#1886internationalexhibition — Public Fediverse posts

“A hideous and intolerable eyesore”: the thread about the Meadow’s missing Jawbone Arch

The Jawbone Arch from the Meadows was in the news this week, as a local historian (not this one!) found himself ejected from a meeting in the City Chambers for repeatedly pressing a council committee on the subject, the arch having been dismantled over “safety concerns” and “for restoration” almost a decade ago, in 2014.

Jawbone Walk, The Meadows, Edinburgh. Kevin Maclean, 2009. © Edinburgh City Libraries

These bones, a pair of jaws from “arctic whales” are a remnant of the summer 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science & Art which was located on a grand, temporary, pavilion in the West Meadows.

The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

They formed the frame of a fishing net tent over the exhibit stall that showcased the craft of the Zetland & Fair Isle Knitters. The stall was organised by Katherine Schoor and Barbara Muir, of Schoor & Muir of Lewrick, as an exhibit of “women’s industries” to promote the wares of the traditional Shetland shawl-knitting craft which was suffering in the domestic market on account of imports of Swiss and German products. The wealthy, eccentric and benevolent George MacThomas Thoms, Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, had arranged for six Shetland women to accompany the stall, under the supervision of Mrs Muir.

Stall 1913, the “Zetland & Fair Isle Knitters”. That may be Mrs Muir standing behind the six knitters./ Photo from “Marchmont, Sciennes & the Grange”, Malcolm Cant, 2001

The women came to Edinburgh for a month at a time, before a relief was sent. Three of them came from Fair Isle and produced and exhibited gloves, stockings and caps in hand-dyed local wools. These were based on patterns handed down over generations and taught to their foremothers by shipwreck survivors of the Spanish Armada. It was noted at the time that their gloves matched those still for sale in the market in Valencia. Mrs Muir was joined by 63-year old Elizabeth Mouat, who had gained national fame a few months previous when she found herself abandoned on the Fair Isle mail boat Columbine in a storm that blew her all the way to Norway over 8 days. The vessels crew of three and its other, male, passenger having been separated from it when trying to rescue a man knocked overboard. Betty, a spinner and hand knitter, brought with her the shawl she had worn when on the Columbine.

Elizabeth Mouat alone at sea on the “Columbine”. Illustrated London News, 1886

That stall was one of the talking points of the whole exhibition. The whalebones had been provided by a Mrs Arbuthnott, probably the Hon. Mrs Arbuthnott of Arbuthnott House, Kincardineshire. After the exhibition closed at the end of October, it took over 3 months to dismantle, during which time the West Meadows were closed. In January, Sheriff Thoms wrote to the Town Council to offer up the bones with a view to placing them on the walkway across them when it reopened.

London Illustrated News, 1886 Exhibition, interior of the entrance foyer

Not everyone was happy with this idea. The editor of the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch wrote they were “a quantity of old jawbones, growing mouldy” and had been set up as “a perpetual reminder of the vanity and fleeting nature of human pleasures“. They were “unsightly and gruesome crossbones“. A South Sider replied in support, they were “an eyesore caused by this ungainly structure… a hideous outrage on South Side residenters.”“A. Ratepayer wrote they were “a hideous and intolerable eyesore… gaunt, dirty-coloured decaying relics of a departed Jonah-swallower“. An Astonished One, who had been out of town for some time, had returned to “indignation that such a hideous eyesore should be thus thrust before the residents in [this] part of the city… Is the whole thing a ghastly joke by the council?… It would be more appropriate and much more interesting to erect an archway with the jawbones of the asses who made and supported the proposal“. A. Ratepayer concurred and suggested whichever councillor had accepted them should have “set them up at his own garden gate“.

But the apoplexy of the South Side Green Ink Society wasn’t long lived, and by late September 1887 the jawbones were erected as an arch over the pathway, which the newspapers had already taken to calling Jawbone Walk, a name that has stuck and become official. A metal band around each reads “From Zetland and Fair Isle Knitting Stand, Edinburgh Exhibition, 1886“.

Melville Drive – entrance to ‘Jawbone Walk’. J. R. Hamilton, 1914. © Edinburgh City Libraries

The title of “Jawbone and the Air Rifle” (“a nightmarish folklore tale of a poacher bored by a decades-old marriage who escapes by roaming the local countryside at night hunting prey”) by Mark E. Smith from The Fall was reputedly inspired by him walking beneath them. The jawbones were an ever-present landmark until their removal in 2014, which was only to have been for a year. But experience has told us that Edinburgh’s public monuments, such as sculptures and clocks, have a nasty habit of being officially removed for a short while only to disappear for multiples of years.

Threadinburgh wishes Graeme Cruickshank, whom I have had the chance to meet on a few occasions at the Old Edinburgh Club and can vouch for being a thoroughly lovely man, every success with this bone he has decided to pick with the council and its officers who have taken it upon themselves to decide that there is no local interest or appetite for replacing or restoring the jawbones.

Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.

If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
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#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret

The thread about the Jawbone Arch; 127 years on the Meadows but missing over a decade

The Jawbone Arch from the Meadows was in the news this week, as a local historian (not this one!) found himself ejected from a meeting in the City Chambers for repeatedly pressing a council committee on the subject, the arch having been dismantled over “safety concerns” and “for restoration” almost a decade ago, in 2014.

Jawbone Walk, The Meadows, Edinburgh. Kevin Maclean, 2009. © Edinburgh City Libraries

These bones, a pair of jaws from “arctic whales” are a remnant of the summer 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science & Art which was located on a grand, temporary, pavilion in the West Meadows.

The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

They formed the frame of a fishing net tent over the exhibit stall that showcased the craft of the Zetland & Fair Isle Knitters. The stall was organised by Katherine Schoor and Barbara Muir, of Schoor & Muir of Lewrick, as an exhibit of “women’s industries” to promote the wares of the traditional Shetland shawl-knitting craft which was suffering in the domestic market on account of imports of Swiss and German products. The wealthy, eccentric and benevolent George MacThomas Thoms, Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, had arranged for six Shetland women to accompany the stall, under the supervision of Mrs Muir.

Stall 1913, the “Zetland & Fair Isle Knitters”. That may be Mrs Muir standing behind the six knitters./ Photo from “Marchmont, Sciennes & the Grange”, Malcolm Cant, 2001

The women came to Edinburgh for a month at a time, before a relief was sent. Three of them came from Fair Isle and produced and exhibited gloves, stockings and caps in hand-dyed local wools. These were based on patterns handed down over generations and taught to their foremothers by shipwreck survivors of the Spanish Armada. It was noted at the time that their gloves matched those still for sale in the market in Valencia. Mrs Muir was joined by 63-year old Elizabeth Mouat, who had gained national fame a few months previous when she found herself abandoned on the Fair Isle mail boat Columbine in a storm that blew her all the way to Norway over 8 days. The vessels crew of three and its other, male, passenger having been separated from it when trying to rescue a man knocked overboard. Betty, a spinner and hand knitter, brought with her the shawl she had worn when on the Columbine.

Elizabeth Mouat alone at sea on the “Columbine”. Illustrated London News, 1886

That stall was one of the talking points of the whole exhibition. The whalebones had been provided by a Mrs Arbuthnott, probably the Hon. Mrs Arbuthnott of Arbuthnott House, Kincardineshire. After the exhibition closed at the end of October, it took over 3 months to dismantle, during which time the West Meadows were closed. In January, Sheriff Thoms wrote to the Town Council to offer up the bones with a view to placing them on the walkway across them when it reopened.

London Illustrated News, 1886 Exhibition, interior of the entrance foyer

Not everyone was happy with this idea. The editor of the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch wrote they were “a quantity of old jawbones, growing mouldy” and had been set up as “a perpetual reminder of the vanity and fleeting nature of human pleasures“. They were “unsightly and gruesome crossbones“. A South Sider replied in support, they were “an eyesore caused by this ungainly structure… a hideous outrage on South Side residenters.”“A. Ratepayer wrote they were “a hideous and intolerable eyesore… gaunt, dirty-coloured decaying relics of a departed Jonah-swallower“. An Astonished One, who had been out of town for some time, had returned to “indignation that such a hideous eyesore should be thus thrust before the residents in [this] part of the city… Is the whole thing a ghastly joke by the council?… It would be more appropriate and much more interesting to erect an archway with the jawbones of the asses who made and supported the proposal“. A. Ratepayer concurred and suggested whichever councillor had accepted them should have “set them up at his own garden gate“.

But the apoplexy of the South Side Green Ink Society wasn’t long lived, and by late September 1887 the jawbones were erected as an arch over the pathway, which the newspapers had already taken to calling Jawbone Walk, a name that has stuck and become official. A metal band around each reads “From Zetland and Fair Isle Knitting Stand, Edinburgh Exhibition, 1886“.

Melville Drive – entrance to ‘Jawbone Walk’. J. R. Hamilton, 1914. © Edinburgh City Libraries

The title of “Jawbone and the Air Rifle” (“a nightmarish folklore tale of a poacher bored by a decades-old marriage who escapes by roaming the local countryside at night hunting prey”) by Mark E. Smith from The Fall was reputedly inspired by him walking beneath them. The jawbones were an ever-present landmark until their removal in 2014, which was only to have been for a year. But experience has told us that Edinburgh’s public monuments, such as sculptures and clocks, have a nasty habit of being officially removed for a short while only to disappear for multiples of years.

Threadinburgh wishes Graeme Cruickshank, whom I have had the chance to meet on a few occasions at the Old Edinburgh Club and can vouch for being a thoroughly lovely man, every success with this bone he has decided to pick with the council and its officers who have taken it upon themselves to decide that there is no local interest or appetite for replacing or restoring the jawbones.

If you have found this useful, informative or amusing, perhaps you would like to help contribute towards the running costs of this site – including keeping it ad-free and my book-buying budget to find further stories to bring you – by supporting me on ko-fi. Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends.

These threads © 2017-2025, Andy Arthur.

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

#1886InternationalExhibition #Edinburgh #exhibition #Marchmont #Meadows #Monument #Shetland

The thread about Old Edinburgh as it never was; the elaborately crafted fake for nostalgic Victorian spectators

There’s a photo of “Old Edinburgh” that pops up now and again online that purports to show the City as it was back in 1886; usually from one of those context-less, “random old photos” social media accounts. But not all is quite what it appears to be with this image. It’s a fake! In fact it’s a very good fake.

But it’s not a fake in the sense that the image itself has been doctored – it is the whole scene that is an elaborately staged Capriccio: a recreated tableau of various parts of Old Edinburgh, in no particular order, as they may (or may not) have been over a period of some three centuries. A 200 feet by 65 feet section of the City was recreated, loosely modelling parts around the old Netherbow Port but including interlopers from other parts. It contained 21 painstakingly recreated buildings, all of which had been demolished in the living memory of the time. The whole lot was an industrial-scale fantasia which was assembled for the the International Exhibition of 1886, located in a vast, temporary show-hall on the West Meadows.

The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

The reconstruction was the idea of the Exhibition organisers who appointed a Committee to oversee it and who held a design competition in 1885. There was an increasing awareness at this time of just how much of Old Edinburgh was rapidly and unsympathetically being swept away and replaced by – what was then – modern architecture. As a result there was a growing nostalgia for what had been lost in recent memory and also a recognition of what a lot of those buildings had represented in the context of Scottish statehood and national identity. It was hoped that this revival of a semi-forgotten national architecture might go hand in hand with a revival of the country as a whole, on its own, distinct lines. The convenor of the Committee – John Charles Dunlop – said “I trust one of the early results of this first great Scottish Exhibition will be a return to a style of building at once suited to the varied scenery and the changeful skies of Scotland, and to the character and history of the Scottish people“.

“Mercat Cross & Old Assembly Rooms”, Marshall Wane, 1887

On 27th October 1885 the Old Edinburgh Committee picked its competition winner – Sydney Mitchell, a Scottish revival architect behind such vernacular style buildings as Well Court in the Water of Leith (Dean) Village, part of Patrick Geddes’ Ramsay Garden and the restoration of the old Mercat Cross to the city. Mitchell’s entry – entered under the nom de plume Tolbooth – featured twenty four “passed away” buildings and structures. The official handbook (which you can read at archive.org, here) commissioned by the Committee includes this helpful street plan of the buildings:

Ground Plan of The “Old Edinburgh” Street, from “The Book of Old Edinburgh” published to accompany the exhibition

These were picked from locations scattered across the city as can be seen on the map below, and the handbook pointed out that they were not from any specific period of time, stretching from those built in the 15th to the early 18th century, but “they had with each other a long contemporaneous existence“:

The locations of “Old Edinburgh”, marked on the map of Edinburgh by James Gordon of Rothiemay in 1647, Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

The installation was in a section of the exhibition hall that was open to the air and was constructed from wood, plaster and paint – with “realistic but illusionary finishes” to mock up age and weathering under the expert eye of Mr Smythe, the scenery artist at the Theatre Royal. The workmen were encouraged to add to the authenticity by chipping paint, cracking chimney pots, splintering wood, etc., so that the effect was not a “pristine original, but of undisturbed ageing: the illusion that the buildings had survived undisturbed into the present“. An electric arc lamp was installed to simulate moonlight in the evening, and weak incandescent bulbs simulated candle light behind the windows. Actors in period costumer were employed to add to the visual spectacle of the recreation.

Actors hired to represent the “Old City Guard” at the entrance to “Old Edinburgh”. The uniforms and equipment are seemingly accurate for the 18th century when compared to some contemporary illustrations, although the size of the bicorne hats may be somewhat accentuated.

Briefly, the chosen subjects, their location, relevance and when they had been lost were:

• The Netherbow Port. The old eastern entrance, and principal gate, to the City. It stood on a spot near where St. Mary’s Street now intersects the High Street, and the latter becomes the Canongate. Built 1606, demolished 1764.

Looking up the Old Edinburgh street to the Netherbow Port. The Earl of Hyndford’s House projects on the right, the tall turnpike stair tower of the “Black Turnpike” house is on the left. From the Illustrated London News, May 1886

• Robert Gourlay’s House. An immense 16th century house that once stood on Old Bank Close which was swept away in 1834 for the construction of George IV Bridge. Gourlay enjoyed the patronage of King James VI.
• Cardinal Beaton’s House. A 16th century house on the corner of Blackfriar’s Wynd where it met the Cowgate, it had been the residence of the Archbishop of Glasgow, James Beaton and then his nephew, Cardinal David Beaton, a prominent figure in 16th century Scottish history. It had a prominent octagonal tower projecting from its first storey and was demolished in 1874.
• Twelve Apostles House and French Ambassador’s Chapel. A building demolished in 1829, named for the “apostles’ heads” that decorated its gable and reputed to have contained a chapel for the French Ambassador. Located on the Cowgate at the foot of Libberton’s Wynd and taken down in 1829 to allow construction of George IV Bridge. The gable, and other ornamental stones, were saved and incorporated in Easter Coates House where they remain to this day.

The Twelve Apostles House (left) and French Ambassador’s Chapel (right). Marshall Wane photograph, © Museums & Galleries Edinburgh

• House in Dickson’s Close. A 16th century house exemplifying the old style of a stone ground floor, with projecting timber and render upper stories and reputed to have been built by Robert Mylne, the Seventh Royal Master Mason.
• Paul’s Wark. A 17th century workhouse built by the City at the foot of Leith Wynd, where it met the Calton, part of which later became a reformatory. It was demolished around 1844 to make way for the North British Railway.
• Symson the Printer’s House. This early 16th century house, at the foot of Horse Wynd, was the oldest house in the Cowgate at the time of its demolition in 1871 to make way for Chambers Street. It took its name from its late 17th century occupant – Andro Symson – an Episcopal clergyman who had turned to poetry and printing.
• Bowhead House. The archetype of the above style in the city, a sprawling building on the top corner of the West Bow whose tiers got ever wider and more precarious as they rose higher. It had been demolished in 1878.

Bowhead House. Note the “Town Guard” standing in the bottom right of the image. Marshall Wane photograph.

• Major Weir’s House. An early 17th century house that was located off of the West Bow, demolished when Victoria Street was constructed between 1829-34. The resident after whom it was named was the notorious Major Thomas Weir a soldier and “warlock” who was executed in 1670 for bestiality, incest and adultery.
• Earl of Hyndford’s House – also known as the Earl of Selkirk’s House. A large and most impressive house in the Old Town which was demolished in the 1870s. It was accessed off of Hyndford’s Close and had passed into the hands of Dr Daniel Rutherford, credited with the discovery of Nitrogen and grandfather of Sir Walter Scott. This house had been a favourite haunt of the young Walter when he was at the High School.
• Laus Deo House. A late 16th-century house on the Castle Hill at the head of Blyth’s Close, decorated with the legend “LAUS DEO” (Praise be to God) in large letters on its façade. This had been a focus of antiquarian interest in the first half of the 19th century when a stunning original ceiling was discovered hidden above a later one. There was a theory that this may have once formed part of the residence or “Palace” of the Regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise.
• The CunȜie House. A purported one-time location of the old Royal Mint of Scotland in the 16th century at the head of the Cowgate, where it met Candlemaker Row, with a distinctive “timber-arched porch, outside stairs and ancient ballusters“. Demolished around 1870.
• Mary of Guise’ Oratory. A private chapel situated on the Castle Hill on the east of Blyth’s Close, built some time after 1544 in connection with the residence (or “palace”) of the Regent of Scotland, Mary. It was demolished in 1845 when the New College of the Free Church of Scotland was being built.
• The Royal Porch. An ornamental gateway to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, built around 1490 by Abbot Bellenden. It was demolished in 1753 by the hereditary keeper of the Palace, the Duke of Hamilton.
• Assembly Rooms. Long before they were on George Street, Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms were on the Bow, the steep route up from the Grassmarket to the Lawnmarket. This was a “tall, picturesque building” that was demolished in 1836 when the street was remodelled as Victoria Street.
• The Black Turnpike. A few doors up from the Tron Kirk, it was demolished in 1788 (along with parts of that Church) to form Hunter Square as part of the South Bridge development. A very large building for its time (15th century), it was a “sumptuous residence” for high status nobles. Access to its upper floors was by a prominent turnpike stairwell on its façade, hence its name.

The “Black Turnpike” and citizens of Old Edinburgh. Marshall Wane photograph.

• House Fornent the Mint Close. An old house on the Cowgate fornent (Scots – opposite) the Mint Close, the last site of the Royal Mint of Scotland, it was one of the last surviving examples of a timber-fronted building of a burgher, with a small piazza on its ground floor and an open gallery above it. This particular house was also opposite that of Cardinal Beaton (above) and cleared in 1874 at the same time to allow the Cowgate to be widened.
• Parliament Stairs and Parliament Hall Gable. The “back stairs” led from the Cowgate up to the Parliament Close through the city’s Meal Market. At the head of the stairs was the south gable of the Parliament Hall of Scotland. The stairs were removed after the Great Fire of Edinburgh of 1824, and the gable of the Parliament Hall disappeared from view when the Outer House of the Court of Session was extended out from it.
• Tolbooth. One of the best known of Old Edinburgh’s buildings, this ugly, multi-storey building adjacent to St. Giles cathedral performed a variety of civic functions from guard house to prison to council chambers, court room and even a meeting space for the Parliament of Scotland. It had stood on this spot in one form or another since the late 15th century and was finally demolished in 1817 to widen and improve the High Street.
• The Mercat Cross. The ancient meeting point on the middle of the High Street, it had been taken down in 1756 and its stones scattered amongst other buildings and gardens, the cross and its shaft finding its way to Drum House, from where it was restored to the High Street in 1866. As a result of this, it was unique in being the only exhibit in the reconstruction that still existed (even though it was a restoration)

Looking up the Old Edinburgh street to the Mercat Cross, with the Tolbooth behind it. On the left is the “Unnamed House from the Cowgate” and Paul’s Wark. From the Illustrated London News, May 1886

The stunt was a roaring success. On June 5th 1886, the Dundee Weekly News described to its readers “A Saunter Round the Old Edinburgh Street” at night, in a long, 3-column report complete with in-depth descriptions of each building and illustrations. They said it was “A fine replica of early Scottish architecture – a group of ancient buildings with which are associated much of Edina’s romance and history” and that Mitchell was “worthy of all praise for the truthful representation he has given as of those historic edifices which have long since corroded under the rime of years“.

Thank you to Alan Faichney for reminding me that I never wrote this thread up at the time, and for bringing it back to my attention 4 months later!

Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.

If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.

Explore Threadinburgh by map:

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These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.

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#Lochend #Logan #Restalrig #StMargaret

The Irrepressible Mr Binko: the thread about the Engineer and Edinburgh’s first Electric Railway

My sources tell me it is was Electrification Friday and although I was saving a picture for another day it seems right to share it now. Behold! Mr Binko’s Electric Railway!

Mr Binko’s Electric Railway. © Edinburgh City Libraries

The passengers in the car are the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and his wife Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Regular viewers may recognise the backdrop as Donaldson’s Hospital.

Donaldson’s Hospital. CC-BY-SA 3.0, David Monniaux

It was the setting of the First International Forestry Exhibition of 1884 – held in a grand, wooden, temporary pavilion on the Hospital’s lawns – and that was the reason for Mr Binko bringing his railway to there. When the Royal Party toured the exhibition and rode his railway on 22nd August they became the first British Royals to be moved by electric power.

The 1884 exhibition, colour oil painting © Museums & Galleries Edinburgh

The carriage was named Alexandra after the Princess of Wales and was made locally by coachbuilders John Hislop & Son. The carriage was “richly upholstered in silk plush of the Royal scarlet, while the sides and roof were elegantly decorated. In the centre of the roof a brilliant prismatic lamp was placed, lit within by electricity… and by an ingenious arrangement a beautiful bouquet on the centre table was lighted up by miniature lamps on a button being pressed”. The only other time the carriage was officially used was for the visit of William Ewart Gladstone – four time Prime Minister – and a (grand) son of Leith. He is seen on the right in the car below.

William Ewart Gladstone at the Edinburgh Exbibition of 1884, photograph by John Moffat. CC-by-NC National Galleries Scotland

Zooming in, we see some of the occupants seem more enthusiastic than others. Mr Binko is seen on the right of shot, he with dark hair and moustache infront of the carriage window and clutching his top hat.

Gladstone, seated in the carriage, does not look impressed! Mr Binko is on his right, holding his top hat.

In the background we can make out a showbill to do with Electricity. An experimental display of electric lights was also part of the Exhibition.

This was the first electric vehicle in Edinburgh and its inventor and promoter was the splendidly named Mr Binko. Henry Bock Binko was born in Vienna in 1836, becoming a naturalised British citizen in 1881. He brought to Edinburgh a modified version of an electric locomotive that he had exhibited in London in 1882. His experiments were a few years behind Werner von Siemens who had exhibited the worlds first practical electric railway in Berlin in 1879. In 1883, Magnus Volk opened the first electric railway to the public in Britain with his Volk’s Electric Railway on the sea front in Brighton (remarkably, it’s still going!). However, as far back as 1842 the Scottish inventor Robert Davidson had trialled an electrically powered locomotive using batteries on the Edinburgh to Glasgow Railway, his Galvani could unfortunately only propel itself at walking speed and could pull no useful load. The inability to recharge its batteries rendered it completely impractical.

Volks Marine Electric Railway, CC-BY-SA Robert Cutts

Binko was described as a chemist, and seems to have been a serial inventor and patentee, intent on making his fortune by licensing out his contraptions to others. His Spectrograph achieved some success, and it was advertised for a reasonable sum as a money making scheme, the idea being people could get one and then duplicate photographs for sale by using it. Binko later fell out with the licensees.

Advert for a Binko patent Spectrograph

The locomotive brought to Edinburgh was called Ohm and was a rebuild of the Volta that he had exhibited in London. “The line was eventually opened as a ½ mile circular route in the grounds, the charge being 3d (three pence) for the 2.5 minute journey.” 30,000 passengers were carried by the railway during its time at the exhibition. The Railway News reported;

It has been met with extensive public patronage, besides being honoured by a journey taken by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family and subsequently by Mr and Mrs Gladstone. The length of the line laid down at Edinburgh is about double the length of that at the Crystal Palace and traverses the length of the exhibition building on the outside twice, besides making a wide sweep for turning.

Railway News – 6th September 1884

Power came from a stationary 8hp Robey steam engine coupled to a dynamo which supplied DC electric power through the rails. Speed was changed by resistors built into the locomotive. The locomotive or “guiding car” weighed about 2 tons and that the whole train weighed 6 tons when loaded. It could pull up to 3 passenger cars, each with capacity for 10, and it was noted that each car had its own motor, so the train was what we would nowadays call a DC EMU or Direct Current Electric Multiple Unit.

All was not well for Binko and his railway however. Construction over-ran and it was not ready for the opening. When it finally got going on July 17th, technically it was a triumph but financially proved a disaster. Binko was unable to pay his creditors, having borrowed heavily to finance the scheme, and one of them seized his railway before it was even in operation. An arrangement was made with the creditor that he would lease it back off of them for £650 to work off the debt, payable over 13 weeks in instalments. However, even though he was making up to £20 a day (approximately £2,800 in 2022) off of ticket sales, he remained seriously in debt and the creditors lost patience. Well before the end of the exhibition they advertised the whole thing for sale – obviously they had decided that Binko could or would never pay them what he owed and storage costs would be too high. On 30th September the electric railway was cancelled and Binko locked out from using it any more.

Advert selling Binko’s Electric Railway, Scotsman 20th September 1884

On 10th October 1884, Binko was taken to court in London and bankrupted, still owing the creditor £100. Being in Edinburgh with his railway, he did not appear in person to defend himself. The court heard that now that the exhibition had ended, Binko did not have any way to recoup any more money from it to settle his debts, but had not provided any accounts of his income from it during the exhibition. The court adjourned to give him time to prepare the accounts and to appear in person.

But that wasn’t the end for Binko in Edinburgh. The reason he hadn’t come to London to face court was that somehow he managed to convince the Edinburgh Street Tramways Company to undertake an experiment in electric traction. He somehow managed to convince his creditors to allow him the use of the steam engine, dynamo and mechanical components from the Ohm. A few hundred yards of copper strip were laid between the horse tram rails between the exhibition at Donaldson’s Hospital and Haymarket Station, the moving parts from the Ohm were bodged into a horse tram of the Street Tramways Co. and the whole lot was hooked up to the dynamo and steam engine. On 11th October 1884, with 10 passengers on board, Mr Binko’s Electric Tram became the first electric tram to run in the British Isles when it haltingly made the short journey between Donaldson’s and Haymarket. Three journeys were made, the third (and final) hauling a second horse tramcar, and then no more was heard of Henry Bock Binko or his experiments in electrical traction.

For now.

An Edinburgh Street Tramway Company horse tram of 1884 of the the sort electrified by Mr Binko © Edinburgh City Libraries

But once again this was not the end of the irrepressible Mr Binko and his experiments in electrical traction. He resurfaced in 1886 in Great Yarmouth where he tried to start up a seaside railway, but ended up being tried for unlawfully obtaining credit while being an undeclared bankrupt – it having transpired that he was bankrupted in 1871. He was eventually acquitted, largely on the grounds of his reputation from the 1884 railway in Edinburgh being taken in evidence that his schemes were serious and practical and not just a swindle. He died in London in 1911, being recorded on censuses in the last 10 years of his life as being employed as an electrical engineer.

Electric railways returned to Edinburgh the same year at the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art held in the Meadows.

The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

This scheme had nothing to do with Henry Binko and seems to have been something of a collaboration, directed by the energetic architect, builder and local politician Sir James Gowans, who was the organiser of the exhibition. The scheme is described as being a line 500 yards long, with electricity supplied to a central live rail by a 7 horsepower static steam engine. An electric locomotive hauled two tram cars sent by the Northern Metropolitan Tramway Company, a double decker with 20 inside and 26 outside upstairs and an open single decker with 25 seats. It could make 10 miles per hour. The steam engine was by Marshall & Co. of Gainsborough and the rails were made to Gowans’ own design (he had engineered Edinburgh’s first horse tramway some 15 years before), being supplied complimentary from a foundry in Barrow-in-Furness. The electric equipment was provided by King, Brown & Co. of Rosebank in Edinburgh. The fare was 2d and in the course of the exhibition it carried 80,000 passengers.

Ground Plan of the 1886 Edinburgh International Exhibition, the electric railway is highlighted in yellow

Despite all the engravings and photos taken at the exhibition, I have struggled to track down a good picture of the electric railway, but you can see a bit of it in the corner of the larger photo of the Exhibition pavilion. You can make out a sheeted vehicle, possibly the tram car, on the left behind the flag pole. The rails run parallel to the fence, off to the right.

Hints of the 1886 Electric Railway, Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

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The thread about the irrepressible Mr Binko and his Electric Railway

My sources tell me it is was Electrification Friday and although I was saving a picture for another day it seems right to share it now. Behold! Mr Binko’s Electric Railway!

Mr Binko’s Electric Railway. © Edinburgh City Libraries

The passengers in the car are the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and his wife Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Regular viewers may recognise the backdrop as Donaldson’s Hospital.

Donaldson’s Hospital. CC-BY-SA 3.0, David Monniaux

It was the setting of the First International Forestry Exhibition of 1884 – held in a grand, wooden, temporary pavilion on the Hospital’s lawns – and that was the reason for Mr Binko bringing his railway to there. When the Royal Party toured the exhibition and rode his railway on 22nd August they became the first British Royals to be moved by electric power.

The 1884 exhibition, colour oil painting © Museums & Galleries Edinburgh

The carriage was named Alexandra after the Princess of Wales and was made locally by coachbuilders John Hislop & Son. The carriage was “richly upholstered in silk plush of the Royal scarlet, while the sides and roof were elegantly decorated. In the centre of the roof a brilliant prismatic lamp was placed, lit within by electricity… and by an ingenious arrangement a beautiful bouquet on the centre table was lighted up by miniature lamps on a button being pressed”. The only other time the carriage was officially used was for the visit of William Ewart Gladstone – four time Prime Minister – and a (grand) son of Leith. He is seen on the right in the car below.

William Ewart Gladstone at the Edinburgh Exbibition of 1884, photograph by John Moffat. CC-by-NC National Galleries Scotland

Zooming in, we see some of the occupants seem more enthusiastic than others. Mr Binko is seen on the right of shot, he with dark hair and moustache infront of the carriage window and clutching his top hat.

Gladstone, seated in the carriage, does not look impressed! Mr Binko is on his right, holding his top hat.

In the background we can make out a showbill to do with Electricity. An experimental display of electric lights was also part of the Exhibition.

This was the first electric vehicle in Edinburgh and its inventor and promoter was the splendidly named Mr Binko. Henry Bock Binko was born in Vienna in 1836, becoming a naturalised British citizen in 1881. He brought to Edinburgh a modified version of an electric locomotive that he had exhibited in London in 1882. His experiments were a few years behind Werner von Siemens who had exhibited the worlds first practical electric railway in Berlin in 1879. In 1883, Magnus Volk opened the first electric railway to the public in Britain with his Volk’s Electric Railway on the sea front in Brighton (remarkably, it’s still going!). However, as far back as 1842 the Scottish inventor Robert Davidson had trialled an electrically powered locomotive using batteries on the Edinburgh to Glasgow Railway, his Galvani could unfortunately only propel itself at walking speed and could pull no useful load. The inability to recharge its batteries rendered it completely impractical.

Volks Marine Electric Railway, CC-BY-SA Robert Cutts

Binko was described as a chemist, and seems to have been a serial inventor and patentee, intent on making his fortune by licensing out his contraptions to others. His Spectrograph achieved some success, and it was advertised for a reasonable sum as a money making scheme, the idea being people could get one and then duplicate photographs for sale by using it. Binko later fell out with the licensees.

Advert for a Binko patent Spectrograph

The locomotive brought to Edinburgh was called Ohm and was a rebuild of the Volta that he had exhibited in London. “The line was eventually opened as a ½ mile circular route in the grounds, the charge being 3d (three pence) for the 2.5 minute journey.” 30,000 passengers were carried by the railway during its time at the exhibition. The Railway News reported;

It has been met with extensive public patronage, besides being honoured by a journey taken by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family and subsequently by Mr and Mrs Gladstone. The length of the line laid down at Edinburgh is about double the length of that at the Crystal Palace and traverses the length of the exhibition building on the outside twice, besides making a wide sweep for turning.

Railway News – 6th September 1884

Power came from a stationary 8hp Robey steam engine coupled to a dynamo which supplied DC electric power through the rails. Speed was changed by resistors built into the locomotive. The locomotive or “guiding car” weighed about 2 tons and that the whole train weighed 6 tons when loaded. It could pull up to 3 passenger cars, each with capacity for 10, and it was noted that each car had its own motor, so the train was what we would nowadays call a DC EMU or Direct Current Electric Multiple Unit.

All was not well for Binko and his railway however. Construction over-ran and it was not ready for the opening. When it finally got going on July 17th, technically it was a triumph but financially proved a disaster. Binko was unable to pay his creditors, having borrowed heavily to finance the scheme, and one of them seized his railway before it was even in operation. An arrangement was made with the creditor that he would lease it back off of them for £650 to work off the debt, payable over 13 weeks in instalments. However, even though he was making up to £20 a day (approximately £2,800 in 2022) off of ticket sales, he remained seriously in debt and the creditors lost patience. Well before the end of the exhibition they advertised the whole thing for sale – obviously they had decided that Binko could or would never pay them what he owed and storage costs would be too high. On 30th September the electric railway was cancelled and Binko locked out from using it any more.

Advert selling Binko’s Electric Railway, Scotsman 20th September 1884

On 10th October 1884, Binko was taken to court in London and bankrupted, still owing the creditor £100. Being in Edinburgh with his railway, he did not appear in person to defend himself. The court heard that now that the exhibition had ended, Binko did not have any way to recoup any more money from it to settle his debts, but had not provided any accounts of his income from it during the exhibition. The court adjourned to give him time to prepare the accounts and to appear in person.

But that wasn’t the end for Binko in Edinburgh. The reason he hadn’t come to London to face court was that somehow he managed to convince the Edinburgh Street Tramways Company to undertake an experiment in electric traction. He somehow managed to convince his creditors to allow him the use of the steam engine, dynamo and mechanical components from the Ohm. A few hundred yards of copper strip were laid between the horse tram rails between the exhibition at Donaldson’s Hospital and Haymarket Station, the moving parts from the Ohm were bodged into a horse tram of the Street Tramways Co. and the whole lot was hooked up to the dynamo and steam engine. On 11th October 1884, with 10 passengers on board, Mr Binko’s Electric Tram became the first electric tram to run in the British Isles when it haltingly made the short journey between Donaldson’s and Haymarket. Three journeys were made, the third (and final) hauling a second horse tramcar, and then no more was heard of Henry Bock Binko or his experiments in electrical traction.

For now.

An Edinburgh Street Tramway Company horse tram of 1884 of the the sort electrified by Mr Binko © Edinburgh City Libraries

But once again this was not the end of the irrepressible Mr Binko and his experiments in electrical traction. He resurfaced in 1886 in Great Yarmouth where he tried to start up a seaside railway, but ended up being tried for unlawfully obtaining credit while being an undeclared bankrupt – it having transpired that he was bankrupted in 1871. He was eventually acquitted, largely on the grounds of his reputation from the 1884 railway in Edinburgh being taken in evidence that his schemes were serious and practical and not just a swindle. He died in London in 1911, being recorded on censuses in the last 10 years of his life as being employed as an electrical engineer.

Electric railways returned to Edinburgh the same year at the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art held in the Meadows.

The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

This scheme had nothing to do with Henry Binko and seems to have been something of a collaboration, directed by the energetic architect, builder and local politician Sir James Gowans, who was the organiser of the exhibition. The scheme is described as being a line 500 yards long, with electricity supplied to a central live rail by a 7 horsepower static steam engine. An electric locomotive hauled two tram cars sent by the Northern Metropolitan Tramway Company, a double decker with 20 inside and 26 outside upstairs and an open single decker with 25 seats. It could make 10 miles per hour. The steam engine was by Marshall & Co. of Gainsborough and the rails were made to Gowans’ own design (he had engineered Edinburgh’s first horse tramway some 15 years before), being supplied complimentary from a foundry in Barrow-in-Furness. The electric equipment was provided by King, Brown & Co. of Rosebank in Edinburgh. The fare was 2d and in the course of the exhibition it carried 80,000 passengers.

Ground Plan of the 1886 Edinburgh International Exhibition, the electric railway is highlighted in yellow

Despite all the engravings and photos taken at the exhibition, I have struggled to track down a good picture of the electric railway, but you can see a bit of it in the corner of the larger photo of the Exhibition pavilion. You can make out a sheeted vehicle, possibly the tram car, on the left behind the flag pole. The rails run parallel to the fence, off to the right.

Hints of the 1886 Electric Railway, Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

If you have found this useful, informative or amusing, perhaps you would like to help contribute towards the running costs of this site – including keeping it ad-free and my book-buying budget to find further stories to bring you – by supporting me on ko-fi. Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends.

These threads © 2017-2025, Andy Arthur.

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

#1886InternationalExhibition #DonaldsonsHospital #exhibition #Firsts #July17 #Railways #Tramways #transport #Transportation

The thread about the irrepressible Mr Binko and his Electric Railway

My sources tell me it is was Electrification Friday and although I was saving a picture for another day it seems right to share it now. Behold! Mr Binko’s Electric Railway!

Mr Binko’s Electric Railway. © Edinburgh City Libraries

The passengers in the car are the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and his wife Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Regular viewers may recognise the backdrop as Donaldson’s Hospital.

Donaldson’s Hospital. CC-BY-SA 3.0, David Monniaux

It was the setting of the First International Forestry Exhibition of 1884 – held in a grand, wooden, temporary pavilion on the Hospital’s lawns – and that was the reason for Mr Binko bringing his railway to there. When the Royal Party toured the exhibition and rode his railway on 22nd August they became the first British Royals to be moved by electric power.

The 1884 exhibition, colour oil painting © Museums & Galleries Edinburgh

The carriage was named Alexandra after the Princess of Wales and was made locally by coachbuilders John Hislop & Son. The carriage was “richly upholstered in silk plush of the Royal scarlet, while the sides and roof were elegantly decorated. In the centre of the roof a brilliant prismatic lamp was placed, lit within by electricity… and by an ingenious arrangement a beautiful bouquet on the centre table was lighted up by miniature lamps on a button being pressed”. The only other time the carriage was officially used was for the visit of William Ewart Gladstone – four time Prime Minister – and a (grand) son of Leith. He is seen on the right in the car below.

William Ewart Gladstone at the Edinburgh Exbibition of 1884, photograph by John Moffat. CC-by-NC National Galleries Scotland

Zooming in, we see some of the occupants seem more enthusiastic than others. Mr Binko is seen on the right of shot, he with dark hair and moustache infront of the carriage window and clutching his top hat.

Gladstone, seated in the carriage, does not look impressed! Mr Binko is on his right, holding his top hat.

In the background we can make out a showbill to do with Electricity. An experimental display of electric lights was also part of the Exhibition.

This was the first electric vehicle in Edinburgh and its inventor and promoter was the splendidly named Mr Binko. Henry Bock Binko was born in Vienna in 1836, becoming a naturalised British citizen in 1881. He brought to Edinburgh a modified version of an electric locomotive that he had exhibited in London in 1882. His experiments were a few years behind Werner von Siemens who had exhibited the worlds first practical electric railway in Berlin in 1879. In 1883, Magnus Volk opened the first electric railway to the public in Britain with his Volk’s Electric Railway on the sea front in Brighton (remarkably, it’s still going!). However, as far back as 1842 the Scottish inventor Robert Davidson had trialled an electrically powered locomotive using batteries on the Edinburgh to Glasgow Railway, his Galvani could unfortunately only propel itself at walking speed and could pull no useful load. The inability to recharge its batteries rendered it completely impractical.

Volks Marine Electric Railway, CC-BY-SA Robert Cutts

Binko was described as a chemist, and seems to have been a serial inventor and patentee, intent on making his fortune by licensing out his contraptions to others. His Spectrograph achieved some success, and it was advertised for a reasonable sum as a money making scheme, the idea being people could get one and then duplicate photographs for sale by using it. Binko later fell out with the licensees.

Advert for a Binko patent Spectrograph

The locomotive brought to Edinburgh was called Ohm and was a rebuild of the Volta that he had exhibited in London. “The line was eventually opened as a ½ mile circular route in the grounds, the charge being 3d (three pence) for the 2.5 minute journey.” 30,000 passengers were carried by the railway during its time at the exhibition. The Railway News reported;

It has been met with extensive public patronage, besides being honoured by a journey taken by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family and subsequently by Mr and Mrs Gladstone. The length of the line laid down at Edinburgh is about double the length of that at the Crystal Palace and traverses the length of the exhibition building on the outside twice, besides making a wide sweep for turning.

Railway News – 6th September 1884

Power came from a stationary 8hp Robey steam engine coupled to a dynamo which supplied DC electric power through the rails. Speed was changed by resistors built into the locomotive. The locomotive or “guiding car” weighed about 2 tons and that the whole train weighed 6 tons when loaded. It could pull up to 3 passenger cars, each with capacity for 10, and it was noted that each car had its own motor, so the train was what we would nowadays call a DC EMU or Direct Current Electric Multiple Unit.

All was not well for Binko and his railway however. Construction over-ran and it was not ready for the opening. When it finally got going on July 17th, technically it was a triumph but financially proved a disaster. Binko was unable to pay his creditors, having borrowed heavily to finance the scheme, and one of them seized his railway before it was even in operation. An arrangement was made with the creditor that he would lease it back off of them for £650 to work off the debt, payable over 13 weeks in instalments. However, even though he was making up to £20 a day (approximately £2,800 in 2022) off of ticket sales, he remained seriously in debt and the creditors lost patience. Well before the end of the exhibition they advertised the whole thing for sale – obviously they had decided that Binko could or would never pay them what he owed and storage costs would be too high. On 30th September the electric railway was cancelled and Binko locked out from using it any more.

Advert selling Binko’s Electric Railway, Scotsman 20th September 1884

On 10th October 1884, Binko was taken to court in London and bankrupted, still owing the creditor £100. Being in Edinburgh with his railway, he did not appear in person to defend himself. The court heard that now that the exhibition had ended, Binko did not have any way to recoup any more money from it to settle his debts, but had not provided any accounts of his income from it during the exhibition. The court adjourned to give him time to prepare the accounts and to appear in person.

But that wasn’t the end for Binko in Edinburgh. The reason he hadn’t come to London to face court was that somehow he managed to convince the Edinburgh Street Tramways Company to undertake an experiment in electric traction. He somehow managed to convince his creditors to allow him the use of the steam engine, dynamo and mechanical components from the Ohm. A few hundred yards of copper strip were laid between the horse tram rails between the exhibition at Donaldson’s Hospital and Haymarket Station, the moving parts from the Ohm were bodged into a horse tram of the Street Tramways Co. and the whole lot was hooked up to the dynamo and steam engine. On 11th October 1884, with 10 passengers on board, Mr Binko’s Electric Tram became the first electric tram to run in the British Isles when it haltingly made the short journey between Donaldson’s and Haymarket. Three journeys were made, the third (and final) hauling a second horse tramcar, and then no more was heard of Henry Bock Binko or his experiments in electrical traction.

For now.

An Edinburgh Street Tramway Company horse tram of 1884 of the the sort electrified by Mr Binko © Edinburgh City Libraries

But once again this was not the end of the irrepressible Mr Binko and his experiments in electrical traction. He resurfaced in 1886 in Great Yarmouth where he tried to start up a seaside railway, but ended up being tried for unlawfully obtaining credit while being an undeclared bankrupt – it having transpired that he was bankrupted in 1871. He was eventually acquitted, largely on the grounds of his reputation from the 1884 railway in Edinburgh being taken in evidence that his schemes were serious and practical and not just a swindle. He died in London in 1911, being recorded on censuses in the last 10 years of his life as being employed as an electrical engineer.

Electric railways returned to Edinburgh the same year at the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art held in the Meadows.

The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

This scheme had nothing to do with Henry Binko and seems to have been something of a collaboration, directed by the energetic architect, builder and local politician Sir James Gowans, who was the organiser of the exhibition. The scheme is described as being a line 500 yards long, with electricity supplied to a central live rail by a 7 horsepower static steam engine. An electric locomotive hauled two tram cars sent by the Northern Metropolitan Tramway Company, a double decker with 20 inside and 26 outside upstairs and an open single decker with 25 seats. It could make 10 miles per hour. The steam engine was by Marshall & Co. of Gainsborough and the rails were made to Gowans’ own design (he had engineered Edinburgh’s first horse tramway some 15 years before), being supplied complimentary from a foundry in Barrow-in-Furness. The electric equipment was provided by King, Brown & Co. of Rosebank in Edinburgh. The fare was 2d and in the course of the exhibition it carried 80,000 passengers.

Ground Plan of the 1886 Edinburgh International Exhibition, the electric railway is highlighted in yellow

Despite all the engravings and photos taken at the exhibition, I have struggled to track down a good picture of the electric railway, but you can see a bit of it in the corner of the larger photo of the Exhibition pavilion. You can make out a sheeted vehicle, possibly the tram car, on the left behind the flag pole. The rails run parallel to the fence, off to the right.

Hints of the 1886 Electric Railway, Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

If you have found this useful, informative or amusing, perhaps you would like to help contribute towards the running costs of this site – including keeping it ad-free and my book-buying budget to find further stories to bring you – by supporting me on ko-fi. Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends.

These threads © 2017-2025, Andy Arthur.

NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

#1886InternationalExhibition #DonaldsonsHospital #exhibition #Firsts #July17 #Railways #Tramways #transport #Transportation

The thread about the irrepressible Mr Binko and his Electric Railway

My sources tell me it is was Electrification Friday and although I was saving a picture for another day it seems right to share it now. Behold! Mr Binko’s Electric Railway!

Mr Binko’s Electric Railway. © Edinburgh City Libraries

The passengers in the car are the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII) and his wife Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Regular viewers may recognise the backdrop as Donaldson’s Hospital.

Donaldson’s Hospital. CC-BY-SA 3.0, David Monniaux

It was the setting of the First International Forestry Exhibition of 1884 – held in a grand, wooden, temporary pavilion on the Hospital’s lawns – and that was the reason for Mr Binko bringing his railway to there. When the Royal Party toured the exhibition and rode his railway on 22nd August they became the first British Royals to be moved by electric power.

The 1884 exhibition, colour oil painting © Museums & Galleries Edinburgh

The carriage was named Alexandra after the Princess of Wales and was made locally by coachbuilders John Hislop & Son. The carriage was “richly upholstered in silk plush of the Royal scarlet, while the sides and roof were elegantly decorated. In the centre of the roof a brilliant prismatic lamp was placed, lit within by electricity… and by an ingenious arrangement a beautiful bouquet on the centre table was lighted up by miniature lamps on a button being pressed”. The only other time the carriage was officially used was for the visit of William Ewart Gladstone – four time Prime Minister – and a (grand) son of Leith. He is seen on the right in the car below.

William Ewart Gladstone at the Edinburgh Exbibition of 1884, photograph by John Moffat. CC-by-NC National Galleries Scotland

Zooming in, we see some of the occupants seem more enthusiastic than others. Mr Binko is seen on the right of shot, he with dark hair and moustache infront of the carriage window and clutching his top hat.

Gladstone, seated in the carriage, does not look impressed! Mr Binko is on his right, holding his top hat.

In the background we can make out a showbill to do with Electricity. An experimental display of electric lights was also part of the Exhibition.

This was the first electric vehicle in Edinburgh and its inventor and promoter was the splendidly named Mr Binko. Henry Bock Binko was born in Vienna in 1836, becoming a naturalised British citizen in 1881. He brought to Edinburgh a modified version of an electric locomotive that he had exhibited in London in 1882. His experiments were a few years behind Werner von Siemens who had exhibited the worlds first practical electric railway in Berlin in 1879. In 1883, Magnus Volk opened the first electric railway to the public in Britain with his Volk’s Electric Railway on the sea front in Brighton (remarkably, it’s still going!). However, as far back as 1842 the Scottish inventor Robert Davidson had trialled an electrically powered locomotive using batteries on the Edinburgh to Glasgow Railway, his Galvani could unfortunately only propel itself at walking speed and could pull no useful load. The inability to recharge its batteries rendered it completely impractical.

Volks Marine Electric Railway, CC-BY-SA Robert Cutts

Binko was described as a chemist, and seems to have been a serial inventor and patentee, intent on making his fortune by licensing out his contraptions to others. His Spectrograph achieved some success, and it was advertised for a reasonable sum as a money making scheme, the idea being people could get one and then duplicate photographs for sale by using it. Binko later fell out with the licensees.

Advert for a Binko patent Spectrograph

The locomotive brought to Edinburgh was called Ohm and was a rebuild of the Volta that he had exhibited in London. “The line was eventually opened as a ½ mile circular route in the grounds, the charge being 3d (three pence) for the 2.5 minute journey.” 30,000 passengers were carried by the railway during its time at the exhibition. The Railway News reported;

It has been met with extensive public patronage, besides being honoured by a journey taken by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family and subsequently by Mr and Mrs Gladstone. The length of the line laid down at Edinburgh is about double the length of that at the Crystal Palace and traverses the length of the exhibition building on the outside twice, besides making a wide sweep for turning.

Railway News – 6th September 1884

Power came from a stationary 8hp Robey steam engine coupled to a dynamo which supplied DC electric power through the rails. Speed was changed by resistors built into the locomotive. The locomotive or “guiding car” weighed about 2 tons and that the whole train weighed 6 tons when loaded. It could pull up to 3 passenger cars, each with capacity for 10, and it was noted that each car had its own motor, so the train was what we would nowadays call a DC EMU or Direct Current Electric Multiple Unit.

All was not well for Binko and his railway however. Construction over-ran and it was not ready for the opening. When it finally got going on July 17th, technically it was a triumph but financially proved a disaster. Binko was unable to pay his creditors, having borrowed heavily to finance the scheme, and one of them seized his railway before it was even in operation. An arrangement was made with the creditor that he would lease it back off of them for £650 to work off the debt, payable over 13 weeks in instalments. However, even though he was making up to £20 a day (approximately £2,800 in 2022) off of ticket sales, he remained seriously in debt and the creditors lost patience. Well before the end of the exhibition they advertised the whole thing for sale – obviously they had decided that Binko could or would never pay them what he owed and storage costs would be too high. On 30th September the electric railway was cancelled and Binko locked out from using it any more.

Advert selling Binko’s Electric Railway, Scotsman 20th September 1884

On 10th October 1884, Binko was taken to court in London and bankrupted, still owing the creditor £100. Being in Edinburgh with his railway, he did not appear in person to defend himself. The court heard that now that the exhibition had ended, Binko did not have any way to recoup any more money from it to settle his debts, but had not provided any accounts of his income from it during the exhibition. The court adjourned to give him time to prepare the accounts and to appear in person.

But that wasn’t the end for Binko in Edinburgh. The reason he hadn’t come to London to face court was that somehow he managed to convince the Edinburgh Street Tramways Company to undertake an experiment in electric traction. He somehow managed to convince his creditors to allow him the use of the steam engine, dynamo and mechanical components from the Ohm. A few hundred yards of copper strip were laid between the horse tram rails between the exhibition at Donaldson’s Hospital and Haymarket Station, the moving parts from the Ohm were bodged into a horse tram of the Street Tramways Co. and the whole lot was hooked up to the dynamo and steam engine. On 11th October 1884, with 10 passengers on board, Mr Binko’s Electric Tram became the first electric tram to run in the British Isles when it haltingly made the short journey between Donaldson’s and Haymarket. Three journeys were made, the third (and final) hauling a second horse tramcar, and then no more was heard of Henry Bock Binko or his experiments in electrical traction.

For now.

An Edinburgh Street Tramway Company horse tram of 1884 of the the sort electrified by Mr Binko © Edinburgh City Libraries

But once again this was not the end of the irrepressible Mr Binko and his experiments in electrical traction. He resurfaced in 1886 in Great Yarmouth where he tried to start up a seaside railway, but ended up being tried for unlawfully obtaining credit while being an undeclared bankrupt – it having transpired that he was bankrupted in 1871. He was eventually acquitted, largely on the grounds of his reputation from the 1884 railway in Edinburgh being taken in evidence that his schemes were serious and practical and not just a swindle. He died in London in 1911, being recorded on censuses in the last 10 years of his life as being employed as an electrical engineer.

Electric railways returned to Edinburgh the same year at the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art held in the Meadows.

The 1886 pavilion of the International Exhibition on the West Meadows, a temporary building believe it or not! Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

This scheme had nothing to do with Henry Binko and seems to have been something of a collaboration, directed by the energetic architect, builder and local politician Sir James Gowans, who was the organiser of the exhibition. The scheme is described as being a line 500 yards long, with electricity supplied to a central live rail by a 7 horsepower static steam engine. An electric locomotive hauled two tram cars sent by the Northern Metropolitan Tramway Company, a double decker with 20 inside and 26 outside upstairs and an open single decker with 25 seats. It could make 10 miles per hour. The steam engine was by Marshall & Co. of Gainsborough and the rails were made to Gowans’ own design (he had engineered Edinburgh’s first horse tramway some 15 years before), being supplied complimentary from a foundry in Barrow-in-Furness. The electric equipment was provided by King, Brown & Co. of Rosebank in Edinburgh. The fare was 2d and in the course of the exhibition it carried 80,000 passengers.

Ground Plan of the 1886 Edinburgh International Exhibition, the electric railway is highlighted in yellow

Despite all the engravings and photos taken at the exhibition, I have struggled to track down a good picture of the electric railway, but you can see a bit of it in the corner of the larger photo of the Exhibition pavilion. You can make out a sheeted vehicle, possibly the tram car, on the left behind the flag pole. The rails run parallel to the fence, off to the right.

Hints of the 1886 Electric Railway, Peter Fletcher Riddell bequest to National Galleries Scotland

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