British Rail Mark 3 sleeping car
| British Rail Sleeper Either Class | |
|---|---|
 Providing accommodation at a heritage railway
| |
| In service | 1982– |
| Manufacturer | British Rail Engineering Limited |
| Built at | Derby Litchurch Lane Works |
| Family name | British Rail Mark 3 |
| Constructed | 1981–1984 |
| Number built | 208 (120 SLEP, 88 SLE) |
| Fleet numbers |
SLEP: 10500–10619, SLE: 10646–10733 |
| Capacity |
SLEP: 12–24 beds (12 compartments), SLE: 13–26 beds (13 compartments) |
| Operator(s) | Caledonian Sleeper |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 75 ft 0 in (22.86 m) |
| Maximum speed | 125 mph (200 km/h) |
| Weight | 43 t (42 long tons; 47 short tons) |
| Train heating | Electric heating (ETH index SLEP: 7, SLE: 6), air conditioned, electric cooking |
| Bogies | BT10 |
| Braking system(s) | Air |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
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.
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 3A profile for British Rail. They were introduced to replace an ageing fleet of 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.
As of 2017[update], the only mainline operators of these type of carriages are Great Western Railway on the Night Riviera and Serco on the Caledonian Sleeper.
With the decline of overnight sleeper services in the United Kingdom shortly after their introduction at the end of the 1980s, many of the carriages later were moved to heritage railways to provide sleeping accommodation for heritage staff and volunteers.
On the Night Riviera from London Paddington station to Penzance railway station in Cornwall.
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