"Which was London's first railway?"

There are two possible answers to this question as there are two companies competing for the title.

Also, by answering this question we can also answer some others along the way. If we can work out which railway came first we can work out which is London's oldest station, too.

The Surrey Iron Railway

The first Act of Parliament for the authorisation of a railway in the London area was granted in 1801, to the Surrey Iron Railway. This railway was built in stages, between 1802 and 1803, from Frying Pan Creek, on the River Thames at Wandsworth, to Pitlake Meadows at Croydon, mostly following the Wandle Valley.

The Surrey Iron Railway used trains of ten wagons, which were horse-drawn along a narrow-gauge, double-tracked line. This line remained in use until 1846, but was only briefly profitable. 

However, all of this railway was within Surrey, parts of which wouldn't become part of London until 1889.

The London and Greenwich Railway

In 1831, following the success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which had opened in 1830 as the world's first passenger railway to connect two cities, retired Royal Engineer Colonel George Thomas Landmann and George Walter, an entrepreneur, had the idea for a passenger railway service in London. 

Their idea was to have the railway raised on a viaduct from Tooley Street, close to the newly opened London Bridge so as to allow instant access to the City of London, all the way to Greenwich. It would need 878 brick arches, some slightly skew, so as to avoid the many streets, rivers and canals along the route and would be almost four-miles in length.

There was much opposition to the plan, especially from George Shillibeer, founder of London's first Omnibuses, stage coach companies and the Thames steam ferries. 

Ultimately, the London and Greenwich Railway Act 1833 was passed, with the stipulation that this be the only line to enter London from the south. With authorisation granted, £400,000 was raised, which eventually rose to £600,000, and negotiations began with freeholders who owned properties along the proposed route. Many buildings in Bermondsey and Southwark, the majority of which were slum dwellings, were demolished before construction began in earnest.

In April 1834, construction began with over 600 English and Irish navvies being employed. The navvies were housed in Southwark, but continued fighting between the two groups resulted in the two nationalities being separated into two accommodations: 'English Grounds' and 'Irish Grounds'. 'English Grounds' still exists as a street between Tooley Street and the River Thames.

The viaduct was 8 metres (26 feet) in width, consisting of 878 brick arches and ran for 3 3⁄4 miles (6.0 km). There were many issues, during construction, most of which came from the soil. Below the surface it was a blackish peat that resulted in some of the arches 'slipping'. One remedy for this was to use iron ties to hopefully prevent lateral spread. Unfortunately, in January 1836, two arches close to Corbetts Lane collapsed. 

No less than 60,000,000 bricks were laid by hand in the construction of the viaduct, under the watch of the contractor Hugh McIntosh.

Running parallel with Tooley Street, the line crossed Blue Anchor Road, Corbetts Lane and the Grand Surrey Canal, before it began its curve towards where its first station would be sited, at Deptford, before continuing on to London Street, Greenwich. Between Deptford and Greenwich the River Ravensbourne was crossed by a balanced bridge. This bridge, which allowed vessels with masts to pass, was operated by eight men. Possibly due to the foundations, this bridge was unreliable and was replaced in 1884, and again in 1963.

In 1835, demonstration trains began using the line, before being suspended due to a derailment, with tests resumed in 1836.

The first part of the line opened on February 8, 1836, and ran from Deptford to Spa Road, on, with rumours circulating that the trains had reached 60 mph (97 kph). On its first full day of service some 13,000 passengers were carried. 

On December 14, 1836, the line finally reached Tooley Street, with the temporary station at Spa Road being closed. Tooley Street would go on to be named London Bridge, in the 1840s. The railway finally reached Church Row, Greenwich, on December 24, 1838, due in part to problems with the balanced bridge. The current Greenwich station opened on April 12, 1840.

Much of the success of the line was put down to tourists visiting London, many of whom arrived by sea at Greenwich. The entire journey could be made in around fifteen minutes, when the bridge was reliable.

A way to make extra money and to provide housing was to rent, or sell, the arches. However, the noise from the trains, rain seeping through the bricks after heavy rain and coal fires being forbidden, in case the smoke blocked the train driver's view, put an end to this money-making scheme. 

Today, although many arches remain vacant, a plethora of businesses now thrive in some of them. From bakeries to gyms, from restaurants to pubs, to reclamation yards and offices and everything in between. 

The intention was to get this line constructed, and opened, before applying to have the line extended to Dover. There was even talk of eventually extending it to Gravesend. Neither of these ideas would be realised.

In review

• London and Greenwich Railway was the first steam railway in London
• London and Greenwich Railway was the first built to specifically carry passengers
• London and Greenwich Railway was the first entirely elevated railway in the world
• Deptford station is the oldest station in London
• London Bridge station is the oldest railway terminus in London