Colinton railway station was opened in 1874 and served the area of the then village of Colinton that now forms part of the city of Edinburgh, with Colinton House nearby. Although primarily built as a goods line to serve the many mills on the Water of Leith, a passenger service was provided by the Caledonian Railway 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.

History

Opened by the Caledonian Railway, it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping 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 20.19 to Edinburgh had been the last train and carried 24 passengers. 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 Colinton in 1949. Tight curves on the line resulted in slow speeds and made the line vulnerable to competition from tram services. It had once been very popular with families wishing to go for a day out in the country.Wignal (2001), Page 118

Infrastructure

The station had a single platform and was located on the northern side of the single track line just to the west of Colinton Tunnel with a typical Caledonian Railway style small wooden station building with a canopy. The goods yard, also on the north side of the line, was served from the west side of the station and had an open ended goods shed and a bay siding. The Water of Leith lies nearby and an overbridge crossed the railway and the river. A signalbox lay to the west near the junction of the West Mills (corn and paper) goods branch. A set of steep steps, known locally as 'Jacob's Ladder' gave access to the area above the tunnel portal where the stationmaster's house was located, one occupant being John Kerr. An old passenger carriage body sat close to the station building for many years.Wignal (2001), Page 118 The OS map of 1893 shows the goods shed with two other sidings, a weighing machine, a crane and several small buildings associated with the goods yards. The goods shed and a siding are still shown on the 1955 OS map, the passenger station having closed in 1943. NT26 (includes: Edinburgh; Loanhead; Penicuik) Publication date: 1955
/ref>

The site today

The station is now part of the Water of Leith cyclepath that follows much of the route of the Balerno Loop and the goods yard is a car park.

References

Notes

Sources

* * Sanders, Keith & Hodgins, Douglas (2001). ''British Railways Past & Present. South East Scotland. No.9''. Kettering : Past & Present Publishing.. * Wignall, C.J. (1983). ''Complete British Railways Maps and Gazetteer From 1830-1981.'' Oxford : Oxford Publishing Co. .

{{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