Edinburgh Princes Street railway station

:"Princes Street station is not to be confused with former North British Railway's Waverley station, located at the east end of the Princes Street Gardens".

Infobox UK disused station
name = Edinburgh Princes Street
other_name =


caption = The Caledonian Hotel, all that now remains of the station complex
original = Caledonian Railway
postgroup = LMS
locale = Edinburgh
borough = Edinburgh
latitude =
longitude =
years = 2 May 1870
events = Temporary wooden station opened
years1 = 1890
events1 = Partly destroyed by fire & building work on permanent station started
years2 = 1893
events2 = Permanent station brought into use
years3 = 1903
events3 = Hotel added
years4 = 6 September 1965
events4 = Station Closed
platforms = 7|

Princes Street Station was a mainline railway station which stood at the west end of Princes Street, in Edinburgh, Scotland, for almost 100 years.

The Caledonian Railway company's main line reached Edinburgh, and was ceremonially opened on 15 February 1848.Nock (1961)] Its initial Edinburgh terminus was located at Lothian Road.

Construction of the Princes Street terminus

The track was extended slightly and the temporary Lothian Road station, opened in 1848, was replaced in 1870 by an another temporary station in Princes Street.

Princes Street station was rebuilt, between 1890 and 1893; to become a grand station with seven platforms and an 850 ft long bayed roof.

The Caledonian Hotel, a grand railway hotel, was built above the main entrance of the station and opened in 1903.

Mainline and suburban services

The mainline to London, via Carstairs, headed southwest from the station, which was later augmented with a number of suburban stops and a branchline to Colinton and Balerno. The Caledonian railway company later added several other suburban lines serving the north and west of the city, including Barnton, Davidson's Mains, Granton, and Leith. By contrast the North British Railway's suburban lines largely served the south and east of the city.

rail line
next = Merchiston
"Line and station closed"
previous =
route = Caledonian Railway

"'CR Main Line
col = Caledonian colour rail line
next = Dalry Road
"Line and station closed"
previous =
route = Caledonian Railway

"'Granton Branch
col = Caledonian colour rail line
next = Dalry Road Lines to westbound
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
"Line closed"
previous =
route = CR and NBR

"'Dalry Road Lines
col = CR-NBR-Jt colour
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Closure

After nationalisation of the railways in 1948, it was logical to concentrate all rail services in Edinburgh on one station. With Waverley Station a short distance along Princes Street beyond Princes Street Gardens, by the 1960s Princes Street Station was seen as surplus to requirements. Although its street-level entrance was rather more convenient for travellers than that of Waverley (which is in a deep cutting and requires a steep climb to reach street level), the latter was much larger, more conveniently located within the city, and (crucially) had access to the East Coast Main Line. After closure of Princes Street, the west end of the city centre would continue to be served by nearby Haymarket Station.

Local services were gradually withdrawn, starting with those to Balerno in 1943, followed by those to Barnton in 1951, Leith North in 1962, and stopping trains on the main line to Carstairs in 1964. The remaining services to Glasgow Central, Stirling and English cities were then diverted to Waverley, allowing Princes Street Station to be closed in 1965 and largely demolished in 1969, with the Western Approach Road being built along the track bed. However, the Caledonian Hotel still operates on the site and has been renamed the "Caledonian Hilton". Part of the station space still remains within it and the grand entrance arch is still visible at the side of the hotel. The former Parcels Office lingered, on Lothian Road between the hotel and the Western Approach Road, until a major office development was constructed on its site in the 1990s.

ee also

* British Transport Hotels

References

Notes

Sources

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*
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* [http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/1_edin_t/1_edinburgh_transport_railways_-_princes_street_station.htm Information about Princes Street Station]
* [http://www.sbe.hw.ac.uk/edmetro/history.html Edinburgh's railway history]
* [http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries/artsphere/architects/peddieindex/1PrincesStStationCaledonianHotelentrances.jpgPhotograph of the station and hotel entrances in 1910]
* [http://www.firstcity.f9.co.uk/rail.htm Details about the hotel]