Marine Drive, was begun. The scheme originally included plans for a paddling pool, open-air swimming pool and model yacht basin, but these were never realised. Caledonian Railway In 1894, the Caledonian Railway opened a branch line from Craigleith to Barnton via Davidson's Mains, running through the south of Silverknowes. The line closed to passengers in 1951 and to goods traffic in 1960. The surviving trackbed is now a footpath and cycle path, forming part of the National Cycle Network Route 1. Anti-aircraft measures During World War II, Silverknowes was the site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery, situated on the north side of Silverknowes Golf Course. A Starfish anti-aircraft decoy was located to the west, at the west end of Marine Drive. This consisted of a group of 'fire-burning' boxes, designed to appear from the air as a burning town or city, thus diverting enemy aircraft from their intended targets. Amenities Lauriston Farm Buildings were used for Farming Purposes until the 1970s, when the Ross Family introduced a Market Garden followed by an Eatery. The Robertson Family then took over Lauriston Farm and turned it into a Restaurant, selling out to Whitbread in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, Lauriston Farm Restaurant became a Whitbread Brewer's Fayre (1993) before being taken over by Mitchell and Butler, relaunching as The Lauriston Farm Restaurant, which was refurbished in 2019. The area of Silverknowes, Davidson's Mains, Muirhouse (former home to Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting), Granton, Cramond & Cammo boasts the largest concentration of significant Country Houses in Scotland: Lauriston Castle, with its world-famous Blue John Glass and Furniture Collections, once Owned by John Napier, Inventor of Logarithms & former Home of John Law (economist) of Lauriston, World-Famous in the 18th & 19th Centuries, Chief Financier of France under King Louis XIV, Founder of the Bank of France and Creator of the infamous Mississippi Bubble; Barnton House (a.k.a. Cramond Regis), Former Hunting Estate of Kings of Scotland; Muirhouse (now Muirhouse Mansion, formerly known as Randalistoun), Grade A Listed Building, now a Homeless Hostel; Silverknowe House, formerly Silverknowe Hydro Convalescence Home (destroyed by fire in 1960 while being used as Silverknowes Golf Club House); Broomfield House owned by Earl Haig's Sister (which became The Commodore Hotel 1950s to early 2000s, a former Four Star Stakis Hotel, before its current life as a Two Star Hotel come Homeless Hostel, Almond House Lodge Hotel); Granton House