Slack; this is a dual purpose word. There is the action of slack that occurs in a train when there is a change in the train, or a portion of the train making the transition from being stretched to being bunched or vice versa.
Slack Action
The motion, forward or back, that one or more cars, locomotives, or parts of a train has without moving other coupled cars, locomotives, or parts of the train. Loose slack is the free movement or lost motion between parts of a train.
Slack action
Sometimes violent movement of cars in a train relative to each other because of the "give" in each coupler.
Slip switch ...
Automatic Slack Adjuster
A device on freight cars that maintains brake cylinder piston travel at a predetermined length to compensate for wear of brake shoes, wheels, and brake rigging.
Automatic Train Control (ATC) ...
Run In Describes the action of the slack between the cars moving forward and hitting against the engine. A run out would be the opposite effect.
S ...
Skipper The conductor Slack The motion, forward or back, that one or more cars, locomotives, or parts of a train has without moving other coupled cars, locomotives, or parts of the train.
Scrap Iron Broken knuckle due to uncontrolled slack action in train or overly aggressive starting technique. Schedule That part of a timetable which prescribes class, direction, number and movement for a regular train.
Slack (UK): A temporary speed restriction to protect, for example, sections of track in poor condition and awaiting repair. Also applies to the timing tolerance included in timetable schedules to allow for such restrictions.
Take slack, pull forward and then back into the coupler and push the car(s) to where they need to be without recoupling.
Dead track: heavier track which runs slack, as in some WWII German tanks
Turret race: the ring in which the turret rolls
Hatch: any opening that allows access to the crew compartment, driver compartment or engine ...
is positioned under the track at a strategic location like in front of a branch line, spur or ladder, such that, when a train is backed up and stopped with the knuckle coupler over the magnet, the "glad-hands" of the coupler come apart when slack is ...
BACK TO THE FARM"Laid off on account of slack business. When a man is discharged he is given six months twice a year ...
Articulation also eliminated slack action by having the front part of one car and the rear of the preceding one rest upon the same truck, held together by a sleeve joint, allowing it to round curves efficiently, yet unifying the whole train.
Accordingly, UK rolling stock has buffers - sprung metal posts with caps - buffer heads - on the end. These buffers absorb the blow of the wagons and coaches bumping into each other, because chains obviously have a lot of slack between them.
In addition to sizing the coal, tipples would often wash the coal and treat it with oil to decrease the dustiness. In many cases, slack coal was stored in a silo rather than a bin to reduce the risks of flash fires.
 See also: Train, Track, Engine, Point, Current
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