Part 2 next month will be along the High Street to Hopetoun Road.
Remember these are memories of people in Queensferry at a much earlier date than now so shop names will be different and may be out of sequence.
Some updates as to name changes have been added in brackets.
“At Morison Gardens, to the left, was a railway line under the road running right into Port Edgar where the sailors could catch the train to Edinburgh, or passengers could catch the ferry to North Queensferry. (Construction of this railway began 1864. There are still remnants of the rail track at Port Edgar.)
Going further along and looking at the Distillery premises (Vat 69 now Scotmid area) was the Railway Goods Yard. The goods train brought coal and commodities for the shops such as food etc and were delivered from the goods yard to the shops by horse and cart. The goods yard was also the place where the coal merchants filled the bags with coals to deliver to the houses.
Across the road at Back Braes there was a lovey spot you could look down where the railway lines ran all the way to Port Edgar.
In the Vennel was a dairy,’ Marshalls’ (later ‘Bryce’s’ and then ‘Stirlings’ ) and some 100 metres along was another dairy, ‘Hardies’. (This area is now private housing) All the community was supplied from the dairies, the milk was supplied in metal pitchers (not jugs or bottles).
Before turning on to the footbridge and looking over to the right was where the Ferry Halt Railway Station was and one could get the train to Edinburgh instead of going to Dalmeny.
Down we go turning right at the top of the steps to McIvers Brae and looking along to the Rail Bridge we can see the Hawes Pier which was used by the ferry boats going to and fro, with passengers and cars.
Across the road we have the ‘Hawes Inn’, well known in the days of the post carriages and history books with accommodation for visitors and the stabling of horses, with ‘Faichens Garage’ next door, now the ‘Hawes Garage’.