Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/edinburgh-leith-and-newhaven-railway

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the company formation year?1836
2. What is the defining engineering feature?A steep, rope-worked tunnel into Edinburgh city centre, operational from 1847
3. Why did the railway use a rope haulage system instead of regular trains?The tunnel that went into Edinburgh was very steep, so steam engines couldn't climb it safely. A rope pulled the cars up and down the slope.
4. How did the railway change after it joined the North British Railway?A new, longer line was built in 1868 that avoided the steep tunnel. In 1903 a new station called Leith Central was opened to serve more passengers.

Gradient: The degree of slope of a surface or line, particularly a railway track.
Stationary Engine: An engine that is fixed in one place, used to power machinery or systems like rope haulage.
Infrastructure: The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.