Edinburgh Transport  -  Railways

Joppa Station

Joppa Station  -  1957

Edinburgh Railways - Joppa Station - 1957

©  Reproduced with acknowledgement to Neville Stead, A J Mullay and Ian Allan Publishers          G M Staddon / N E Stead collection

 

Joppa Station

A tank engine, 69146 waits to use the crossover at Joppa Station.  The bridge in the background carries the Lothian Lines between Portobello and Leith.

The chimney behind the engine is for the railway laundry.

Acknowledgement:  The comments above are taken from the caption above the photo on page 79 of  A J Mullay's book: 'Rail Centres, Edinburgh'.

 

Reply

1

George Renton

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

George Renton wrote:

Brunstane Road

"I've just read the caption for the photo above, about the bridge carrying buses between Porty and Leith.  That bridge carries Brunstane Road.

To my recollection buses did not operate on that road.  It ran from Brunstane Farm, crossed the Portobello road by Saint Phillips Church and terminated at the Esplanade, on the beach."

Comment

Brunstane Road

"Hi George:  You are correct.  I don't think buses ever ran down Brunstane Road.  However, after looking at an old map, I think I see how the confusion arose.

-  The Brunstane Road bridge is the bridge with the arch, immediately behind the footbridge.

-  A J Mullay's caption (quoted above) refers to the bridge further back, and it is not a reference to Lothian buses.  It is a reference to the network of railway lines to the SE from Portobello and used for freight traffic, particularly for carrying coal from the collieries.  These were known as the 'Lothian Lines'.

In fact, reading the comments in your 'Engine' paragraph below, I see that you've also noticed this bridge, describing the line as the South Leith Goods Line that went up towards the coal mine."

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:  June 19, 2014

The Factory

"The factory with the square stack, that I think you identify as the railway laundry, was at some point in the early-1960s some sort of confectionery that made hard sweeties.

After a fire, it reopened partially making PVC gloves and (I think) aprons.  At least, that's the scrap material that used to lie about the place.

The Engine

The engine in the distance on the left-hand-side of the photo is in the goods yard.  The two pillars framing it carry the South Leith Goods Line that  went up towards the coal mine. 

That's the track on which I mentioned the engine breaking traction on the dark, foggy, frosty night in my recollections of the nearby Portobello East Signal Box

The Sir Harry Lauder connector road now uses that right of way."

The Goods Yard

"I remember taking the train from Joppa to Portobello for a  'round trip' twice a day.  (I came home for dinner.)

-  There was a loading dock under that bridge where they would load sugar beets into open railway stock when in season.

-  There was also a saw mill there.

- They created an area in this goods yard where they had those early inter-modal road trailers that they put railway bogies under, to make a train."

George Renton, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada:  May 29, 2014

 

 

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