Coltbridge Viaduct and the Water of Leith, Edinburgh.
The Caledonian Railway opened its branch to Leith in 1864 - initially for freight traffic only, with passenger traffic following in 1879. This three arch sandstone viaduct was required to carry the line over the Water of Leith at Coltbridge, between the later stations at Murrayfield and Craigleith. British Railways withdrew the passenger service on the 30th April 1962 and by the 1980s, the route had been converted into a cycleway and footpath, around the time creation of the Water of Leith Walkway (the riverside path in the foreground) was underway. In 2001, the railway route was proposed for use as part of the circular Line One tramway (North Edinburgh and City Centre). Plans changed and this route would then have been part of the Roseburn to Granton tramway (Phase 1b) but the well recorded financial woes of the modern Edinburgh tramway project meant that even this branch to Granton got the chop in 2009. However in 2020, the city’s draft mobility plan once again raises the possibility of trams to the Granton waterfront in the next ten years so Coltbridge Viaduct might yet see the return of railed transport. City of Edinburgh Council have recently carried out repairs to the viaduct. The two footpaths are connected by a long flight of steps out of sight to the right.
Coltbridge Viaduct and the Water of Leith, Edinburgh.
The Caledonian Railway opened its branch to Leith in 1864 - initially for freight traffic only, with passenger traffic following in 1879. This three arch sandstone viaduct was required to carry the line over the Water of Leith at Coltbridge, between the later stations at Murrayfield and Craigleith. British Railways withdrew the passenger service on the 30th April 1962 and by the 1980s, the route had been converted into a cycleway and footpath, around the time creation of the Water of Leith Walkway (the riverside path in the foreground) was underway. In 2001, the railway route was proposed for use as part of the circular Line One tramway (North Edinburgh and City Centre). Plans changed and this route would then have been part of the Roseburn to Granton tramway (Phase 1b) but the well recorded financial woes of the modern Edinburgh tramway project meant that even this branch to Granton got the chop in 2009. However in 2020, the city’s draft mobility plan once again raises the possibility of trams to the Granton waterfront in the next ten years so Coltbridge Viaduct might yet see the return of railed transport. City of Edinburgh Council have recently carried out repairs to the viaduct. The two footpaths are connected by a long flight of steps out of sight to the right.