge, built from 1763–72, stood until 1896....
which later became Waverley, into which the services from Dalkeith were re-routed via Portobello. The station reopened briefly in 1860, but closed again within a few months. The railhead continued to see heavy use in its original intended role as a coal yard, until the area was redeveloped in the early 1960s.
Both the coal depot and the railway line are now gone, but the route of the line can still be followed, protected from development by the construction of a cyclepath where the tracks ran.