Built - 1831

"South Leith station was the first passenger station in Leith.  It was built for the Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway  in 1831.

Trains were originally horse-drawn but a fire destroyed the stables and the trains became loco- hauled after that.

The station was closed to passengers in 1905.  I have a North British bell from this station."

Station Demolition in Leith

Jimmy Gordon lived in South Leith up until his death in 1987.  He retired as Yard Foreman at Leith Central Station in 1965.

His next door neighbours were Mr & Mrs Dudgeon who moved out not long after he died.

The various rooms on the platform were still intact when the property was occupied.  In fact, the Ladies Waiting Room was used to store the vast quantities of coal Jimmy Gordon received from the Earl Haig Fund.

Sadly, when he died his next door neighbours moved out (the property was owned by a scrap dealer) and the station was demolished to make way for a lorry park, despite attempts to preserve it.

Leith General Warehousing was beside the station and a few of their wagons are now at Bo'ness (Scottish Railway Preservation Society) as is the turntable which was used to push wagons by hand in and out of the warehouse.

Jimmy Gordon is now buried in Caddonfoot Cemetery, just outside Clovenfords.

I'm fortunate to have acquired a lot of his railway 'stuff'.

New use - 2010

"The Edinburgh and Dalkeith South Leith station was where the car pound now is - off the E end of Tower Street.

Interestingly enough, the South Leith station area might yet return to (light) rail use - it is the proposed site of the tram depot."