CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh

The last Innocent train

(19 posts)
  • Started 8 years ago by Wilmington's Cow
  • Latest reply from chdot

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  1. Again the music on a train video, just awful, but really nice video:

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    .

    http://youtu.be/XVRPmdUCwH4

    Posted 8 years ago #
  2. Tulyar
    Member

    Why can't we just have the URL like we used to? This screws up my machine and is a pain to access.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  3. crowriver
    Member

    I had no idea it was in use that late! I was alive when that footage was shot...

    Interesting seeing all the industrial buildings round St Leonards. How things have changed.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  4. On the URL, as long as I can remember on this forum a YouTube link automatically converts to the embedded video!

    Was weird watching identifiable bits of the path, but with the rails and weeds dominating. Must have actually been quite a task tarmaccing all of that!

    Posted 8 years ago #
  5. wingpig
    Member

    The skyline's quite familiar, particularly with DHT and Appleton already built. In a way, Homebase's car park doesn't look too different either.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  6. Min
    Member

    Really interesting video! No idea what that music was about though..

    Posted 8 years ago #
  7. chdot
    Admin

    Great little movie!

    Only been on YouTube a couple of days, I wonder if there are any more coming.

    "Must have actually been quite a task tarmaccing all of that!"

    Think it was a whin dust path first. Not done to same standard as NEPN - which is why the the tree roots keep pushing up the surface.

    Tarmacced Innocent officially opened by Lynda Chalker (then) Transport Minister.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  8. ARobComp
    Member

    having lived in the building just at the top of the tunnel for 4 years that was super interesting! Thanks!

    Posted 8 years ago #
  9. chdot
    Admin

    At the coal yard.

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    .

    http://youtu.be/yBqfcMXL4Bw

    Posted 8 years ago #
  10. kaputnik
    Moderator

    According to Railscot, for the Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway;

    22/7/1968 St Leonards closed to freight.
    /8/1968 St Leonards to Duddingston closed.

    Passenger services to St Leonards had been withdrawn in 1847, previously one could go from one end of the line at Dalhousie into town on a horse-drawn system.

    The line was originally built to "Scotch gauge" (4' 6"), which is slightly different to Stephenson's "Standard gauge" (4' 8 1/2"); the former being the standard used in Scottish mineral tramways at the time, the latter was what was used in the northeast of England where George was working. When the North British took over the system in 1845, they had to rip the whole lot up and re-lay it to standard guage; this would have been neccessary anyway to allow the running of locomotives as the cast iron rails used were far too lightly and roughly built for this. They also had to significantly widen the radius of some of the curves near Millerhill, resulting in quite a change in the alignment of the trackbed here.

    The "Innocent" had branches from Niddrie first to the harbour at Fisherrow and later to Leith Docks. Passenger services were something of a distraction though - and the station was hardly conveniently located for the city centre. The primary purpose of the route was always to bring the coals of the Lothian coalfield into the centre of Edinburgh (it was no small coincidence that two of the major figures involved in the scheme, the Marquis of Lothian and the Duke of Buccleuch were also coalmasters with growing pits on their lands). Later, as industry grew up around St. Leonards, beer and paper left in the opposite direction.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  11. chdot
    Admin

  12. chdot
    Admin

    By email

    "

    I am amazed by the amount of interest in it.  Other than some people who just had to comment negatively on the choice of background music :-)
    I always try to find royalty-free tracks to use but my focus (forgive the pun) is always on the photography/video.

    My wife and I get back (from where we live in “Silicon Valley”) every 1 or 2 years to Edinburgh, so next time we must go see it.  Is it open as a walkway too?  Is there a local bike rental shop?  We love walking the city - especially the Water of Leith trails.

    I recently rediscovered some old 8mm movies I had taken in the ‘60s so had them converted to digital format.  The only other one of possible general interest is “Winter Coal Deliveries” at https://youtu.be/yBqfcMXL4Bw

    I had a good 35mm camera back then, but the movie camera was a cheap Kodak Brownie 8 - 8mm that my Dad picked up for me.  So, most of my photo work back then was B/W stills - wish I had taken more movies around town at that time :-(

    I still favor still photography, but now also usually carry a GoPro for simple capture of some of our trips/activities.

    Ron

    "

    Posted 8 years ago #
  13. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Back when men were men, winters were winters and bunnets were bunnets.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  14. chdot
    Admin

    You're too young to know...

    Posted 8 years ago #
  15. chdot
    Admin

    I never saw the Innocent when it was a working railway, but I did walk up the tunnel when it was fenced off at the top because the building at the mouth (where the flats are now) was a bond.

    Posted 8 years ago #
  16. gembo
    Member

    The coal on the last train looked a bit like nutty slack. But the stuff on the winter lorry looked more substantial

    Posted 8 years ago #
  17. chdot
    Admin

  18. chdot
    Admin

    "Tarmacced Innocent officially opened by Lynda Chalker (then) Transport Minister."

    I knew I had this somewhere

    (Yes, that's DdF)

    Posted 7 years ago #
  19. chdot
    Admin


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