It is 18 miles 36 chains (18.45 mi; 29.7 km) down the line from the zero point at Paddington and is situated between Langley to the east and Burnham to the west.

[3] Following the repeal of the relevant clauses in the GWR Act, the first proper station at Slough opened on 1 June 1840.

Originally, the headmaster of Eton College, Dr. John Keate, had resisted efforts to place a station closer to Eton College than Slough, because he feared that it would "interfere with the discipline of the school, the studies and amusements of the boys, affecting the healthiness of the place, from the increase of floods, and endangering even the lives of boys.

On 1 January 1845, John Tawell, who had recently returned from Australia, murdered his lover, Sarah Hart, at Salt Hill in Slough by giving her a glass of stout poisoned with cyanide of potash.

From 1 March 1883, the station was served by District Railway services running between Mansion House and Windsor & Eton Central.

The driver of the express only noticed the signal immediately before the platform; he made an emergency brake application and reversed the engine, but was unable to prevent the collision.

The signalman was held to be at fault for allowing the express to cross in front of the heavy freight train (not fitted with continuous brakes) without ensuring that the latter could stop in time.

[11] [12] On the evening of 2 November 1994 a Class 165 Turbo train crashed through the buffer stop of platform 6, after failing to slow down due to poor rail adhesion on the approach to the crossover.

[citation needed] This was only one of a number of instances in which Class 165/166 Turbo trains had overshot platforms and run through red lights.

These incidents led to driver retraining and the teaching of defensive driving techniques during the autumn leaf fall season.

This figure does not take into account the 1.59 million additional users of the branch line to Windsor & Eton Central.

The station underwent other structural changes to accommodate overhead electrification of the Great Western Main Line.

The original Brunel-era station buildings at Slough were of timber construction and were on the south (i.e. town) side of the railway.

The most notable architectural details are the unusual scalloped roof tiles and the decorative ironwork around the top of the buildings.

Parallel to and south of the current Platform 1, the 'Windsor Bay', were two additional sidings and a platform-level loading bank.

These were latterly used for loading tanks, from the Royal Alexandra Barracks in Windsor, on to flat trucks (e.g., 'Rectank' and 'Warwell' wagons) for onward transport by rail.

At the London end of Platform 2 ('Down Main' services) was a very short siding, at an odd angle to the track.

Platform 6, for stopping services to London, was provided with a siding between the main and relief lines at the east end of the station.

It was not uncommon to see several parcels vans stabled there, and occasionally a Class 08 shunter from Slough Goods Yard.

This remaining siding was truncated beyond the end of the platform during the 1990s and is now used as a stabling point for a tamper/liner or similar kind of track machine.

He started his duties as Canine Collector for the Great Western Railway Widows' and Orphans' Fund when he was about four months old but, because he was in bad health, he was only actually collecting about two years or so.

After a time he was taught to bark whenever he received a coin, which caused a great deal of amusement to his numerous patrons.

He would sit up and beg, or lie down and "die"; he could make a bow when asked, or stand up on his hind legs.

At a St. John Ambulance Examination held at this station he laid down on one of the stretchers and allowed himself to be bandaged up with the rest of the "injured".

He died suddenly in his harness on the platform on the evening of November 19th 1896, and was afterwards placed here by voluntary contributions from a number of the residents in Slough and the staff at this station.