ARCHAEOLOGICAL excavations at the Tranent Waggonway in East Lothian have revealed three wooden railways, each laid on top of the previous one. The finds were made by The 1722 Waggonway Project, which aims to interpret, preserve and enhance the route and associated industries. The waggonway is described as Scotland’s first railway, being built in 1722 to move coal from a pit at Tranent to Cockenzie and Port Seton for use as fuel in a process for making salt.
The project team said there was not another site like it in railway archaeology. It has identified three phases of building from 1722-25, 1728- 30, and 1743-44.