Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway
Encyclopedia
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 is now closed.
on 26 May 1826 as a horse
-drawn tramway to the Scotch gauge
, of , to link various coal mines to the south east of Edinburgh.
The original Act of Parliament
authorised £10,125 of joint stock capital
, and the main line was opened in part for traffic in July 1831. Further parts were opened in October, with passengers first being carried in July 1832.
Two further Acts were obtained; the first Act on 4 June 1829, raising £8,053, sanctioned the Leith
Branch, running from Niddrie
to Leith. The second Act, in 1834, raised £54,875, authorising further branches to Fisherrow and Musselburgh
, and allowing a certain amount of passenger traffic by horse-drawn railway coaches.
The line was commissioned by a business consortium led by Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch
(1806 – 1884), with the engineering plans being contributed by Robert Stevenson
(1772 – 1850), a civil engineer celebrated for his work on lighthouses. The cast iron bridge was designed by James Jardine (1776 – 1858).
Due to the success of the enterprise, the North British Railway
had to pay £113,000 for the line, with the sale being completed in October 1845. It was subsequently converted to standard gauge
, reopening in July 1847.
-drawn, coal
carrying, tramway linking a number of collieries
to Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth
. It initially ran between South Esk
and St Leonards; some 8¼ miles (13 km) in length. It opened on 4 July 1831 and was laid as a double track.
The final St Leonards section included a gravity-operated incline
, which passed through a 572 yard (515 m) tunnel lit by gas lamps
. The incline had a gradient of 1 in 30 and was worked by a stationary steam winding engine
.
The branch to Fisherrow Harbour, Musselburgh
, on the Firth of Forth, opened in October 1831.
The Innocent Railway is now a cycle path connecting central Edinburgh, at Newington
and St. Leonard’s
at its west end, with Duddingston
, Niddrie
and Craigmillar
to the east. The path continues, directly linking Bingham and Brunstane
.
The route has what might be Britain’s first railway tunnel built around 1830 by James Jardine
, which stretches 350 yards under the southern edge of Holyrood Park
and is open to the public, forming part of the cycle route through the park. There is also a cast iron
bridge at the Duddingston Road junction which is one of the earliest surviving examples of its type. The route passes very near to, and affords a view of, the Scottish Wildlife Trust
property of Duddingston Loch.
A public information plaque at the entrance to the path reads thus:
, a re-opening of part of the former new Waverley Route between Edinburgh and .
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
's first railway. It carried coal from the mines in Lothian to its city centre terminus at St Leonards. It is now closed.
Formation
It received royal assentRoyal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 26 May 1826 as a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
-drawn tramway to the Scotch gauge
Scotch gauge
Scotch gauge was the name given to a track gauge, that was adopted by early 19th century railways mainly in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. It differed from the gauge of that was used on some early lines in England; and from the standard gauge of...
, of , to link various coal mines to the south east of Edinburgh.
The original Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
authorised £10,125 of joint stock capital
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
, and the main line was opened in part for traffic in July 1831. Further parts were opened in October, with passengers first being carried in July 1832.
Two further Acts were obtained; the first Act on 4 June 1829, raising £8,053, sanctioned the Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
Branch, running from Niddrie
Niddrie, Edinburgh
This article is about Niddrie, a suburb of Edinburgh. See also: Longniddry, Niddry Castle.Niddrie is a suburb of south east Edinburgh, Scotland, UK...
to Leith. The second Act, in 1834, raised £54,875, authorising further branches to Fisherrow and Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
, and allowing a certain amount of passenger traffic by horse-drawn railway coaches.
The line was commissioned by a business consortium led by Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch
Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch
Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry KG, PC , styled Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 1819, was a British politician and nobleman.-Background and education:...
(1806 – 1884), with the engineering plans being contributed by Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)
Robert Stevenson FRSE MInstCE FSAS MWS FGS FRAS FSA was a Scottish civil engineer and famed designer and builder of lighthouses.One of his finest achievements was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.-Early life:...
(1772 – 1850), a civil engineer celebrated for his work on lighthouses. The cast iron bridge was designed by James Jardine (1776 – 1858).
Due to the success of the enterprise, the North British Railway
North British Railway
The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
had to pay £113,000 for the line, with the sale being completed in October 1845. It was subsequently converted to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
, reopening in July 1847.
The main line
The railway line started life as a horseHorse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
-drawn, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
carrying, tramway linking a number of collieries
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
to Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
. It initially ran between South Esk
South Esk
South Esk may refer to:*The southern tributary of the River Esk, Lothian, Midlothian and East Lothian, Scotland*River South Esk, Angus, Scotland*South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia*South Esk Pine , conifer found in Tasmania...
and St Leonards; some 8¼ miles (13 km) in length. It opened on 4 July 1831 and was laid as a double track.
The final St Leonards section included a gravity-operated incline
Cable railway
A cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
, which passed through a 572 yard (515 m) tunnel lit by gas lamps
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
. The incline had a gradient of 1 in 30 and was worked by a stationary steam winding engine
Winding engine
A winding engine is a stationary engine used to control a cable, for example to power a mining hoist at a pit head. Electric hoist controllers have replaced proper winding engines in modern mining, but use electric motors that are also traditionally referred to as winding engines.Most proper...
.
The branch to Fisherrow Harbour, Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
, on the Firth of Forth, opened in October 1831.
Leith branch
The Leith branch was partially opened in March 1835 and fully brought into use in July 1838.Connections to other lines
- Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction RailwayEdinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction RailwayThe Edinburgh Suburban and South Side Junction Railway is a freight and former commuter railway which runs in a loop across the southern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It opened in 1884 for both freight and passenger services...
at Duddingston Junction - North British RailwayNorth British RailwayThe North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
at Niddrie South Junction - Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway at Millerhill
- Edinburgh and Hawick RailwayWaverley LineThe Waverley Line is an abandoned double track railway line that ran south from Edinburgh in Scotland through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders to Carlisle in England. It was built by the North British Railway Company; the first section, from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849. The final section,...
(including the Marquis of Lothian's waggonway) at
Innocent Railway
Newington, Edinburgh
Newington is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about 15 to 20 minutes walk south of the city centre, the Royal Mile and Princes Street.It is the easternmost district of the area formerly covered by the Burgh Muir, gifted to the City by David I in the 12th Century...
and St. Leonard’s
St Leonards (Edinburgh) railway station
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...
at its west end, with Duddingston
Duddingston
Duddingston is a former village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park.-Origins and etymology:The estate wherein Duddingston Village now lies was first recorded in lands granted to the Abbot of Kelso Abbey by David I of Scotland between 1136–47, and is described as stretching...
, Niddrie
Niddrie, Edinburgh
This article is about Niddrie, a suburb of Edinburgh. See also: Longniddry, Niddry Castle.Niddrie is a suburb of south east Edinburgh, Scotland, UK...
and Craigmillar
Craigmillar
Craigmillar , from the Gaelic Crag Maol Ard, meaning 'High Bare Rock', is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about south east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and Newcraighall to the east.- History :...
to the east. The path continues, directly linking Bingham and Brunstane
Brunstane
Brunstane is a south eastern suburb of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is served by Brunstane railway station on the Edinburgh Crossrail.Much of the area is covered by new housing, such as on the Gilberstoun estate....
.
The route has what might be Britain’s first railway tunnel built around 1830 by James Jardine
James Jardine
James Jardine was a Scottish civil engineer, mathematician and geologist. He was the first person to determine mean sea level.He was born in Applegarth, Dumfriesshire, on 30 November 1776, the son of a farmer...
, which stretches 350 yards under the southern edge of Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. It has an array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs, and patches of whin providing a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape within its area...
and is open to the public, forming part of the cycle route through the park. There is also a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
bridge at the Duddingston Road junction which is one of the earliest surviving examples of its type. The route passes very near to, and affords a view of, the Scottish Wildlife Trust
Scottish Wildlife Trust
The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland.-Description:The Scottish Wildlife Trust has over 32,800 members...
property of Duddingston Loch.
A public information plaque at the entrance to the path reads thus:
Future
Parts of the Edinburgh and Dalkeith railway are to be reopened as part of the Waverley LineWaverley Line
The Waverley Line is an abandoned double track railway line that ran south from Edinburgh in Scotland through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders to Carlisle in England. It was built by the North British Railway Company; the first section, from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849. The final section,...
, a re-opening of part of the former new Waverley Route between Edinburgh and .