The new decade was ushered in with a bang in January as the last remnants of Portobello Power Station were cleared by controlled explosion. New technologies were being introduced. The first payphones with numbers that you pressed were replacing the old dial system. Students at the new Wester Hailes Education Centre (WHEC) were introduced to the latest Apple computers and Edinburgh said goodbye to its last two-man operated double decker buses. The city’s Shandwick Place became the first place in Britain to install a ‘talking’ pedestrian crossing intended as an aid for blind people, while a new interactive videotex system, Prestel, was being promoted in the Capital by British Telecom. A kind of forerunner of today’s internet, it allowed users access to all manner of information services from the comfort of their own homes. It’ll never catch on… More to follow in Part 2 next week.
1. LRT bus stop 1980
The information board at a Lothian Region Transport (LRT) bus stop in Princes Street Edinburgh, July 1980. Photo: George Smith
2. Concorde at Edinburgh airport 1980
An Air France Concorde aeroplane at Edinburgh airport in March 1980. Photo: Hamish Campbell
3. Demolishing Portobello Power Station 1980
King's Road residents complained to the Evening News 'Action Wanted' team that blasting during the SSEB's demolition of Portobello power station was damaging their property in January 1980. Photo: George Smith
4. Push-button telephones at Waverley
Teenager using new push-button telephones at Waverley Station, Edinburgh in February 1980. Photo: Stan Warburton