Archaeology Notes

Event ID 701506

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/701506

NT27NE 596 25265 75377

Location formerly cited as NT 2550 7573.

Warriston Cemetery, Railway Bridge - possible site.

NMRS REFERENCE:

Plans: Dick Peddie and MacKay, Edinburgh

new

Bin 19, Bag 2

J. Dick Peddie, 1845.

(Undated) information in NMRS.

This bridge formerly carried a railway line over both Warriston Road and the Water of Leith, within the area of Warriston Cemetery and immediately S of Warriston Railway Junction; it is built on the skew to both road and river. The 1967 edition of the OS 1:1250 map does not specifically note the bridge, but depicts it as still partially tracked.

The bridge was apparently built as part of the original main route from Edinburgh (Canal Street Station) to the North via the ferry between the railway harbours at Granton (NT27NW 28.00) and Burntisland (NT28NW 30.00). It was operated successively by the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Rly, the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Rly, and the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Rly, before being taken over (in 1862) by the North British Rly. The NBR constructed a replacement line via Abbeyhill [name centred NT 2725 7424], which was opened in 1868, but this portion of the line remained in use until the late 1960's to serve a coal depot at Scotland Street [NT c. 2545 7486].

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 16 May 2006.