Pilrig Muddle, Iona Street tram pulley-wheels, Edinburgh
these two large cable winding wheels were constructed between 1898 and 1900, and were rediscovered nearby in August 2021 during construction of the Trams to Newhaven project
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Iona Street
Edinburgh
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Located on the east side of Leith Walk at the junction of Leith Walk and Pilrig Street, they formed part of the underground cable-system for the Edinburgh and District Tramway Company’s cable-trams. They are now on display as permanent public art adjoining the new tramline.
These were idler wheels as the winding was done at the power station – see https://www.nationaltransporttrust.org.uk/heritage-sites/heritage-detail/shrubhill-tram-depot
Although Edinburgh and Leith had been connected by horse-drawn trams since the 1870s, Leith Burgh Council decided not to join Edinburgh's cable-tram system. Instead in 1905 Leith pioneered electric traction under the Leith Corporation Tramways. However, the use of two different tram systems meant that passengers travelling between Leith and Edinburgh would have to change tramcars at the Leith Walk/Pilrig Street junction. Known as the Pilrig Muddle, this lasted until 1922 when the route became fully electric allowing passengers to travel without having to change.
on the east side of Leith Walk, between McDonald Road and Balfour Street tramstops
Hunter D.L.G, Edinburgh's Transport, The Advertiser Press, Huddersfield, Huddersfield, 1964
Gemma Jurado Fresnadillo, Alan Hunter-Blair & Bob Will, City of Edinburgh Council Trams York Place to Newhaven Archaeological Investigation on Leith Walk Guard Archaeology project 4870 27th April 2023