46.18.177.138: /* Further reading */ UK

2025-05-29T09:54:35Z

Further reading: UK

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{{Short description|Rail sleeping car}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox Train
|background = #00008b;color:white
|name = <span style="color:#fff;">British Rail Sleeper Either Class</span>
|image = British Rail Mark 3A SLEP 10590 at Penzane.JPG
|imagesize = 240px
|caption = GWR Night Riviera at Penzance
|manufacturer = [[British Rail Engineering Limited]]
|factory=[[Derby Litchurch Lane Works]]
|family=[[British Rail Mark 3]]
|formation =
|fleetnumbers=SLEP: 10500–10619,<br />SLE: 10646–10733
|operator = [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]]
|depots=
|lines =
|service = 1982–
|yearconstruction=1981–1984
|yearservice=
|yearscrapped=
|numberbuilt = 208 (120 SLEP, 88 SLE)
|numberscrapped=
|carbody=
|carlength = {{convert|75|ft|0|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|width =
|height =
|doors=
|maxspeed={{convert|125|mph|km/h|-1|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|43|t|abbr=on}}
|capacity = SLEP: 12–24 beds (12 compartments),<br />SLE: 13–26 beds (13 compartments)
|gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg}}
|brakes= [[Railway air brake|Air]]
|hvac=Electric heating (ETH index SLEP: 7, SLE: 6), air conditioned, electric cooking
|bogies=BT10
}}

A '''Sleeper Either class''' ('''SLE''') and '''Sleeper Either class with Pantry''' ('''SLEP''') are a type of railway [[sleeping car]] used in [[Great Britain]]. Some units were later modified for better wheelchair access as '''Sleeper Either class Disabled''' ('''SLED'''). A smaller number reused in Denmark were classified as '''WLABr'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jernbanen.dk/dsb_pvogn.php?Aar=1966&litra=WLABr&typenr=|title=DSB litra WLABr. Oversigt over samtlige vogne.|website=www.jernbanen.dk|access-date=2017-08-01}}</ref>

A total of 208 vehicles were built at [[Derby Litchurch Lane Works]] by [[British Rail Engineering Limited]] between 1982–1984 to the [[British Rail Mark 3]]A profile for [[British Rail]]. They were introduced to replace an ageing fleet of [[British Railways Mark 1 sleeping car|Mark 1 sleeper]] cars built to various designs and which dated from the late 1950s to early 1960s. The order consisted of 88 SLE variants, numbered 10646–10733, were constructed with thirteen bedrooms each, and 120 SLEP variants, numbered 10500–10619 constructed with twelve bedrooms with the last compartment used for an attendant. The Mark 3 air-conditioned sleeping cars were introduced including many additional safety features that had been lacking in the [[British Rail Mark 1|Mark 1]] carriages that had caught fire at [[Taunton]].<ref name=MR420>{{cite magazine |title=Night Riviera cuts sleeper travel costs |magazine=Modern Railways |issue=420|page=454|publisher=Ian Allan Publishing|issn= 0026-8356|year=1983}}</ref> The Night Riviera stock was the first on the route fitted with controlled emission toilets.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Abbott|first=James|title=Controlled emission toilets |magazine=Modern Railways |issue=421|page=554|publisher=Ian Allan Publishing|issn= 0026-8356|year=1983}}</ref>

{{As of|October 2019}}, the only mainline operator of this type of carriages are [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] on the ''[[Night Riviera]]'', whose fleet was refurbished in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gwr.com/about-us/modernising-gwr/night-riviera|title=Our new Night Rivera sleeper|website=Gwr.com|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>

With the decline of overnight sleeper services in the United Kingdom shortly after their introduction at the end of the 1980s,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/decline-sleeper-8561649.html|title=Decline of the sleeper|date=5 April 2013|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref> many of the carriages later were moved to [[heritage railways]] to provide sleeping accommodation for heritage staff and volunteers.

==Service==
[[File:Caledonian Sleeper Single berth.jpg|thumb|left|Caledonian Sleeper Single berth]]

Mk3 sleeper vehicles remain in use on the Great Western Railway's ''[[Night Riviera]]'' from [[London Paddington station|London Paddington]] to [[Penzance railway station|Penzance]] in Cornwall. All Night Riviera sleeper carriages have been refurbished, and feature keycard locks, new lighting, a wardrobe and under-bed storage. SLED vehicles, with disabled-accessible berth and toilet, were also added.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gwr.com/about-us/modernising-gwr/night-riviera|title=New Night Riviera Sleeper Trains | Great Western Railway|website=Gwr.com}}</ref>

The various Scottish services continue to depart from [[London Euston railway station|London Euston]] for final destinations at [[Glasgow Central station|Glasgow Central]], [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh Waverley]], [[Aberdeen railway station|Aberdeen]], [[Inverness railway station|Inverness]] and [[Fort William railway station|Fort William]], but the [[Caledonian Sleeper]] Mark 3 sleeper sets were withdrawn in October 2019.

Between 1988 and 1998, ten SLE carriages were leased to [[Danish State Railways]] (DSB) for use in Denmark. This lease came to an end following the opening of the [[Great Belt Fixed Link]] combined bridge and tunnel. During this time, the vehicles were classified as WLABr and each carried a [[International Union of Railways|UIC]] number.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Exiled Mk 3 'sleepers' return home after ten years in Denmark|magazine=[[RAIL (magazine)|RAIL]]|issue=346|publisher=EMAP Apex Publications|date=16–29 December 1998|page=13|issn=0953-4563|oclc=49953699}}</ref>

==Preservation==
[[File:British Rail Mark 3A SLE 10727 at Meldon.JPG|thumb|left|SLE coach as static volunteer accommodation on a heritage railway]]
Following the withdrawal of many overnight sleeper services in the late-1980s, many Mark 3 SLEP sleeper carriages were obtained by [[heritage railways]] in order to provide sleeping accommodation for heritage staff and volunteers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.svrwiki.com/Mk_3a_Convertible_Sleeper|title=Mk 3a Convertible Sleeper - SVR Wiki|website=Svrwiki.com|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref> In 2019, some of the former [[Caledonian Sleeper]] carriages were preserved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/retired-caledonian-sleeper-carriage-joins-historic-predecessors-rail-heritage-exhibit-1405802|title=Retired Caledonian Sleeper carriage joins historic predecessors at rail heritage exhibit|website=Scotsman.com|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/business/ribbon-cut-new-railway-workshop-wirksworth-1343632|title=Ribbon cut on new railway workshop in Wirksworth|website=Derbyshiretimes.co.uk|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://railtraveller.com/new-home-for-old-carriages/|title=New Home For Old Carriages|website=Railtraveller.com|date=12 May 2020|access-date=23 October 2021|archive-date=16 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016024828/https://railtraveller.com/new-home-for-old-carriages/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{As of|2020}} there were 1 SLED, 15 SLEs and 33 SLEPs in preservation at heritage railways. Since 2016, a sleeper repatriated from Denmark has been operated as a static hostel for members of the public by the [[Telford Steam Railway]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://telfordsteamrailway.co.uk/coming-soon-sleeper-coach-available-for-overnight-stays/ |title=Coming Soon! Sleeper coach available for overnight stays! | Telford Steam Railway |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=22 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422084907/https://telfordsteamrailway.co.uk/coming-soon-sleeper-coach-available-for-overnight-stays/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|url=http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/BRBDocuments/CS/Book_No_200_EK_web.pdf|title=Vehicle Diagram Book No. 200 for Loco Hauled Coaches|work=Barrowmore MRG|publisher=British Railways Board|location=Derby|date=January 1989|at=AU401}}

{{British Rail Coaches}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:British Rail coaching stock]]
[[Category:BREL products]]
[[Category:Night trains of the United Kingdom]]

Sleeper Either Class - Revision history

46.18.177.138: /* Further reading */ UK