Edinburgh, Gilmore Park, Union Canal, vertical lifting bridge. General view of iron bridge in new position.

Description Edinburgh, Gilmore Park, Union Canal, vertical lifting bridge. General view of iron bridge in new position.

Date 1900 to 1930

Collection Collection of photographs by George Chrystal and Francis Maxwell Chrystal, photographers, Edinburgh,

Catalogue Number SC 785606

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ED 7000

Scope and Content Leamington Bridge, Union Canal, Edinburgh, from the south-west (bridge originally at Fountainbridge; canal closed 1965 and navigation restored 2002) This hydraulically-powered vertical lift bridge, constructed c.1908, originally stood at Fountainbridge. It was re-sited at Leamington Road when the Edinburgh basins closed in 1922, and replaced a wooden drawbridge which stood on the site. The original bridge keeper's cottage stands on its south side (right), and the great bulk of the North British Rubber Works building, one of the few surviving industries which were still dependent on drawing a source of water from the canal in the 1920s and 1930s, stands to the north. The low timber boat-house (right) provided rowing boats for hire. When Port Hopetoun, the eastern terminal basin of the canal at Lothian Road, was abandoned in 1922, the canal was shortened to finish on the south side of Fountainbridge where a new terminus was established. The lifting bridge at Fountainbridge became redundant in its original position, and was moved to Leamington Road. In order to allow the passage of boats, the deck of the bridge could be raised and lowered between gantries at each side, and an elevated footbridge (just visible on the far side of the bridge) allowed pedestrians to cross the canal at this point. The Union Canal, the last of Scotland's major canals, was a commercial venture begun in 1818 and completed in 1822. It was built principally as a means of importing coal and lime into Edinburgh, and ran from Port Hopetoun in Edinburgh to join the Forth & Clyde Canal at Camelon, Stirlingshire. However, within 20 years of completion most of its passenger traffic was lost to the railways, and the Edinburgh basins closed in 1922. The rest of the canal remained navigational until 1965 when it was finally closed by an Act of Parliament. In 2002, Britain's largest canal restoration project, The Millennium Link, restored navigation, and with an extension to the Union Canal and a link with the Forth & Clyde Canal through the Falkirk Wheel, boats were once more able to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/785606

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap