The introduction of the railway to
Victorian London
During the
reign of Queen Victoria, the population of London grew rapidly which prompted the
introduction of the railway to the city. During the 1830's – 40's England
underwent what is known as the railway boom. The first intercity line to be
built was the London and Birmingham railway (L&BR) opening in 1838. Initially for
trade, the railway became a part of London life and by the 1870's nearly all
journeys made in and out of London were done by rail. The introduction of the
railway to London changed it dramatically. The railway provided a solution to
the congestion and overpopulation in the centre of the city; trains transported
people in and out of the city. The railways also provided new opportunities for travel and commerce and connected Londoners to the 'world beyond'.
The
development of the railway was a catalyst in the development of the suburbs. At
first there “were few daily travellers from the suburbs [but] by the mid-1850's
27,000 people were commuting into London by train each day” (LTM collection). Image one is a poster showing the most popular suburban areas and the train times into the city centre. Housing estates were built near the new railway stations creating a division of
business and residential property. By the 20th century train
companies were offering special rates to make the journey in and out o
Image 2: Photograph of 'Homes in Metro-Land' poster advertising houses for sale
and train services to the suburbs. Areas include Pinner, Kenton, Kingsbury,
Watford and Amersham.
Image 3: Cheap Day Return to Town, by F Gregory Brown, 1932
Image 4: Approach of L&BR to Camden Town (Davies Map of London, 1841)
The railway being built in Dickens' novel is thought to be the London to Birmingham (L&BR) link shown in Image 4. Dickens relates the construction of the
railway in Camden Town to the “shock of a great earthquake” and he describes
the chaotic atmosphere of the neighbourhood as the land around them was
destroyed and transformed. He notes “there were a hundred thousand shapes and
substances of incompleteness” and “everywhere were bridges that led nowhere”
reflecting the uncertainty of the railway. For London the railway embodied
modernity and therefore the community was progressing into essentially the
unknown. Dickens describes how the railway “wholly changed the law and custom
of the neighbourhood.” (Ch.6) This early depiction of the railway is unsettling
and chaotic. Later in the novel after six years have passed, Dickens describes
the same area of London in its new transformed state. He reflects “There was no
such place as Staggs's Gardens. It had vanished from the earth. Where the old
rotten summer-houses once had stood, palaces now reared their heads, and
granite columns of gigantic girth opened a vista to the railway world beyond.”
(Ch. 15) This highlights the physical and economic progression the railway
brought to London but also its destructive nature. London was now better
connected to the “world beyond” but it had sacrificed Stagg's Gardens in order
to become so. Dickens
connects the two chapters such his later description of “Bridges that had led
to nothing, led to villas, gardens, churches, healthy public walks” capturing
the same scene before and after the railway. Dickens also highlights London’s
growing dependency on the railway. He describes “there was even railway
time observed in clocks, as if the sun itself had given in." His narrative
embodies modernity and the way nature was replaced by industrialisation which echoes the transformation Victorian England underwent.
Works Cited:
Dickens,
Charles. Dombey and Son. Project
Gutenberg online text. Feb 1997. Updated July 2014. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/821/821-h/821-h.htm#link2HCH0008
http://www.crht1837.org/history/lbr
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