The advent of the railways brought new opportunities to visit other places, be reunited with old friends, enjoy holidays and day trips. It encouraged tourism and boosted the economy.
Sadly in the 1960s there was a decline in the railways and many stations closed - a trend which has been partially reversed in recent years with the opening of new lines and stations.
Here are some evocative pictures selected from the Evening News archive which recall the past of the railways in an around the Capital.
The photos include shots of stations on Edinburgh’s South Suburban line as well as stops on the route from Edinburgh through the Borders.
The exhibition, "Scots on the Move: Railways and Tourism in Victorian Scotland" is free to visit in the Adam Dome at General Register House on Princes Street, opposite Waverley station. It runs until September 26 and is open from 9am until 4pm on weekdays, with late opening until 6:30pm on August 21.
5. Morningside Railway Station
Passengers leaving the platform at Morningside Station, Edinburgh in 1961 Photo: TSPL
6. Rosewell railway station
The sunlight streams through the ironwork of the bridge at Rosewell station - one of the disused stations on the Borders railway line in November 1970. Photo: Denis Straughan
7. Old Stow railway station
The sign at the old Stowrail station in the Borders, one of the stops on the Edinburgh & Hawick Railway route, closed in January 1969. Photo: Joe Steele
8. Kingsknowe railway station
A workman in a safety vest works on the line at Kingsknowe railway station in Edinburgh before it reopened in January 1970. Photo: Albert Jordan