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Scotland Street Tunnel

Edinburgh, New Town, Scotland Street, Dublin Street, City of Edinburgh.

Railway tunnel (19th Century, abandoned).

"The tunnel measures 1000yds [approx] in length, 24ft in width, and 24ft in height with a gradient of 1-in-27 towards the north. The roof of the tunnel is just below street level at Scotland Street, but is 49 feet deep at St. Andrew Street and 37 feet deep under Princes Street. In order to cope with the steep gradient, cable haulage was required" [Sub. Britannica]

The north portal is clearly visible on the edge of King George V Park, whilst the southern portal was destroyed during construction of what is now the Princes Mall in the 1980s.

Alternative Names: None recorded.

Notes: "In the early 1840s, work began on creating a railway tunnel to forge a link between Canal Street Station - now known as Waverley Station, with the north of Edinburgh. This involved driving a substantial tunnel from Canonmills, which ran underneath Scotland Street, Dublin Street, and St Andrew Square. Costing over £100,000, the tunnel was officially opened on May 17, 1847... Despite the great difficulty of construction and high costs, the kilometre-long Scotland Street Tunnel was abandoned after just 21 years of service." [Edinburgh Live]

"The Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway Company opened their horse drawn railway on 31st August 1842, providing a direct link from Canonmills, on the north side of the Edinburgh city centre to Newhaven Station near Newhaven harbour, just west of Leith. Canonmills Station was later renamed Scotland Street. A new station called Trinity replaced the former Newhaven station both of which overlooked Newhaven Chain Pier on the Firth of Forth, a popular location for early morning bathing in the 19th century." [Edinburgh Live]

Given length from Railscot (1052 yards).

Given Coordinates are for the north portal in George V Park, where the now-demolished Scotland Street Station was located.

The site was formerly used as a mushroom farm.

Not to be confused with the nearby Rodney Street Tunnel (RST) that entered Scotland Street Station on its northern side. Whilst the outline of RST is shown on old OS maps, SST is not.