Currie railway station was opened in 1874 and served the area of the village of

Currie Currie is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It is situated be ...

that now forms part of the city of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Although primarily built as a goods line to serve the many mills on the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The ...

, a passenger service was provided by the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively ex ...

using the Balerno Loop and after grouping by the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

, seeing formal closure to passenger traffic shortly after nationalisation. The station was the largest on the 'loop' line and lay in rural surroundings and had once been popular with families having a day out in the country.

History

Opened by the

, it became part of the

London Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

during the

Grouping Grouping generally refers to the creation of one or more groups, or to the groups themselves. More specifically, grouping may refer to: * Shot grouping in shooting sports and other uses of firearms * the use of symbols of grouping in mathemati ...

of 1923, and the LMS ran the last train to serve the station in 1943 with the expectation that the line would re-open after the war. The line passed to the

Scottish Region of British Railways The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation ...

upon

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

in 1948 who then officially closed Currie in 1949. The line had many tight curves and the low line speeds made it vulnerable to competition from road transport.

Infrastructure

The station had a passing loop, two wooden platforms, a pedestrian overbridge with the ticket office, waiting room, etc. located on the northern side of the single track line with a typical

style small wooden station building with a short canopy. The goods yard, on the south side of the line, was served from the west side of the station and had a large goods shed. A signalbox was located on the westbound platform at the west end. The station was host to a LMS

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

from 1936 to 1939. The OS map of 1893 shows the goods shed with one other siding and a siding running parallel to the main line, a weighing machine and several small buildings associated with the goods yards.Edinburghshire VI.8 (Currie) Publication date: 1895 Revised: 1893
/ref> By 1967 the platforms had been removed, the passing loop remained and the station building was still intact.

The site today

The station is now part of the Water of Leith Walkway that follows much of the route of the Balerno Loop. The platforms survive only as low earthen mounds and the old goods shed was used by the council for storage.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * Wignall, C.J. (1983). ''Complete British Railways Maps and Gazetteer From 1830-1981.'' Oxford : Oxford Publishing Co. .

Disused railway stations in Edinburgh Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1874 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1943 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1949 Former Caledonian Railway stations {{Edinburgh-railstation-stub