The Victorian period was a time of great change for Slough. In 1837, when Victoria came to the throne, Slough was merely a small hamlet, a stopping-off point for coaches en route between London and Bath. It was of a similar size to other local villages like Datchet, Upton and Langley Marish. Four years later, the 1841 Census listed Slough's population as 2405.

It was the coming of the railway that provided the impetus for the growth of Slough into a thriving market town. The Great Western Railway line between London and Bristol opened in 1838, and Slough's first railway station opened in 1840 (it was from here that Queen Victoria took her first ever train journey in 1842). The Slough to Windsor branch line opened in 1849. The railway signalled the beginning of the end for the coaching trade. The London to Bath coaches which stopped off at the Crown, Red Lion and White Hart Inns for food and accommodation were soon to be a thing of the past, with the last coach running in 1843.

However, rail transport allowed for the expansion of the town. This growth took place around the High Street, with new roads being built at right angles to it - by 1851, nine new streets had been built. By the end of the Victorian era, there were over 11,000 people and 300 shops and businesses in Slough. The cattle market had also been established by this time. The first modern factory in Slough was built by Elliman's Sons & Co, in 1870.

The railway was not the only new form of transport to arrive in Slough during this period. Between 1879 and 1882 the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal was built. The purpose of this was to make it easier to transport bricks from the Slough brickfields to London.