1938: Slip coach for Didcot off Up train?

[AndrewE]

I was reminded of old type-faces by the discussion on another thread (https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/why-✠and-✝-and-not-a-sidewards-ϕ.177554/) and looked in my David and Charles 1969 facsimile of the July 1938 Bradshaw's.
It happened to open at page 73, G W Main Line, Fishguard Harbour, Neyland etc etc and London. On that page (Up, Sundays) there is a sidenote "a: by slip carrriage to Didcot." I imagine it could only be for an Oxford arrival, but I can't find it in any of the train columns. There is an 8o11 (pm) arrival but o is shown as meaning "On 31st inst. only."

I guess it could be a leave-in, the block of type having been re-used from a previous month, but I had never imagined a slip coach off an up train at all, assuming they all worked down out of Paddington (and maybe a few other London termini.)
So has anyone got any suggestions?

(On the same page there is the 6 20 pm from Neyland (via Gloucester) with a sleeping car from Neyland arriving into Paddington at 03.25 and another overnight up train, the 1017pm from Barry docks arriving at 03.05!) I guess the train from Barry could have been the equivalent of 1A00, the up Barrow sleeper - but mostly seats - which was the last evening train south/first into Euston in the morning when it ran on the WCML.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Some up Berks & Hants services slipped a coach at Reading - thus in the July 1938 Bradshaw the 0835 Plymouth / 0815 Kingswear to Paddington did so. It also slipped a coach at Westbury (for Bath)!

 

[AndrewE]

Some up Berks & Hants services slipped a coach at Reading - thus in the July 1938 Bradshaw the 0835 Plymouth / 0815 Kingswear to Paddington did so. It also slipped a coach at Westbury (for Bath)!

Thank you for the hint on where to look.... with that I have found it now!
It's a 10.09 weekdays arrival at Oxford via a local train from Didcot, the slip coach was off the 07.10 restaurant car express from Weston-s-Mare via Bristol and Bath, which slipped coaches at both Didcot and Reading.
It's only when you look at those old services that you realise how infrequent and sporadic they were. E.g. Bristol TM to London: 07.50 (arr 10am), 0900, 11.22 via Devizes, 11.45 non-stop via Badminton, 12.00, 13.45, 15.10, 16.30, 17.03 via Westbury, 17.15, 1745 stopper via Badminton, 18.10, 19.35 and 23.15 arriving at 02.40! Plus the up Penzance sleeper, as now. The 23.15 would have been useful in the 1970s when I worked at Bristol, the last train was around 8pm I think, maybe 8.20.

 

[Taunton]

There weren't many physical slip coaches and they were of course a nuisance to work back to their starting point, if possible for the next day's service. I seem to recall their individual circuit was painted on the end. The Down Cornish Riviera is well known for having its three slips, at Westbury, Taunton and Exeter, but the Up Rivvy had a slip for Reading as well. If required, an additional normal corridor coach could be attached to the rear of the slip coach, which had vacuum brake cylinders to handle more than just itself.

I believe the Westbury Rivvy slip was taken on to Weymouth, then returned to Bristol, from where the next day it would be used on a Bristol-Paddington service slipping at Reading, and then taken on later to London, requiring two coaches in the circuit. I presume it had to be turned on a turntable at Old Oak before the next departure.

I wonder what the procedure was if the Slip coach was oversubscribed before departure.

 

[Diplodicus]

Maybe the same as now.... cram 'em in?

 

[AndrewE]

Maybe the same as now.... cram 'em in?

As Taunton says, the slip coaches had extra vacuum reservoir capacity so that they could brake a second coach, but on top of that many of them are shown in the Bradshaw's as "Limited capacity."
I don't know whether that meant 'first come, first served,' and that you couldn't board if all the seats were already reserved or taken.