Slough railway station

Slough railway station is a railway station in the town of Slough, Berkshire, England. The station is served by local services operated by First Great Western Link from London Paddington to Reading stations. Slough is also the branch station for the Windsor link. The station is on the original line of the Great Western Railway.

The arrival of the railway in Slough in 1840 led to Queen Victoria making her first ever railway journey, from Slough to Bishop's Bridge near Paddington, in 1842. In later years, a railway spur would be built from Slough Station to Windsor and Eton Central for the Queen's greater convenience.

On January 1 1845, John Tawell, who had recently returned from Australia, murdered his lover, Sarah Hart, at Salt Hill in Slough by poisoning her with prussic acid. With various officials in chase, Tawell fled to Slough Station and boarded a train to Paddington. Fortunately, the electrical telegraph had recently been installed and so a message was sent ahead to Paddington with Tawell's details. Tawell was trailed and subsequently arrested, tried and executed for the murder at Aylesbury on March 28 1845. This is believed to be the first time ever that the telegraph had been involved in the apprehension of a murderer.

External links

• Train times for Slough railway station from National Rail
• Street map and aerial photo of Slough railway station from Multimap.com