Tram routes

A snapshot of the routes as they were in 1952

The reason for choosing 1952 is that that was the year when the tram system was still in almost full operation, before the rundown started leading to complete closure in 1956.

The information here is confined to routes that served the Granton area. There were many other routes in the city, a total of 28 at one stage, although this had been reduced to 26 by 1952. They included, for example, the 7 and 11 which terminated at Craighall Road, Newhaven. The tramway network stretched from Maybury in the west to Levenhall in the east.

Route colours

A useful feature of the Edinburgh system was the display at night of pairs of coloured lights below the route number, allowing potential passengers to see what tram was coming from a distance. The route colours for the services operating in the Granton area are shown below.

Route details

Route	1952 Terminus A	1952 Terminus B	Via
2	Granton	Stenhouse	Junction Street, Leith Walk, York Place and George Street
8	Granton	Newington Station	Broughton Street
9	Granton	Colinton	Broughton Street
13	(circle)	(circle)	Churchhill and Granton via Pilrig Street
14	(circle)	(circle)	Churchhill and Granton via Bernard Street
16	Granton	Fairmilehead	Junction Street and York Place
17	Granton	Newington Station	Bernard Street
23	Granton Road Station	Morningside Station	Canonmills, Mound and Lauriston
27	Granton Road Station	Firrhill	Canonmills, Mound and Lauriston

Tram routes serving Granton

Map of tram routes serving Granton

Click the image to enlarge

Tramboards

These boards were shown at the foot of the front window on some services and gave extra route information. The main roller blind destination screen, lit from behind at night, had white letters on a black background and showed only one line – the destination. The tram boards were colour coded and the colours could be seen from a distance.

From the top – services 12, 2, 8, 16, 26 and 27 (the 12 and the 26 did not serve Granton). Photograph taken in the National Tramways Museum.

A tramboard showing route information

Click the photograph to enlarge

Bus Replacements

Tram route	Terminus A	Terminus B	Bus route	Notes
2	Granton	Stenhouse	22	-
8	Granton	Newington Station	8	extended to Muirhouse and Gilmerton
9	Granton	Colinton	9	-
13	(circle)	(circle)	-	No direct replacement
14	(circle)	(circle)	-	No direct replacement
16	Granton	Fairmilehead	16	-
17	Granton	Newington Station	14	Muirhouse – Newington Station
23	Granton Road Station	Morningside Station	23	Terminus moved to Lennox Row
27	Granton Road Station	Firrhill	27	Extended to Crewe Toll

In many cases routes were later extended and altered again. The bus routes were operated by Edinburgh Corporation until 1975, when they passed to Lothian Regional Council at the re-organisation of local authorities into regional and district councils. The operation traded as Lothian Regional Transport (LRT). Following bus deregulation in 1986 there were further changes to routes, and also a name change in 2000 to Lothian Buses. However a number of current Lothian Buses routes are clearly identifiable from tram route numbers (for example the 8 and the 23, and many others in the city), although the routes have often been extended beyond the tram termini.

Trams main page

Interactive maps of Edinburgh and Leith routes in 1920 and 1950

The second link also gives details of sources and where to find further information.