page_title: Caledonian Railway
section_title: Edinburgh and Lothians
hierarchical_section_title: Caledonian Railway / Edinburgh and Lothians
caption_attribution_description: Railway Junctions in Edinburgh, Granton, Haymarket &amp; Leith pre grouping
context_page_description: The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with a dense network of branch lines in the area surrounding Glasgow. It was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Many of its principal routes are still used, and the original main line between Carlisle and Glasgow is in use as part of the West Coast Main Line railway.
context_section_description: The Caledonian Railway entered Edinburgh from Carstairs on 15 February 1848; its terminus was a one-platform station named Lothian Road. This was the first line to offer travel without change of carriage between Edinburgh and England: passengers on the rival North British Railway needed to cross the River Tweed on foot to continue their rail journey.
  The unsatisfactory Edinburgh terminus needed improvement but funds were limited, and the Caledonian built a short spur to Haymarket; talks had taken place about using the E&GR and NBR station, later named Waverley; but the NBR rejected the idea. Eventually in 1870 the Lothian Road station was much improved and extended, and the new terminus was named Princes Street.
  The owner of Granton Harbour encouraged, and half-funded, the construction of a branch from near Lothian Road, and this opened in 1861. A branch from the Granton line to Leith Docks was made in 1864. This line was opened to passengers from 1879: the Leith terminal was later renamed Leith North. After 1900 the port authorities built new modern docks to the east of the former Leith docks, and the Caledonian further extended its Leith line to reach the new facilities: the Leith New Lines opened in 1903. It had been planned to open a passenger service on the line, and passenger stations had been built, but street tramcar competition made it clear that an inner suburban passenger railway was unviable and the passenger service was never inaugurated.
  The Edinburgh main line passed close to numerous mineral workings, and several short branches and connections were made to collieries, iron workings and shale oil plants. The Wilsontown branch from Auchengray, opened in 1860 was the most significant, and carried a passenger service.
  The original Wishaw and Coltness Railway, now leased by the Caledonian, had long since reached Cleland ironworks from the west, and in 1869 the line was extended from near there to Midcalder Junction on the Edinburgh main line, passing through Shotts, Fauldhouse and Midcalder. This line connected to many further mines and industrial sites, and gave the Caledonian a passenger route between Glasgow and Edinburgh that competed with the North British Railway's route through Falkirk.
  The first main line had by-passed a considerable centre of industry located on the Water of Leith south-west of the city, and a branch line to Balerno opened on 1 August 1874. The line was successful in encouraging residential building, especially at Colinton, and also leisure excursions: for a time it was known as the picnic line, but it too succumbed to more convenient transport facilities by road, and it closed to passengers in 1943.
  Speculative residential development encouraged the construction of a line to Barnton, west of Edinburgh. The branch line opened on 1 March 1894; the terminus was named Cramond Brig at first. The Caledonian intended to make the line into a loop, returning to the city by way of Corstorphine, but this idea was shelved.
caption: Caledonian lines are shown in red on this 1905 Railway Clearing House map of Edinburgh.
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