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Opening of the First Section

When: 8 February 1836
Where: Spa Road to Deptford
Part of: London and Greenwich Railway opens first section

The first section between Spa Road and Deptford opened on 8 February 1836, following demonstration trains from mid-1835.

This event marked the start of operations for the first steam railway in London. The opening occurred after structural issues in January 1836, including collapsed arches near Tooley Street. The line was entirely elevated on a viaduct, designed to avoid level crossings in southern London.

Sources

London and Greenwich Railway Wikipedia, revision of 2026-02-01

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.