A closer look
Stopping a train at every small-town station is tedious, so 19th-century British rail operators invented the "slip coach" to essentially ghost their passengers mid-commute. While the express train was hurtling along at 60 mph, a guard would manually uncouple the rear carriage. The disconnected car would coast entirely on momentum while the main train sped away. The guard then had to desperately feather the handbrakes to stop perfectly at the platform without overshooting or causing a catastrophic wreck. It was peak Victorian efficiency, assuming you didn't mind a commute heavily reliant on blind luck.
