In 1861, the Caledonian Railway, in its efforts to gain a foothold in
Granton and Leith, opened a line from Slateford to Granton with a
connection to Granton Harbour, where the Edinburgh, Dundee & Perth
Railway (NBR) was already established. The CR further built, at great
expense, an elevated line to Leith Docks in an effort to establish
itself in one of Scotland's busiest ports. Significant dock traffic
never materialised and the CR's 1903 Leith New Lines failed. The North
British Railway meanwhile, in their attempt to keep the CR out of Leith,
opened Leith Central station in 1903 - the largest station constructed
in Britain from scratch in the twentieth century. The station was much
larger than necessary and as such was never used to its full potential.
It was converted in 1955 to a Diesel Maintenance Depot and in 1972
closed completely. With a wealth of superb rare and previously
unpublished images, Kenneth G. Williamson tells the story of Edinburgh,
Granton and Leith railways.