The Flickr Wakjohnston Image Generatr

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

The south eastern section includes the places of interest, the list of bus routes and details of char-a-bancs for hire.

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

This section includes the cover, with a silhouette of the city's landmarks at the East End of Princes Street as well as advers. These include the popular tourist char-a-banc tours around the city including those around the Kings Park and Arthurs Seat along with an photograph of one of the charas.

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

This north east section includes the list of tramway routes and shows the route colours that were used to help distinguish the cars.

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

One of the adverts is for the Edinburgh offshoot, with a factory on Causewayside, of the famous toffee company George W. Horner, based in Chester-le-Street, and their Dainty Dinah toffee.

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

The advert panels here include cars to the Edinburgh Zoological Park at Corstorphine, the Granton and Cramond circular tour along with the "popular char-a-banc' tours that were the basis for the highly popular motor coach tours of the city that still run today. Various bus services, including the weather dependent Braids to Hillend extension, are shown.

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

Sectional scans of the 1927 map of the Edinburgh Tramways and Motors network including the advert panels on the reverse. The cartography for this plan is by the long established Edinburgh firm of W. & A.K. Johnston. The publication is undated but given the descriptions of the tram and bus systems it would be in late 1927; the tramways, not long converted to electric operation from cable, have been extended across The Meadows and out to Colinton but the Corstorphine extension of 1928 has yet to appear. The changes to the 9 to Granton and the 16 to Granton Road have yet to appear but the 18 has already been extended to "Dock Gates"; these changes occured in late 1927. On the bus system, the 13 and 14 that started in October of that year have yet to appear as well as the extension of the 5 to Bread Street that started on 9 October is not present. The city's bus routes, started primarily as feeder services to the tramways, were on the cusp of becoming important in their own right. Although several tramway extensions were constructed in the 1930s, such as to Fairmilehead from Braids, many otehrs were not and so the expanding city, such as the new housing 'schemes' such as Niddrie and Criagmillar in the east and Saughton in the west were to be exclusively bus served in the coming decade.

As well as the routes, both bus and tram, various noteworthy destinations such as schools, parks and golf courses are shown.

The adverts are fascinating; mostly for the various 'excursions' possible by tram, motor bus and char-a-bancs as well as the Parcels Service that was to last into the 1970s. The Sunday Morning Bus Service for bathers to Portobello, operated from 0700 until 0900 in June, July and August, must have ruffled some Sabbath feathers!

There are 'cars to the seaside' that were still operated by the Musselburgh company; this was soon to change as by 1 March 1928 the tramway company, beset by bus competition and ageing equipment, threw in the towel with Edinburgh agreeing to extend its services beyond Joppa as far as Levenhall with the line beyond that point abandoned to bus operation. It was also in early 1928 that the "Tramways and Motors" became Edinburgh Corporation Transport.

Late in 1928 the General Manager shown here, R. S Pilcher who had arrived to head the new Department when the cable car system was acquired by the City Council in 1919, departed to become General Manager of the Manchester department. Here the man who had overseen the conversion from cable to electric tramways oversaw the conversion of the city's trams to buses.

The cover to the March 1937 issue of Advertising Display and Press Publicity, a trade magazine published by the Business Publications Ltd. of London. The cover is credited to Eric C. Owen, who also produced a series of headers and vignettes through out this issue, and was printed offset litho by the Edinburgh printers of Morrison & Gibb and their Tanfield Works but via W & A K Johnston of Edinburgh of whom Morrison & Gibb are shown as an associate company. This is interesting as W & A K Johnston were, of course, better known as publishers of maps and atlases and perhaps these were printed for them at M&G>.The Evensyde paper is by John Dickinson & Co. Ltd. of Croxley Mills in Watford, and the inks are from The Forrest Printing Ink Co. Ltd. of London.

A rather unusual book describing Edinburgh's existing manufacturing industries and promoting the city as a home for others. We often think of Edinburgh as an administrative capital and tourist spot but it is worth recalling that the city, although not heavily industrial in many ways, did have some large manufacturing sectors such as brewing, printing and publishing, rubber, electrical engineering and in Leith, trades allied to the shipbuilding industry. As the book points out - Leith allowed sea access through the port, the city had good railway links and was adjacent to the Lothians coalfield (and shale oil production) that at the time was seen as a distinct advantage for energy.

The book has vatious chapters on facilities, infrastructure, sites and labour. It has a fine map, overprinting on a W & A K Johnston's city map the available sites and railway conenctions. The latter is interesting as it shows both North British and Caledonian lines just before Grouping in 1923 and highlights the duplication as both companies attempted to gain access to the same places!

The title page must rank as having one of the nattiest titles ever : A book issued by the Edinburgh Society for the Promotion of Trade in furtherance of the movement in favour of developing New Industries and Extending Existing Industries in Edinburgh, Leith and The Lothians. The cover has a rather charming and traditional view of the city centre from Salisbury Crags - and witht he belt of industrial sites that included printing and brewing that sat adjacent to the park at this point.

A rather unusual book describing Edinburgh's existing manufacturing industries and promoting the city as a home for others. We often think of Edinburgh as an administrative capital and tourist spot but it is worth recalling that the city, although not heavily industrial in many ways, did have some large manufacturing sectors such as brewing, printing and publishing, rubber, electrical engineering and in Leith, trades allied to the shipbuilding industry. As the book points out - Leith allowed sea access through the port, the city had good railway links and was adjacent to the Lothians coalfield (and shale oil production) that at the time was seen as a distinct advantage for energy.

The book has various chapters on facilities, infrastructure, sites and labour. It has a fine map, overprinting on a W & A K Johnston's city map the available sites and railway conenctions. The latter is interesting as it shows both North British and Caledonian lines just before Grouping in 1923 and highlights the duplication as both companies attempted to gain access to the same places! The map has some interesting items shown - one that had previously alluded me is the 'proposed tramway to Redford' shown as running "cross-country" in Craiglockhart - when ECT's electric trams got to Colinton it was via existing roads.

The title page must rank as having one of the nattiest titles ever : A book issued by the Edinburgh Society for the Promotion of Trade in furtherance of the movement in favour of developing New Industries and Extending Existing Industries in Edinburgh, Leith and The Lothians.

A rather unusual book describing Edinburgh's existing manufacturing industries and promoting the city as a home for others. We often think of Edinburgh as an administrative capital and tourist spot but it is worth recalling that the city, although not heavily industrial in many ways, did have some large manufacturing sectors such as brewing, printing and publishing, rubber, electrical engineering and in Leith, trades allied to the shipbuilding industry. As the book points out - Leith allowed sea access through the port, the city had good railway links and was adjacent to the Lothians coalfield (and shale oil production) that at the time was seen as a distinct advantage for energy.

The book has vatious chapters on facilities, infrastructure, sites and labour. It has a fine map, overprinting on a W & A K Johnston's city map the available sites and railway conenctions. The latter is interesting as it shows both North British and Caledonian lines just before Grouping in 1923 and highlights the duplication as both companies attempted to gain access to the same places!

The title page must rank as having one of the nattiest titles ever : A book issued by the Edinburgh Society for the Promotion of Trade in furtherance of the movement in favour of developing New Industries and Extending Existing Industries in Edinburgh, Leith and The Lothians.

A page from the wonderfully detailed Bacon's Atlas of London & Suburbs, this being dated from c1912 by one of the 'special maps' bound in at the front of the atlas. The bulk of London is covered in a series of map sheets at 4" to the mile and is very detailed giving a clear indication of the pre-WW1 city, in its full Victorian and Edwardian splendour but before the massive inter-war expansion into 'Metroland' and similar suburbs.

Bacon's was formed by one George Washington Bacon (1830–1922), an American who set up business in London producing atlases and maps of the capital in about 1870 after a series of business failures. G W Bacon prospered and in c1900 were acquired by the Scottish publishers and cartographers W.& A.K. Johnston of whom they became a subsidiary.

This, the eastern section of plate 4, shows Wembley and surrpounding areas that shows, along with the various railway lines that include the LNWR west coast mainline along with the Metropolitan Railway and the extension of the District (now Piccadilly line) through Alperton. The map shows that although some development had already started around stations much of this part of Middlesex was still farmland and open fields. This would change enormously in the inter-war years. One thing does stand out - Wembley Park, the 'pleasure grounds' that had been set out to accomodate the Tower, London's answer to Paris and Blackpool, that never got above the first stage and was subsequently demolished. The site was, of course, to be developed for the 1924 Empire Exhibition and the Wembley Stadium that is still located here.

A page from the wonderfully detailed Bacon's Atlas of London & Suburbs, this being dated from c1912 by one of the 'special maps' bound in at the front of the atlas. The bulk of London is covered in a series of map sheets at 4" to the mile and is very detailed giving a clear indication of the pre-WW1 city, in its full Victorian and Edwardian splendour but before the massive inter-war expansion into 'Metroland' and similar suburbs.

Bacon's was formed by one George Washington Bacon (1830–1922), an American who set up business in London producing atlases and maps of the capital in about 1870 after a series of business failures. G W Bacon prospered and in c1900 were acquired by the Scottish publishers and cartographers W.& A.K. Johnston of whom they became a subsidiary.

One of the special plates shows the numerous London electricity supply undertakings, mostly private companies although a good few of the Borough councils also ran municipal undertakings. One of the early issues in the electricity supply industry was that many undertakings generated and supplied power at different voltages and phases. This was to become a significant issue that finally forced Government intervention in post-WW1 years as it was hampering the more widespread use of electricity as well as making the manufacturing and use of electrical appliances, both domestic and industrial, difficult. As such many of these companies formed themselves into a 'committee' in c1922 followed by a more binding Joint Electricity Authority in c1925. This largely coalesced around the County of London company, as well as the Underground Group dominated North Met.

This enabled a much larger degree of conformity in supply voltages etc., as well as allowing for the closure of various smaller, early and inefficient generating stations with undertakings being supplied in bulk from either more efficient or the new generation of 'designated' and Grid generating stations.

A page from the wonderfully detailed Bacon's Atlas of London & Suburbs, this being dated from c1912 by one of the 'special maps' bound in at the front of the atlas. The bulk of London is covered in a series of map sheets at 4" to the mile and is very detailed giving a clear indication of the pre-WW1 city, in its full Victorian and Edwardian splendour but before the massive inter-war expansion into 'Metroland' and similar suburbs.

Bacon's was formed by one George Washington Bacon (1830–1922), an American who set up business in London producing atlases and maps of the capital in about 1870 after a series of business failures. G W Bacon prospered and in c1900 were acquired by the Scottish publishers and cartographers W.& A.K. Johnston of whom they became a subsidiary.

One of the special plates shows the numerous London electricity supply undertakings, mostly private companies although a good few of the Borough councils also ran municipal undertakings. One of the early issues in the electricity supply industry was that many undertakings generated and supplied power at different voltages and phases. This was to become a significant issue that finally forced Government intervention in post-WW1 years as it was hampering the more widespread use of electricity as well as making the manufacturing and use of electrical appliances, both domestic and industrial, difficult. As such many of these companies formed themselves into a 'committee' in c1922 followed by a more binding Joint Electricity Authority in c1925. This largely coalesced around the County of London company, as well as the Underground Group dominated North Met.

This enabled a much larger degree of conformity in supply voltages etc., as well as allowing for the closure of various smaller, early and inefficient generating stations with undertakings being supplied in bulk from either more efficient or the new generation of 'designated' and Grid generating stations.

A portion of a fine map entitled The Morayshire Railway 1855 and printed by W & A K Johnston of Edinburgh, one of the city's cartographers and printer publishers. The Morayshire was one of those railways that struggled to get going, having received Royal Assent in 1846 it wasn't until 1852 that the first section opened. It became closely associated with the Great North of Scotland after one of the usual Victorian railway spats with its earlier associate, the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway. After financial hardship over several decades by 1881 it finally amalgamated with the GNoSR and so, in 1923 was Grouped into the LNER. This part of Scotland suffered, as did many other rural areas of the UK, heavy losses under both pre- and Beeching cuts.

The map is, I suspect, the plate of an older Scottish county map and I could research that through the wonderful NLS map room pages. This was common practice as it enables the re-use of plates and impressions with just modification to bring it up to fitness for purpose. It is ineresting to see the Moray Firth as the Murray Firth.

For now I'd draw your attention to just one small area of the map, south of Elgin, and a line that wasn't actually built - the short branch from Rothes towards the GNoSR's line at Inchber. Here one wonders if an apprentice wasn't given a small task - to engrave the words "Morayshire Extension" that sadly now in print appear backwards.

Built 1878. Long 2-storey former printing works with office wing at E end. L-plan Italianate printing works (now converted to residential use). Polychrome brickwork. Cill and lintel bands of cream terracotta; bands of black brick. Basecourse. Consoled cornice with square cast-iron gutter above. Paired windows in bays separated by brick pilasters. Transomed windows to ground floor. Office wing: Central pediment feature above cornice; bracket supports; finial; monogram and inscriptions: "THE BUSINESS FOUNDED 1825 THIS BUILDING ERECTED 1878”.

Now divided into flats for residential use. Later ancillary buildings have all been removed as has the original chimney to the office block. A fine specimen of polychromy, along with Rosemount Buildings one of Edinburgh's best. The printing industry was a particularly important one in the capital.

Built for W & A K Johnston, the map makers, as a printing works. They later branched out into other types of printing, including bank notes. Messrs W & A K Johnston’s business was founded in 1825 by William Johnston, who set up a hand press at 6 Hill Square and started business as a steel-plate and copper-plate printer. The firm used the clan motto of "Ready Aye Ready" as their logo. Soon afterwards he was joined by his brother, Alexander Keith, and then the business was moved to 160 High Street. In 1837 they established themselves at 4 St. Andrew Square. In 1848 William Johnston became Lord Provost of Edinburgh and in 1851 he was knighted by Queen Victoria. He retired in 1867 however the business continued to expand and the Edina Works were built. The centenary of that firm was celebrated in 1925 and in 1928 the business was amalgamated with Morrison & Gibb.

Engraving titled 'Edinburgh from the Castle Hill’
Published by J. Menzies
Drawn by J. Ewbank
Engraved by W & A K Johnston'
Reference DP217618


See more images of Edinburgh: canmore.org.uk/gallery/881076