- Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway
The Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway received the
royal assent on26 May 1826 as ahorse -drawn tramway to theScotch gauge , of RailGauge|54, to link variouscoal mine s to the south east of Edinburgh.Whishaw (1840).] Awdry (1990).]Due to the success of the enterprise, the
North British Railway had to pay £113,000 (Pound Sterling ) for the line, with the sale being completed in October 1845. It was subsequently converted tostandard gauge , reopening in July 1847.Formation
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 theLeith Branch, running from Niddrie to Leith. The second Act, in 1834, raised £54,875, authorising further branches to Fisherrow andMusselburgh ; and allowing a certain amount of passenger traffic by horse-drawn railway coaches.The route
The main line
The railway line started life as a
horse -drawn,coal carrying,tramway linking a number of collieries to Edinburgh and theFirth of Forth . It initially ran betweenSouth Esk and St Leonards; some 8¼ miles (13km ) in length. It opened on4 July 1831 and was laid as a double track.Popplewell (1989).]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 steamwinding engine . Lewin, Page 16]The branch to Fisherrow
Harbour ,Musselburgh , 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.
Dalkeith branch
To be added
Expansion
"To be added"
Connections to other Lines
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Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway at Duddingston Junction
*North British Railway at Niddrie South Junction
*Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway at Millerhill
*Edinburgh and Hawick Railway (includingMarquis of Lothian's waggonway ) at DalhousieInnocent Railway
The line acquired the name
Innocent Railway because of its safety record, despite carrying up to 400,000 passengers per year, no-one was ever killed.Future
Parts of the Edinburgh and Dalkeith railway are to be reopened as part of the
Waverley Line , a re-opening of part of the former new Waverley Route between Edinburgh andCarlisle .References
Notes
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*Links
* [http://www.railscot.co.uk/Edinburgh_and_Dalkeith_Railway/frame.htm RAILSCOT on the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway]
* [http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst7864.html The Innocent Railway]
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