Slip coach

rdf:langString Slip coach

rdf:langString A slip coach, slip carriage or slip portion in Britain and Ireland, also known as a flying switch in North America, is one or more carriages designed to be uncoupled from the rear of a moving train. The detached portion continued under its own momentum following the main train until slowed by its own guard using the brakes, bringing the slip to a stop, usually at the next station. The coach or coaches were thus said to be slipped from the train without it having to stop. This allowed the train to serve intermediate stations, without unduly delaying the main train. The reverse process defied the ingenuity of inventors. Slip coaches as described above were mainly used in Britain and Ireland from 1858 until 1960, for most of this period there was serious competition between railway companies who strove to keep journey times as short as possible, avoiding intermediate stops wherever possible. Competition increased as locomotives became bigger and able to haul heavier trains at faster speeds for longer distances, trains no longer need to stop so often, for fuel and water for themselves, using water troughs or track pans to fill up on the move, or for facility stops for passengers by providing corridor coaches, dining and sleeping carriages. Faster services were becoming progressively safer as more efficient continuous braking was fitted and the absolute block system installed on main lines. All these led to the use of slip services in some places where there was a financial advantage to the company to provide it.