Another interesting YouTube:
Rusty
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That looks like fun. Wonder if they had any accidents?
There are some pictures of a switcher crew spotting a car the same way but I couldn't find them. They did this because the car was behind the engine at a leading-point switch.
Fascinating, Rusty! It seems the practice wasn't stopped because of safety concerns, but economic and advanced technology reasons. It must have been very reliable. Thank you for posting!
Fascinating! Thank you.
Dan Weinhold
A neat concept, but it seems self-defeating since they have to go to the trouble of retrieving the loose coaches
It does seem self defeating. There must have been something in the process that made it worthwhile at the time
@sxe60 posted:A neat concept, but it seems self-defeating since they have to go to the trouble of retrieving the loose coaches
The narrator explained that the stopped and emptied "Slip Coach", would then be moved to a siding by the "Shunter" (switcher in GB), for subesquent pick up by a returning train. Sounds pretty straight forward to me.
How about that...I learned something new today. Prior to this thread, I had never heard of “slip coaches.”
@Rich Melvin posted:How about that...I learned something new today. Prior to this thread, I had never heard of “slip coaches.”
It’s funny I just watched this same video last night and I had no idea they existed either. Very interesting but I don’t think I’d be real comfortable in a more or less free wheeling passenger coach! 😧
@Hot Water posted:The narrator explained that the stopped and emptied "Slip Coach", would then be moved to a siding by the "Shunter" (switcher in GB), for subesquent pick up by a returning train. Sounds pretty straight forward to me.
Straight forward? Sounds like a pretty complex system to save stopping and starting time. Evidently, the Brits thought a fast schedule was more important.
@sxe60 posted:Straight forward? Sounds like a pretty complex system to save stopping and starting time. Evidently, the Brits thought a fast schedule was more important.
Yes, they always have! Especially back in the early 1900s. Again, according to the narrator, the general practice of "slip Coaches" tended to end during WWII, with the final use in 1960.
Another time saving measure on the British network was the use of tenders equipped with corridors on the London and North Eastern Railway. Effective with the Summer 1928 timetable, the Flying Scotsman was scheduled to run non-stop between London and Edinburgh. With a booked travel time of approximately eight and a quarter hours, a crew change was made at speed near the mid point of the trip as the relief driver and fireman, who had been seated in the first carriage of the train, walked up to the head end via the tender's corridor and assumed operation of the locomotive from the first crew who then repaired to the coach for the balance of the journey.
Bob
