Another of the series opening a window on the capital's less well known history.

The St Leonards to Duddingston Junction branch line - known locally as "The innocent Railway" - opened in 1831, and remained in use in one form or another until 1968. It runs roughly westwards along the foot of Arthur's Seat, from Duddingston Road, through a tunnel under part of Holyrood Park, to the old station terminus at St. Leonards, and now forms a part of a popular cycleway running as far east as Dalkeith.

Various schools of thought have offered reasons for the railway's nickname; one popular theory states that this came about because of it having experienced no serious accidents - though history records this is a false belief - while another suggests it came about because the trains remained horse-drawn well into the steam age, with the initial conversion to steam being in the form of a stationary engine housed at St Leonards, before finally becoming locomotive operated.

This collection explores the two miles of branch line between Haymarket West Junction, opened in 1902 by the North British Railway Co. and closed in 1968. It forms part 1 of a series charting some of Edinburgh's forgotten railways.

Once a small village to the south of Edinburgh, Morningside is now an integral, affluent and very busy part of the city. There is much in the way of history here in the form of old buildings, each with a story to tell; road layouts which owe heir existence to the Romans; and one particular discreet 'monument' marking a very grisly episode in the area's past...

Recommended further reading :

'Old Tollcross, Morningside and Swanston' by Malcolm Cant, available from Stenlake Publishing; ISBN 1-840331-70-4.

Of the photos published here, some correspond nicely to old views in the book. Also, I am indebted to the book and its author for much of the historical information included here.

A series of photographs from Newington, St. Leonards and The Grange, all in the south eastern part of the modern day city centre.

The South Side at one time provided a marked contrast to the overcrowding that was in evidence in the Old Town, being very green and rural. This all changed during the 19th and early 20th centuries as the various country states were developed apace.

As usual, Stenlake Publishing produces an excellent book for further reading, in this case:

'Old Newington, Grange, Liberton and Gilmerton' by Robin Sherman; ISBN 1-84033-119-4

I am again endebted to the book and its author Most of the images in this collection are conscious, direct, up-to-date recreations of scenes depicted in the book, for comparison. Page references are given.

Opened in the 1870s, the Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway left the Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway south of Millerhill, and served Gilmerton, Loanhead, Roslin and Glencorse, the terminus of the line, carrying a large amount of coal traffic as well as passengers. Passenger services were withdrawn in 1933, and freight traffic dwindled away over the next 35 years Only Bilston Glen Colliery, a vast site to the West of Loanhead, continued to be served, and by the late 1980s this had been worked out and the line closed, relieved of its last remaining duty.

Today, much of the basic infrastructure remains, albeit in highly derelict condition; however there remain some fascinating gems of antiquity amongst the general disrepair. It would not be an insurmountable task to reinstate a passenger sdervice as far as Loanhead, should the will ever exist.

Further photographs will be added on future visits.