Gare centrale de Leith

Leith Central Railway Station était une gare ferroviaire de Leith, à Édimbourg en Écosse. Elle constituait le terminus d'une ligne secondaire du North British Railway en provenance de la gare d'Édimbourg Waverley. La gare a été construite en 1903 et comprenait un hangar à trains au-dessus des quais.

À la suite de l'annexion de Leith à la ville d'Édimbourg en 1920, les deux systèmes de tramway autrefois séparés ont été réunis. L'amélioration des services a créé une concurrence intense avec le chemin de fer, affectant la viabilité de la gare centrale de Leith. Jusqu'en 1952, Leith Central proposait un service régulier de transport de passagers vers Édimbourg.

1. Description

La caractéristique la plus frappante de la gare centrale de Leith était sa taille. La gare occupait un pâté de maisons entier à Leith Walk. Les quatre quais étaient positionnés au-dessus du niveau de la rue, les arrêts étant à l'extrémité ouest. En dessous se trouvaient une série de locaux commerciaux du côté de Leith Walk et de Duke Street, au pied de la promenade, notamment le Central Bar, qui existe toujours, avec ses décorations de céramiques et ses peintures murales.

1. Réutilisation

Après sa fermeture aux passagers, la gare a été adaptée pour devenir un dépôt de locomotives pour les nouvelles rames automotrices diesel utilisées sur les services express (à partir de 1956) entre Édimbourg Waverley et Glasgow Queen Street. Il fut finalement fermé en 1972 et devint abandonné. Dans les années 1980, la gare abandonnée était connue comme un refuge pour les toxicomanes, ce qui a inspiré une scène clé de Trainspotting d'Irvine Welsh. Le personnage de Begbie se trouve dans la gare à cette fin, lorsque, dans l'ombre, un clochard alcoolique se moque de lui en disant qu'il doit être là pour observer les trains. Begbie se rend compte que le clochard est son père. La scène n'a pas été incluse dans le film, mais dans sa suite. Le grand hangar à trains a ensuite été démoli et il ne reste que le terminal et la tour de l'horloge. Le site des quais de la gare abrite actuellement un centre de jeux pour enfants et un supermarché. Le bâtiment principal qui abritait les bureaux de la gare, la salle d'attente, l'horloge de la gare et les magasins au niveau de la rue se dressent toujours sur Leith Walk.

1. Références

Portail de l’Écosse Portail du chemin de fer Portail de l’architecture et de l’urbanisme Portail des monuments classés au Royaume-Uni

Lieux à Proximité Voir Menu

Leith Central railway station

Leith Central Railway Station was a railway station in Leith, Scotland. It formed the terminus of a North British Railway branch line from Edinburgh Waverley. The station was built on a large scale, and it included a trainshed over the platforms. Following the amalgamation of the county of city of Edinburgh and the Burgh of Leith in 1920, the two formerly separate tram systems were joined (including the conversion of Edinburgh's system from cable haulage to electricity). The improved services provided intense competition with the railway, affecting the viability of Leith Central station. Until 1952 Leith Central had a regular passenger service to Edinburgh.

Site historique Site remarquable

45 m

Leith Waterworld

Leith Waterworld was a leisure pool in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built on the site of the former Leith Central railway station. It was the only pool in Edinburgh with flumes, and there was also a fast river run. It was closed in January 2012 in order to save funds for the Royal Commonwealth Pool's renovation and re-opening. A campaigning group against the closure, called Splashback, were funded to carry out feasibility studies but the property has been converted into a children's soft-play centre.

Site remarquable

87 m

98.8 Castle FM

98.8 Castle FM (formerly Leith FM) is a radio station, covering the area of Edinburgh. The station started broadcasting on 7 May 2007 and was made available on 98.8FM throughout Edinburgh and its surrounding area as well as online. On 23 March 2012, the station changed its name to 98.8 Castle FM with the strapline 'Edinburgh's bigger local mix' serving the community of the Capital. The licence-holding company (Leith Community Mediaworks Ltd) filed accounts in 2012 as a dormant company with no assets. As of mid-December 2015 Castle FM changed its name to "Scotland's Castle", the station is available on all major streaming platforms 24hrs a day playing a mixture of current and oldies with the station's strapline "radio for Scotland".

Médias Musique

South Leith Parish Church

North and South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. Prior to the union with the former North Leith Parish Church in 2024, the building was known as South Leith Parish Church. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home (author of Douglas) and John Pew, the man from whom the author Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly derived the character of Blind Pew in the novel Treasure Island. 18th-century Scottish Episcopal Church bishop and historian Robert Forbes also lies buried beneath the church floor. The church has been repaired, used as an ammunition store and reconstructed but still retains the basic layout of the nave of the old church.

Église

Trinity House of Leith

Trinity House, 99 Kirkgate, is a building in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, which was a guild hall, customs house, and centre for maritime administration and poor relief. In the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Era it also served as an almshouse and hospital. Now in state care, it houses a maritime museum. It is a category A listed building.

Site remarquable Maritime