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London owes its origins to being a suitable site for settlement close to what was then the lowest bridging point of the Thames. There have been many factors that have caused it to become such a vast, diverse and dynamic organism. Transport and the railways in particular have played a vital part in making London what it is today. This book does not pretend to be a chronological or comprehensive history of the railways of London because this has been done elsewhere. Instead this book acts as an introduction to various aspects of the impact and place of railways in the Metropolis with a particular emphasis on some of their social and economic influences.