Beneath the bustling runways of Edinburgh Airport lies a secret. A forgotten world of toil and industry. This is the story of Ingliston Pit No. 33. In 1891, Young’s Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company, seeking new shale reserves, leased the Ingliston estate. They established Ingliston Pit No. 33 near the River Almond by Lennie Muir in 1892. A mineral railway, straight as an arrow, was built. It stretched a mile and a half, connecting the pit to the North British Railway’s South Queensferry branch. This line traversed the flat carseland. It even crossed the main Edinburgh to Linlithgow road near Boathouse bridge. Ingliston Pit No. 33 extracted shale from the Dunnet seam. However, the ground proved unstable. The ever-present threat of the River Almond flooding the workings loomed large. After only two years, the pit was abandoned. Undeterred, Young’s continued prospecting. They discovered the Camps shale seam at a greater depth. This led to the sinking of Ingliston Pits No. 36 & 37 in 1897. These new pits were located west of No. 33. They were closer to the existing mineral railway and reached a depth of 366 feet. While these newer pits avoided the flooding issues of No. 33, they were plagued by gas and the danger of falling shale. The brief existence of Ingliston Pit No. 33 serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by the shale industry. It represents a chapter in the story of Ingliston before the roar of airplanes replaced the clang of mining machinery. The airport now covers the very ground where men once toiled. A testament to how quickly industry and landscapes can change.
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