Journeys
Through
Edinburgh
Leith's Forgotten Train Stations
At the beginning of the 20th century, Edinburgh was home to around 60 railway stations. Now there are only 12. However, the old station buildings, platforms and lines still remain in a variety of forms. I took some photos of just a few of them, in Leith and the surrounding area. Read on to learn more about them!
Background and context
There were two competing railway companies operating in Edinburgh who both wanted to access Leith and its port. For the majority of their lifetime, these two companies were North British Railway (NBR) and the Caledonian Railway. You can see them both in the map below, with North British as a thick, solid line and Caledonian as dashed.
In 1923, North British was incorporated into the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Caledonian became part of London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). Both were nationalised in 1948 and became British Rail. This diagram outlines the changing ownership of the railways in this time period.
Map and diagram from: Mullay, A.J. (1991) Rail Centres: Edinburgh.
Here is a handy map of all the stations outlined below. North British stations are in red, while Caledonian are blue.
Unless otherwise stated, all images in this article are mine. For further information about an image, click on it!
Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway (North British Railway)
The North British line in the north of the city was originally known as the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway (later the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway when an extension to Granton was added), and was taken over by NBR in 1862. Passenger services on the North Leith branch ended in 1947, closing the majority of North British's remaining stations in this part of Edinburgh.
Bonnington (1846–1947)
Bonnington was a two-platform station on the Leith branch of the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway. The track now forms part of the Water of Leith Walkway. The station building on Newhaven Road still stands and is now in residential use. The platforms and stairs from road level to platform remain also.
Junction Bridge (1869–1947)
Originally named Junction Road and renamed in 1923, this station had a single platform on the double-track Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway. It was right beside the Water of Leith, west of Great Junction Street. The track now forms part of the Water of Leith Walkway.
Leith Citadel — North Leith (1846–1947)
This was the passenger terminus of the Leith Branch of the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway. Known as North Leith while open to passengers, it was renamed Leith Citadel in 1952. After leaving Junction Bridge, the line went through a tunnel at Coburg Street (of which none remains today) emerging at what is now a kid’s play area at Couper Street (see bottom left image below). The Category B-listed station building is still in use as the Citadel Youth Centre, on the south side of Commercial Street.
Trinity (1842–1925)
Trinity was on the Granton branch of the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway. It was a two platform station with the main station building on the southbound platform. The building still stands as a residential property, and the platforms remain also. The station closed in 1925 when the line closed to passengers, but it remained open for freight until 1986. The line is now a footpath, and Trinity Tunnel is located to the south.
Easter Road Deviation (North British Railway)
The Easter Road Deviation was built in 1868 to replace the rope-operated incline between Scotland Street and Canal Street stations on the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway. This initiated the closure of Canal Street, and the opening of Waverley, where these trains ran from. This route joined up with the Granton branch at Trinity junction, just south of Trinity station above, and with the Leith branch at Warriston junction just north of Powderhall.
A single track of the line is still in place from Piershill Junction to Powderhall, but has become overgrown and derelict. The line continued to be used until 2016, transporting waste from Powderhall to a landfill site in East Lothian.
Powderhall (1895–1917)
Powderhall was a station on Broughton Road, and it closed in 1917 due to wartime measures. The station building frontage still exists today, and the large sandstone building beside the station is part of the former Powderhall Waste Transfer Station, which stopped operations in 2016. You can also see the single-track disused line from here.
Leith Walk (1868–1930)
This two platform station was located on the west side of Leith Walk, at Croall Place. The station was opened in 1868 and closed to passengers in 1930. It is likely that this was due to competition from the tram system. The station buildings were demolished in the 1970s. This picture is taken from Croall place, looking north.
Easter Road (1891–1947)
Easter Road station had two short, staggered platforms underneath Easter Road near Albion Road. It closed in 1947 and while the line still exists, it is only a single track now and has fallen into disrepair as it is no longer in use.
Leith Central Branch (North British Railway)
This branch came about to obstruct the Caledonian plans to build an undergound line running from Leith to Princes Street, via an underground Calton Hill tunnel. The Leith Central solution proposed by NBR was, understandably, preferable with local politicians at the time!
Leith Central (1903–1952)
Leith Central was a four-platform terminus at the Foot of Leith Walk. Trains ran from Waverley and linked with the South Suburban Line, and some Glasgow trains left and terminated from here. The large trainshed once dominated the area, taking up a whole town block (bounded by Leith Walk, Duke Street and Easter Road) and was Edinburgh's third largest station, despite not having much traffic. The frontage of the station still exists, and the area is occupied by a various businesses and shops. It closed in 1952, after years of decline likely due to increased tram usage in the area once the Pilrig Muddle ended. The building lay derelict for many years before the trainshed was demolished in 1989. It featured in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting.
Leith North Passenger Branch (Caledonian Railway)
A passenger line to Leith was opened in 1879 starting at Princes Street Station (now the Caledonian Hotel). At Crewe Junction, the line split into the Granton Branch and Leith North Branch. The section of line covered below (from Newhaven Junction to Leith North station) was built specifically for passengers, running parallel to the existing goods line. The line fully closed in 1968 and is now a foot and cycle path.
Newhaven (1879–1962)
The Newhaven station buildings still stand on Craighall Road with attractive maintained signage. It is the only survivor of the five Caledonian Railway stations on the Leith branch line. The original platforms remain on the footpath below.
Leith North (1879–1962)
Originally known as North Leith until 1952 (and known as Leith Caledonian locally to avoid confusion with the NBR Leith Citadel station), Leith North was the terminus of the Leith North Branch for the Caledonian Railway. It was located on the corner of what is now Lindsay Road and Ocean Drive, and the site is now home to newbuild flats. None of the station or platforms survive, but the Pride Bridge to the west of the station site once carried Lindsay Road over six tracks of railway. Now, it is just a footpath and green space.
Leith New Lines (Caledonian Railway)
Caledonian built a goods line at the turn of the 20th century that went from Newhaven junction to the east side of Leith Docks at Seafield. They planned to open this to passengers, but this never happened. Despite this, three passenger stations were built — another Newhaven station (different to the one outlined above), one at Ferry Road, and another at Leith Walk (see below). Likely due to the rising popularity and convenience of trams at the time, combined with the opening of Leith Central by NBR, the line never saw a single passenger. It closed to goods in 1968.
NB: I've only included one of the stations here, since they were never actually used.
Leith Walk (1903)
Leith Arches is now a well-established events venue and cafe that sits in the old railway arches of the Leith New Lines, as do a number of other businesses. As the line was elevated, the old platforms can be seen on either side of the sandstone structure above the shops on Leith Walk.
