Balerno railway station was opened in 1874 and served the area of the village of

Balerno Balerno (; gd, Baile Àirneach, IPA: �paleˈɛːɾʲnəx Scots: Balerno or Balernie) is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the cou ...

that now forms part of the city of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Although primarily built as a goods line, with a dedicated goods station at Balerno, serving the many mills on the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...

, a passenger service was provided by the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) 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 an ...

using the Balerno Loop and after grouping by the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

, seeing formal closure to passenger traffic shortly after nationalisation. The station was the only one with a separately served goods station on the 'loop' line and lay in rural surroundings that had been popular with families having a day out in the country.

History

Opened by the

, it became part of the

London Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

during the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of 1923, and the LMS ran the last train to serve the station in 1943 with the expectation that the line would re-open after the war. The line passed to the

Scottish Region of British Railways The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation o ...

upon

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1948 who then officially closed Balerno in 1949. The line had many tight curves and the low line speeds made it vulnerable to competition from road transport.

Infrastructure

Passenger station

The station had a stationmaster's house, ticket office, waiting room, etc and was located on the western side of the line with a typical

style small wooden station building with a short canopy. The station had a single platform and at first stood on a single track section, however later a passing loop was added. The stationmaster's house survives as a private dwelling. A signalbox was located on the south side of the road bridge close to Balerno Goods Junction. The Balerno Loop line joined the Shotts Line to the west at Ravelrig Junction, near where Ravelrig Junction Platform station stood from 1884 until 1920.

Balerno goods station

The OS map of 1893 shows the goods station (NT163668) with its signal box near Balerno Goods Junction standing to the south-west of the passenger station with several sidings, a crane, small associated buildings and a large goods shed. The goods station was closer to the village than the passenger station. The track layout and buildings show several changes over the years.OS 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, 1937-1961
/ref> The site is now occupied by a school.

References

Notes

Sources

* * Wignall, C.J. (1983). ''Complete British Railways Maps and Gazetteer From 1830-1981.'' Oxford : Oxford Publishing Co. .

External links

{{Transport in Edinburgh Disused railway stations in Edinburgh Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1874 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1943 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1949 Former Caledonian Railway stations