Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company

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Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company
Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company.jpg
Map of the route of the Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company
Operation
Locale Musselburgh
Open12 December 1904
Close25 February 1928
StatusClosed
Infrastructure
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Propulsion system(s)Electric
Statistics
Route length 6.53 miles (10.51 km)

Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company operated a passenger tramway service in Musselburgh between 1904 and 1928. [1]

Contents

History

The National Electric Construction Company built a 3-mile tramway in Musselburgh from the terminus of the Edinburgh cable-hauled tramway at Joppa, to Levenhall. This opened for service on 12 December 1904. In August 1905 the NEC set up the Musselburgh and District Electric Light and Traction Company to operate the line, and the system was expanded with an extension to Tranent Road in Cockenzie opening on 5 August 1909, and on 31 December 1909 to Port Seton bringing the total single line route to 6.55 miles.

Due to narrow streets, the line was mostly single track, with passing loops at various places. [2]

Construction of the Port Seton Golf Club course was largely funded by the company, as their terminus was midway along the proposed course. It opened in 1912, utilising 100 acres of land leased from Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss. [3] The club sponsored the Port Seton Professional Tournament in June 1914 to promote the course.

Closure

The line closed on 25 February 1928. Edinburgh Corporation Tramways assumed responsibility for through services as far as Levenhall. The remaining section was replaced by motor buses. [4]

Remnants

Near Morrison's Haven, a section of one double-track loop about 58m in length and laid in setts survives, and was uncovered at some point for educational purposes. It is thought other sections still survive beneath the tarmacced roads. [5]

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Trams operated in Edinburgh from 1871 to 1956, and resumed in 2014. The first systems were horse-drawn, while cable-haulage appeared in the city in 1888. Electric trams first ran on systems in neighbouring Musselburgh (1904) and Leith (1905), meeting the Edinburgh cable-trams at Joppa and Pilrig respectively. Electrification meant cable trams last ran in 1923, with through running now possible to Leith and as far east as Port Seton. The various systems were operated by different private and municipal entities over the years; the Edinburgh and Leith systems had been merged under Edinburgh Corporation by 1920, but it wasn't until 1928, after the partial closure of Musselburgh line, that all trams operating in Edinburgh were in the sole control of the corporation. The last electric trams ran in 1956, but electric trams returned in 2014 with the opening of Edinburgh Trams. Many of the trams from the horse/cable/first electric era were built in Shrubhill Works. Two trams have been preserved, a horse tram and an electric tram, built by Shrubhill in 1885 and 1948 respectively. A 1903 Dick Kerr cable-tram has also been purchased for preservation. Remnants of the cable-tram system can be seen in Waterloo Place and Henderson Row, and of the Musselburgh line at Morrison's Haven.

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References

  1. The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
  2. CANMORE Database record No. 295336
  3. Celebrating club's 100 years of history, East Lothian Courier, 8 Mar 2012
  4. CANMORE Database record No. 295336
  5. CANMORE Database record No. 295336