This line connected Newhaven to the east end of Leith docks. The line carried freight only although passenger stations were built. Although built at great expense it never saw major use. Another portion of the line was not even built. There was to be a triangular junction at Lochend with a line to Edinburgh Princes Street under the city with a branch to Waverley Market by Edinburgh Waverley station).
The Caledonian Railway already had a line to the western docks at Leith, but the larger and more modern docks were to the east. This line gave the Caledonian Railway an approach to these docks.
The Caledonian did not have much access to the East Lothian coalfield. If they had, this line could have been used to alleviate the bottlenecks the North British Railway were suffering which led to the coal owners considering their own lines to the docks. The expected large traffic never came and the double track line was reduced to a single track. After all, the Caledonian already had a coal export terminal at Grangemouth Docks so busy they would continue to improve it for years to come.
This line is divided into a number of portions.
This junction opened in 1879 when the Leith North, which had opened in 1864, was converted for passenger use. A separate line ran from here on the south side of the original goods line to North Leith.
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Some preparations were made for platforms on the Leith New Lines south of the existing Newhaven station. The brick platforms, on the west to south curve, never opened. These commenced, in the west, at the extreme west end of the very long Edinburgh Princes Street bound platform of the main Newhaven station, which extended far west of the Craighall Road overbridge. The were bounded ...
More detailsThis two platform station never opened to regular traffic. It was located between Ferry Road Junction to the north and Ferry Road itself to the south. Two brick built platforms were in a cutting on either side of the double track line.
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This goods depot was from the Leith New Lines (Caledonian Railway). This was the Caledonian Railway's equivalent goods depot to the North British Railway's Bonnington Goods.
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This halt was opened for a military review in 1908. It was to the east of a large lattice bridge over the Newhaven Road/Pilrig Street and Broughton Road/Bonnington Road crossroads (Bonnington Toll). The line was raised on an embankment here. The halt's name may have been Pilrig rather than Pilrig Street.
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This goods station was west of the unopened Leith Walk [CR] station. It was served from the west and fanned out at a lower level than the line on the west side of Leith Walk itself. There was a large goods shed to the south and series of sidings with the embankment of the through route to the north.
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This was built as an elevated two platform station on the east side of Leith Walk. The line was double track. Across Leith Walk, crossed by a large girder bridge, was Leith Walk West Goods. The passenger station did not open to regular traffic but the goods station was opened.
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These maltings were rail served from the Leith New Lines (Caledonian Railway). The maltings were on the south side of this line and served from the west. The buildings were demolished shortly after closure.
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Restalrig Goods and Mineral Depot was on the north side of the Leith New Lines (Caledonian Railway)'s double track line. Access was from the west and to the west the line crossed over the Leith Central Branch (North British Railway). Although a connection between the two here was proposed it was not built.
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This was the junction between the branch to Leith East Goods and the line on the Seafield Viaduct over Seafield Road to Seafield Yard [CR]. The lines ran west to Newhaven. Both lines were double track. Fillyside house was immediately to the west.
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This terminus was a goods and mineral station in South Leith. It was opened close to the competing North British Railway's South Leith Goods, just to the north over Salamander Street.
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In Leith on Elbe Street. Served by a siding crossing Salamander Place from Leith East Goods. Siding laid in during the late 1930s.
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This was the junction between the branch to Leith East Goods and the line on the Seafield Viaduct over Seafield Road to Seafield Yard [CR]. The lines ran west to Newhaven. Both lines were double track. Fillyside house was immediately to the west.
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This junction was at the south end of the Caledonian Railway's Seafield Viaduct which crossed Seafield Road and the east end of the North British Railway's Seafield Yard by Seafield Junction [NB].
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This was a double track viaduct over (from south to north) Seafield Road, the former Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway's South Leith branch and the later Lothian Lines (North British Railway).
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This yard was laid out to the north of Leith South Yard at the end of the Leith New Lines (Caledonian Railway) branch. The yard consisted of two groups of marshalling sidings, a locomotive shed (Seafield Shed [CR]) and a connection to the Leith Harbour and Dock Commissioners Railway serving Imperial Dock [Leith] and the other docks.
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This shed opened in 1902 as part of the Leith New Lines (Caledonian Railway).
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