Up until 1920 the Leith Corporation Tramways owned the Shrubhill Tram Depot. As Leith was a separate borough they had their own separate tram system and Shrubhill was their major tram depot. The Leith system was electrified, whereas the Edinburgh system used cable haulage. The strange feature of this particular tram depot was the underground chamber at the main turn into the garages which would have been permanently manned during operating hours to try to reduce cable-snagging.

Trams were finally replaced by diesel buses after the war and the tram depot was turned into a garage for Lothian Buses. It was then turned into a museum, and finally closed down and abandoned in the 1980s.

I’m amazed that this site has stayed empty for so long. It’s huge and surely a few developers have had their eye on it over the years. In the meantime its a reminder of the more positive history of Edinburgh’s tram network.