Old Photograph Train Station Penicuik Scotland

Old photograph of the train station in Penicuik, Scotland. The Penicuik Railway obtained its authorising Act on 28 June 1870. The Company's engineer was Thomas Bouch. The terrain was difficult, for the line followed the sinuous River North Esk, which runs between steep hillsides on both sides; the line crossed the River North Esk seven times in two and a half miles, and there was a viaduct and two tunnels. The line left the Peebles Railway at Hawthornden, and there were stations at Rosslyn and Auchendinny as well as Penicuik. The line opened for goods traffic on 9 May 1872 and to passengers on 2 September 1872. The Penicuik Railway was absorbed by the North British Railway, authorised by Act of Parliament of 13 July 1876 and effective on 1 August 1876. The line served several paper mills, and the attractive nature of the area encouraged residential travel by Edinburgh professionals. The line prospered for many years as an outer suburban branch, and for many years the railway was the only practicable means of residential travel to Edinburgh. The sixteen mile train journey from Penicuik to Edinburgh took about 40 minutes. Auchendinny station was closed on 5 March 1951, and the branch closed to passenger traffic on 10 September 1951. The last passenger train on the branch was a railtour on 29 August 1964. There were two landslides on the line in 1966, and at that time the only remaining traffic was an occasional goods train to Penicuik. The cost of the rectification considerably exceeded income, and the line was closed to all traffic on 27 March 1967.



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