Port Edgar Rail Ferry
A significant event in the development of Port Edgar occurred in the early 18o0's, the Government upgraded piers and landing places in North and South Queensferry. Civil Engineer John Rennie was given this task. This followed the advent of turnpike roads from Perth to North Queensferry, and on the Southern shore a turnpike road from Edinburgh to South Queensferry. Up until this period the ferry services between North and South Queensferry had been poorly run. All this changed when an act of Parliament decreed the running of the ferry be put into the hands of a group of trustees. Government funding was provided to upgrade landing facilities.
Port Edgar's pier upgrade cost almost £5,000, a grand sum in those days. The other piers upgraded on the South side were the Hawes Pier, Port Nuke and Longcraig. In addition, accommodation for the boatmen and their families was constructed on the foreshore of Newhalls, just outside the Queensferry boundary in those days.
In 1842 a railway line was opened between Glasgow and Edinburgh. By the late 1860's a branch line had been built from Ratho to Dalmeny which included the power to construct and operate a direct rail ferry crossing between Port Edgar and North Queensferry, (train to the jetty then Ferry across the water). The North British Railway obtained the title deed to construct and operate a direct rail ferry crossing between Port Edgar and North Queensferry in 1869 but it wasn't until 1878 that the railway came into service. It was to serve as a Rail Ferry Terminus, linking the Lothians to Fife and the North of Scotland for almost 12 years.
The work required by the North British railway Company to extend the line was considerable, not least the construction of the west breakwater. The arrival of the rail network at Port Edgar caused the existing station at Newhalls to be closed. The ferry commenced running from Port Edgar's west breakwater on 1st October 1878, calling at the Hawes Pier for road traffic if the tide was suitable.
When the Forth Rail Bridge was officially opened by Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, in March 1890 this had the immediate effect of making Port Edgar's Rail Ferry redundant, however the North British Railway retained a small amount of track and fittings and used the site as a sleeper creosoting depot. The rail tracks can be seen there to this day.
A significant event in the development of Port Edgar occurred in the early 18o0's, the Government upgraded piers and landing places in North and South Queensferry. Civil Engineer John Rennie was given this task. This followed the advent of turnpike roads from Perth to North Queensferry, and on the Southern shore a turnpike road from Edinburgh to South Queensferry. Up until this period the ferry services between North and South Queensferry had been poorly run. All this changed when an act of Parliament decreed the running of the ferry be put into the hands of a group of trustees. Government funding was provided to upgrade landing facilities.
Port Edgar's pier upgrade cost almost £5,000, a grand sum in those days. The other piers upgraded on the South side were the Hawes Pier, Port Nuke and Longcraig. In addition, accommodation for the boatmen and their families was constructed on the foreshore of Newhalls, just outside the Queensferry boundary in those days.
In 1842 a railway line was opened between Glasgow and Edinburgh. By the late 1860's a branch line had been built from Ratho to Dalmeny which included the power to construct and operate a direct rail ferry crossing between Port Edgar and North Queensferry, (train to the jetty then Ferry across the water). The North British Railway obtained the title deed to construct and operate a direct rail ferry crossing between Port Edgar and North Queensferry in 1869 but it wasn't until 1878 that the railway came into service. It was to serve as a Rail Ferry Terminus, linking the Lothians to Fife and the North of Scotland for almost 12 years.
The work required by the North British railway Company to extend the line was considerable, not least the construction of the west breakwater. The arrival of the rail network at Port Edgar caused the existing station at Newhalls to be closed. The ferry commenced running from Port Edgar's west breakwater on 1st October 1878, calling at the Hawes Pier for road traffic if the tide was suitable.
When the Forth Rail Bridge was officially opened by Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, in March 1890 this had the immediate effect of making Port Edgar's Rail Ferry redundant, however the North British Railway retained a small amount of track and fittings and used the site as a sleeper creosoting depot. The rail tracks can be seen there to this day.
Although this Picture is from the second World War, dated circa 1940, you can see the remains of the Railway line, on the left, which brought the Trains to Port Edgar, where people picked up the Ferry to cross over the Firth of Forth.
HMS Caledonia, Training Ship
The Victorian Navy was a large one and a constant supply of manpower was required to man the fleet. Boy volunteers were recruited and many of them were trained on former ships of the line. Huge wooden hulks often previous 1st or 2nd rate vehicles, some with illustrious histories of battle, before them, were fitted out to accommodate and convert hundreds of boys into able bodied seamen. The vessels were usually moored or anchored off major ports around the country. Port Edgar was to become host to one of these vessels. HMS Caledonia started life at her launch in 1810 as HMS Impregnable. As such, she saw action at the bombardment of Algiers in 1816. Later, after being renamed HMS Kent she was fitted out as a hulk for epidemic cases at Devonport Plymouth. On 6th April 1891, having been renamed HMS Caledonia, she was allocated as the boys training ship for Scotland. The following October she arrived in the Firth of Forth, her permanent mooring being just to the west of the newly opened Forth Rail Bridge. The Caledonia was to remain moored off Port Edgar in her training role for the next 15 years, a familiar sight to the townsfolk and visitors to Queensferry and no doubt to the many passing river craft of the day.
Shortly after the arrival of HMS Caledonia, a proposal was put forward to provide a sailors home ashore in Queensferry. A place where the men and boys of the fleet could come ashore and spend their leisure time in comfortable and attractive surroundings. Funds were raised to purchase Bridge House, a large red brick building, built for the Chief Engineer of the Forth Bridge, on New Halls Road, acquired for £1,200. The property overlooked the promenade and commanded a magnificent view of the River and the Bridge, and was officially opened as Royal Navy House in 1895. In 1906, it was decided to withdraw the HMS Caledonia from the Queensferry area, when she was towed away and scrapped. This caused immediate closure of Royal Navy House. It was re-opened in 1910 when units of the Home Fleet were stationed in the Firth of Forth and was used as a hospital during the 1914-18 War.Over the years the building has been extended and in modern times is let as flats.
"The Royal Navy At Port Edgar" –Peter A Collinson, 2004
"The Royal Navy At Port Edgar" –Peter A Collinson, 2004
© Queensferry History Group 2015