St Leonards railway station (Scotland)

St. Leonards railway station is a closed railway station in St Leonard's, Edinburgh, on the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway. It was Edinburgh's first railway station. The railway was built in 1831 to transport coal from the mining towns south of the city; and the following year opened passenger services. St. Leonards was the terminus for the south of the city and was named after the nearby region.

St Leonards
Surviving goods shed
General information
Location	Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh Scotland
Coordinates	55.9426°N 3.1757°W / 55.9426; -3.1757
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
2 June 1832	Opened
1846	Closed
1 June 1860	Reopened
30 September 1860	Closed to passengers - site reused as a goods depot
1968	Goods depot closed
Location St Leonards Location within the City of Edinburgh council area

Passenger services ceased in 1846, when the North British Railway opened a station at North Bridge which later developed into Waverley station. Services from Dalkeith were re-routed via Portobello. The station reopened briefly between 1 June 1860 and 30 September 1860 when a service was temporarily re-introduced from St. Leonard's to Dalkeith, Portobello and Leith, but it closed again within a few months. The railhead continued to see heavy use in its original intended role as a coal yard until 1968.^[1]

Both the coal depot and part of the railway line have been redeveloped as housing. The goods shed is the only surviving building; it has been designated a Category B listed building by Historic Environment Scotland.^[2] In 2019 it was converted into a whisky and gin distillery, operated by Holyrood Distillery.^[3] The remaining trackbed is now a footpath and cycle path, forming part of the National Cycle Network Route 1.^[4]

A 1905 Railway Clearing House diagram of Edinburgh railways, showing the location of St Leonards railway station

See also

• Innocent Railway

References

1. "Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway, St Leonard's Station | Canmore".
2. "St Leonard's Lane, St Leonard's Station Including Outbuilding at Gate and Gatepiers". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
3. Andy Gemmell, Andy (7 July 2019). "Drink with Andy Gemmell: Holyrood Distillery". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
4. Lewis, Mike (August 2020). "Edinburgh Bike Paths: A Cyclist's Guide". Cycling Edinburgh. Retrieved 2 December 2022.

External links

• Railways - St Leonard's Station