Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)

Introduction

This line provided a service from the docks at Granton Harbour to Granton Junction (in the Haymarket are of Edinburgh) where it joined a line running to the main line of the Caledonian Railway. The line was developed jointly by the Caledonian and Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, the Duke of Buccleuch, (across whose estate the line ran). The Dukes portion was later bought by the Caledonian.






Dates

  /  /1846Caledonian Railway
Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Act for branch from Slateford to Granton rejected by Government.
  /  /1846Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Act for Caledonian Railway branch from Slateford to Granton rejected by Government.
  /  /1847Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Authorised. Not proceeded with at this time.
  /  /1857Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Line authorised from Edinburgh to Granton with a line to south side of the harbour and to the western breajwater. The line was initially owned jointly by Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, the Duke of Buccleuch, and the Caledonian Railway.
  /  /1858Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Construction begins.
  /  /1860Wester Dalry Branch and Dalry Road Lines (Caledonian Railway)
Wester Dalry Branch linking the Caledonian Railway to the Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway) authorised.
28/08/1861Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Line opened to minerals and goods from Edinburgh to both Granton High Goods and Granton Western Breakwater.
  /  /1863Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
The Caledonian Railway buys the portion of the line owned by Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, the Duke of Buccleuch.
  /  /1863Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Doubling authorised.
01/09/1864Dalry Road Lines (Caledonian Railway)
Dalry Junction [Edinburgh] to Coltbridge Junction (Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)) opened.
01/09/1864Wester Dalry Branch and Dalry Road Lines (Caledonian Railway)
Line opened to goods between Dalry Junction [Edinburgh] (Caledonian Railway) and Coltbridge Junction (Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)).
01/08/1879Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Leith North Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Leith North Passenger Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Passenger service starts, a new passenger portion opens from Newhaven Junction to Leith North on the south side of the existing goods lines. Granton Junction to Crew Junction to Newhaven Junction opened to passengers. Stations opened at Craigleith and Murrayfield on the Granton branch, Granton Road on the Leith North branch, Newhaven and Leith North on the new line.
01/11/1902Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Granton Gasworks station (private) opened on a short branch by Breakwater Junction.
  /  /1942Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Granton Gasworks station closed.
05/05/1958Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Leith North Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Leith North Passenger Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Class 100 DMUs introduced on the Edinburgh Princes Street to Leith North service.
01/06/1960Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Craigleith goods closed.
30/04/1962Leith North Passenger Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Leith North Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Edinburgh Princes Street (Dalry Middle Junction) to Leith North passenger service withdrawn. Craigleith, Murrayfield, Granton Road, Newhaven and Leith North closed.
  /  /1964Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Dalry Middle Junction (excluded) to Coltbridge Junction (excluded) closed.
21/06/1965Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Murrayfield goods closed.
02/08/1965Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Crew Junction (excluded) to Pilton West Junction (for the Granton Gasworks) (excluded) closed.
04/09/1967Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Leith North Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Granton Junction (excluded) to Coltbridge Junction to Crew Junction to Newhaven Junction (excluded) closed.
05/02/1968Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Granton High Goods closed. (Latterly accessed via the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway).
  /  /1980Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Granton Shell Siding closed. (Latterly accessed via the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway which is cut back to Powderhall). Line remains open for irregular Naphtha traffic to Granton Gas Works.
  /  /1986Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Line lifted from Granton Harbour to the Granton Bitumen Works.

Portions of line and locations

This line is divided into a number of portions.


Granton Junction to Breakwater Junction

Freshly painted in fine Caledonian blue, this bridge carries the Carstairs line over Murieston Crescent, Edinburgh, south west of Haymarket station. ...
David Panton 07/02/2015
1 of 1 images.


The railway remains at Coltbridge Junction in the early 1970s. Behind me is the viaduct which crossed the E&G west of Haymarket station and ...
John Clark //1972
This view, from the site of Coltbridge Junction Signalbox, looks south west towards Haymarket depot, where the tram line will skirt the perimeter of ...
Bill Roberton 27/09/2010
View from the site of Coltbridge Junction Signalbox looking south east with new plant being delivered to the Edinburgh tram works. ...
Bill Roberton 27/09/2010
View south along the former alignment of the demolished Caledonian viaduct. It is planned that there will be a triangular junction with the ...
Bill Roberton 27/09/2010
4 of 4 images.




This is a an unusually ornate disused double track girder bridge which crosses over Roseburn Terrace just to the south of the former Murrayfield station. The line closed to passengers in 1962. Today the bridge carries a footpath.
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This bridge over the A8 carried the CR Leith branch just south of Murrayfield station. Lions from the Caledonian's crest bookend some more inclusive ...
David Panton 23/06/2020
Detail of central section of the former Caledonian Railway bridge over Roseburn Terrace, Edinburgh, on the approach to Murrayfield station in February ...
John Furnevel 19/02/2006
Looking east at the Caledonian Railway bridge across Roseburn Terrace on the Granton branch with Murrayfield station to the left, 2002. ...
John Furnevel //2002
Part of an abutment of the former Caledonian Railway bridge over Roseburn Terrace, just south of Murrayfield station, in February 2006. The CR ...
John Furnevel 19/02/2006
4 of 4 images.


This was a two platform station on the lines between Edinburgh Princes Street and Leith North and Barnton. Both platforms had buildings, that on the northbound being slightly larger.
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Latest in the Murrayfield Community Council series of historical plaques is this one installed today for the old railway station on the Caledonian ...
John Yellowlees 08/10/2023
Remains of the southbound platform at the former Murrayfield station, on the Caledonian Railway's branch to Leith North and Granton, closed in 1962 ...
David Bosher 13/08/2021
Looking north on the Granton Branch, towards the viaduct over the Water of Leith, in a rare moment when cyclists were not passing through the old ...
Mark Bartlett 02/03/2023
Bridge carrying the Caledonian Railway's former Leith North and Granton branch, closed in 1962, over the main Edinburgh to Corstorphine road, looking ...
David Bosher 13/08/2021
4 of 13 images. more




This is a disused double track three arch viaduct over a path, the Water of Leith and Coltbridge Avenue. To the south was the Murrayfield station and to the north Craigleith.
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Thanks to the Caledonian Railway the generous proportions make this look more like a road than a cycle path. It was renovated a couple of years ago ...
David Panton 13/08/2021
Edinburgh City Council has commenced repairs to Coltbridge Viaduct, which until 1967 carried the Leith North branch across the Water of Leith and is ...
John Yellowlees 16/01/2020
View south along the Water of Leith at Coltbridge, just north west of Murrayfield station on the former Caledonian suburban route north out of Princes ...
John Furnevel 16/02/2006
3 of 3 images.


This was a two platform station with offices on Queensferry Road. There were waiting rooms on the platforms. The station was south of the road bridge and to the north was Craigleith Junction, the junction between the lines to Leith North and Barnton from Edinburgh Princes Street. There were goods sidings on the east side of the junction, approached from the south, with one in ...

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Remains of the southbound platform at Craigleith station - the northbound is buried in the undergrowth on the left - looking north, on 13th August ...
David Bosher 13/08/2021
The intact platforms at Craigleith are seen on the fine winter's morning of 3 December 2020. The view looks north towards Craigleith Junction. The ...
David Panton 03/12/2020
Although the village of Blackhall was nearby, Craigleith was nothing but a quarry when the railway opened and this bridge south of the station crossed ...
David Panton 18/04/2021
Craigleith's former platform is now on the Roseburn Path ...
John Yellowlees 24/04/2016
4 of 5 images. more


This double track junction was just north of Craigleith station, separated from it by the Queensferry Road overbridge. The existing signal box, dating from 1879 when the station opened, was used when the junction was created with the opening of the Barnton Branch (Caledonian Railway) in 1894. For this the box was renamed from Craigleith to Craigleith Junction.
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See also
Barnton Branch (Caledonian Railway)
The Barnton branch (left) parted company from the Caledonian's Leith North line just north of Craigleith station. As with Edinburgh's other railway ...
David Panton 29/12/2018
1 of 1 images.


This was the southern approach to Crew Junction where the routes to Granton and Leith divided. the junction was the southern end of loops on either side of the line which rejoined the main line at Crew Junction. There was a yard laid out on either side of the loops.
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This view looks north from the site of the buffers at Crew Yard and maintains the fine RailScot tradition of pictures of random vegetation. Crew ...
David Panton 02/12/2020
Detail from an information board on the CR Leith branch walkway. The photo-in-photo shows the southern end of Crew yard, and looks north towards the ...
David Panton 09/10/2020
Looking north over the site of Crew Junction Yard on 15th January 2019. The CR Leith branch ran in front of the fence in the background with the ...
Bill Roberton 15/01/2019
3 of 3 images.


This junction was between the goods only 1861 Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway) and the 1864 Leith North Branch (Caledonian Railway). The junction gave access to the Granton and Leith routes from the south. Both railways were double track.
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See also
Leith North Branch (Caledonian Railway)
Thought I would capture this information board at the site of Crew Junction before it gets covered in graffiti. I don't imagine this will have too ...
David Panton 09/10/2020
Base of a lattice post signal near Crew Junction, seen during a walk of closed Edinburgh railway lines in January 2019. This was most likely the down ...
Bill Roberton 15/01/2019
I am standing at the site of the box at Crew Junction at Crewe Toll, Edinburgh looking north. Another RailScot contributor asserts that this junction ...
David Panton 23/01/2019
Site of the sidings immediately east of Crew Junction. That rusty (lighting?) pole may be a remnant of the yard. Incidentally those sinister-looking ...
David Panton 08/05/2020
4 of 18 images. more


This junction is also known as Pilton Junction West. The signal box here was called Pilton West Junction.
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See also
Leith North Branch (Caledonian Railway)
I wonder how many people passing here are aware that this was once a railway line? The bridge carrying Crewe Road Gardens was obviously rebuilt at the ...
David Panton 09/10/2020
This picture serves as a 'now' to Bill Roberton's 'then' of 1980 (see image 75406). The Granton Gasworks station building, hardly changed, serves ...
David Panton 08/01/2021
The view north from West Granton Road in 1997. There was a cycleroute down there, laid on the original trackbed level. Since this photograph the large ...
Ewan Crawford /09/1997
Looking north west to Granton Gasworks, and its former station, from just north of Pilton West Junction in 1998. The trackbed into the works is in the ...
Ewan Crawford //1998
4 of 11 images. more


This was the junction between the Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)'s lines to the Granton western breakwater and Granton High Goods, and the connection to the former Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway (once a major transshipment point between the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway systems in Edinburgh.
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A 'now' picture to Bill Roberton’s 'then' of 1980 (see image 75464). A path follows the course of the harbour line, but otherwise it is ...
David Panton 01/01/2021
This view of 9th April 2020 looks towards Granton High Goods; Breakwater Junction was somewhere behind me, though the exact location has been ...
David Panton 09/04/2020
The Branch Line Society's 'Lothian & Fife Wanderer' DMU railtour passes the Texaco tank farm at Breakwater Junction on 23 August 1980.
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Bill Roberton 23/08/1980
This once rather neglected part of Granton, Edinburgh see image 33048 for map has been transformed during my years away from the city and in ...
David Panton 17/01/2015
4 of 6 images. more





Granton Western Breakwater

This was the junction between the Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)'s lines to the Granton western breakwater and Granton High Goods, and the connection to the former Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway (once a major transshipment point between the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway systems in Edinburgh.
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More details
A 'now' picture to Bill Roberton’s 'then' of 1980 (see image 75464). A path follows the course of the harbour line, but otherwise it is ...
David Panton 01/01/2021
This view of 9th April 2020 looks towards Granton High Goods; Breakwater Junction was somewhere behind me, though the exact location has been ...
David Panton 09/04/2020
The Branch Line Society's 'Lothian & Fife Wanderer' DMU railtour passes the Texaco tank farm at Breakwater Junction on 23 August 1980.
...
Bill Roberton 23/08/1980
This once rather neglected part of Granton, Edinburgh see image 33048 for map has been transformed during my years away from the city and in ...
David Panton 17/01/2015
4 of 6 images. more


The western breakwater protected Granton Harbour, to the east. At the north end of the breakwater was the Granton Esparto Wharf.
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See also
Granton West Beach Line (North British Railway)
There are clues here to a railway past. There was a shed at the end of the wharf and I am guessing it had communications with Breakwater Junction box ...
David Panton 30/04/2021
A look along Granton harbour's Western Breakwater which once once had a line running along its substantial length to serve Granton Esparto Wharf ...
David Panton 16/04/2020
Barclay 0-4-0 no D2413 moving wagonloads of esparto grass away from the dockside at Granton in February 1970.
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Bill Jamieson /02/1970
3 of 3 images.


This wharf was at the end of Granton Western Breakwater, on its south (ie harbour) side. Esparto grass was imported here for paper mills (such as Esk Mills). At the south end of the breakwater was a tight north to west curve which allowed trains to run east to Granton and Trinity [2nd] before continuing to the east of Edinburgh.
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View towards the end of the Western Breakwater at Granton showing the remaining rail (yes, just one.) There were in fact four tracks here; the ...
David Panton 06/06/2020
A look along the Western Breakwater at Granton. The view is southwest, so inland. Note the solitary remaining rail, the telegraph pole and what I take ...
David Panton 06/06/2020
2 of 2 images.





Granton High Goods

This was the junction between the Granton Branch (Caledonian Railway)'s lines to the Granton western breakwater and Granton High Goods, and the connection to the former Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway (once a major transshipment point between the Caledonian Railway and North British Railway systems in Edinburgh.
...

More details
A 'now' picture to Bill Roberton’s 'then' of 1980 (see image 75464). A path follows the course of the harbour line, but otherwise it is ...
David Panton 01/01/2021
This view of 9th April 2020 looks towards Granton High Goods; Breakwater Junction was somewhere behind me, though the exact location has been ...
David Panton 09/04/2020
The Branch Line Society's 'Lothian & Fife Wanderer' DMU railtour passes the Texaco tank farm at Breakwater Junction on 23 August 1980.
...
Bill Roberton 23/08/1980
This once rather neglected part of Granton, Edinburgh see image 33048 for map has been transformed during my years away from the city and in ...
David Panton 17/01/2015
4 of 6 images. more


These sidings served a tank farm and distribution depot owned by Regent Oil / Texaco above Granton Harbour and north east of Granton Gasworks. Oil was supplied by sea, through West Wharf [Grantion] on the western breakwater, and oil distributed by rail and road. The depot closed when the wharf was closed on health and safety grounds.
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This Caledonian Railway goods yard was on the graded line which dropped down from Breakwater Junction (to the west) to Granton Square where exchange was had with the North British Railway close to Granton station. It had a goods shed and coal depot sidings.
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The scrap metal firm occupying the former Granton High goods shed is in fact older than the railway, though they only moved here when the line was in ...
David Panton 27/11/2020
After the line was lifted in the mid 1980s this final part of the CR Granton branch became a cinder path. Probably as a result of the Waterfront ...
David Panton 19/03/2021
The CR’s goods building at Granton seems to still be in good shape and is in use by a long-established local firm. A line continued past the ...
David Panton 09/04/2020
Granton High Goods, the extremity of track lifting, in Spring 1986.
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Bill Roberton //1986
4 of 7 images. more