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Time-lapse Edinburgh video shows evolution of Waverley Station through the decades

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
AuthorLee Dalgetty
Published date27 June 2022
Publication titleEdinburghLive (Scotland)
Passing through several generations of change, we watch as the land that is now Waverley reverts back to how it looked before the advent of the railways

Having been established in the 1840s, Waverley Station is steeped in history - and the footage uploaded by The Time Travel Artist condenses this into just four and a half minutes. Alongside the station, the city develops before our eyes as buildings crop up and the roads begin to fill with motorised vehicles in place of horses and carts.

READ MORE -Life in post-war Edinburgh revealed in fascinating 1940s footage

As we see in the footage, in the mid-18th century Edinburgh's Old Town was bound by a valley in which the Nor Loch had formed. Overcrowding in the city led to proposals to create a link over the body of water which would allow development in the north.

As buildings were constructed on the other side of the bridge, plans for 'pleasure grounds' were in discussions - what we now know as Princes Street Gardens. By the 1830s, proposals for a railway connecting Glasgow to the capital were set out.

The terminus in Edinburgh became Haymarket Station, after opposition came to running a railway through the quiet gardens that had been created on Princes Street. An agreement was finally reached in 1844, creating walls and embankments to conceal the railway line and opening and allowing trains to run through the city.

At this point, there were three different railway stations serving different lines. General Station served the Edinburgh to Glasgow line, North Bridge Station led to Berwick-upon-Tweed, while Canal Street Station connected Leith and Granton to the city centre.

These were eventually demolished by the North British...

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