Edinburgh, Warriston Road, Railway Bridge
Railway Bridge (19th Century)
Site Name Edinburgh, Warriston Road, Railway Bridge
Classification Railway Bridge (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Warriston Cemetery; Warriston Junction; Water Of Leith
Canmore ID 152773
Site Number NT27NE 596
NGR NT 25265 75377
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/152773
- Council Edinburgh, City Of
- Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District City Of Edinburgh
- Former County Midlothian
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.
Photographic Survey (1 March 2009 - 16 September 2009)
Advance works for the Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme included a photographic survey of various buildings along the Water of Leith, to record their baseline condition, and a watching brief during the relocation of services on Warriston Road, Edinburgh. Buildings photographed included : Bridges; Weirs; the view of the Longstone Inn; the view of the 19th century mining village at Longstone; the view of the colonies at Stockbridge; the Coltbridge mill lade where it survives between the Edinburgh Sports Club and the Dean Gallery. The watching brief (http://canmore.org.uk/event/999897) uncovered a cobbled surface which overlay a concrete raft. Disturbance from a network of underground services between the current ground surface and the limit of excavation rendered the preservation of in situ archaeological remains as highly unlikely. Further evidence of ground disturbance / make up was the mixed sequence of made-ground or service trench backfill which formed the bulk of the recorded deposits during the watching brief. All the above activity is interpreted as 19th to 20th century evidence of infrastructure improvements.
Information from Michael Stuart (CFA Archaeology Ltd) June 2009. OASIS ID - cfaarcha1-135247