Scotland Street Rail Tunnel

In the early 1840s, work began on building a railway tunnel to allow services on the Edinburgh Leith and Newhaven Railway to operate right into the heart of the city. (Map of the tunnel route)

Creating it involved driving a substantial tunnel from Canonmills, under Scotland Street, Dublin Street and St Andrew Square to a new terminus at Canal Street, immediately to the north of Waverley station. To assist the building, a guide tunnel was dug to enable water to escape and to allow the dug material to be removed. Part of this work involved sinking five shafts into the guide tunnel, including one in Albany Street. Concerns about the tunnel were intensified by an accident that forced water out of the guide tunnel and into some of the surrounding streets. To allay concerns the engineers explained the depths of the tunnel below each street, and the content of the ground between. In Albany Street the tunnel ran 41½ feet below the street, and the ground between was 35 feet clay and 8½ feet rock. The main concern was the section of the tunnel under Dublin Street due to the ground content.

The 1,000 yards long tunnel was completed in May 1847 having cost over £100,000. In order to cope with the steep gradient, passenger carriages proceeding downhill were steadied by brake trucks, while those heading uphill were hauled by an endless rope pulled by a winding engine. However, by 1868 an alternative route had been completed and the Scotland Street Tunnel was abandoned.