ABSTRACT
Arguably the impact of railways was greatest in the case of the urban areas. There was an increase in the number of towns and in their average size; and the transfer of population from the countryside to the towns was certainly conditioned by more efficient transport (Table 6.1). Within towns there were also significant effects, both directly and indirectly.' The direct effects were concerned with the landscape alterations resulting from quite drastic civil engineering work and from the construction of stations, depots and yards. Very large areas of land were needed and these were shaped in the form of long corridors which either disrupted existing street systems or created a framework around wh ich subsequent urban development could take place only with difficulty. The railway stations usually made a positive contribution to the stock of public buildings in the average town but not all urban stations were aesthetically pleasing and, even where they were, outstanding architectural merit might not be complemented by convenient location within the city and a consolidation of services (perhaps involving several different companies) in one central station. However, the indirect effects were far more significant. The railway provided opportunities for development which were particularly outstanding in the case of provincial cities endowed with radial networks which underpinned their role as regional capitals. With improved access to their hinterlands, combined with the capacity to assemble raw materials and fuels on an unprecedented scale, the major cities were able to expand their industrial and service roles. A growing population could be fed by food brought in by the railway and housed in suburbs linked with the commercial and industrial zones by rail commuter services, and if local recreation facilities were limited the railway also provided a means of escape to the country, which the railway proceeded to urbanize on a selective basis through the emergence of a chain of popular seaside towns and a more restricted number of inland resorts.
