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Coasting brake

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BernyBenBerny

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25 Jul 2021
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Hi
I'm new to this forum and have a question I hope someone may have the answer to.

I have just purchased an enamel sign in red with slightly off white raised lettering which reads "coasting brake" in capitals on the front and Newsome has been manually painted in small white letters on the reverse. It looks to have some age to it and it is roughly 10" x 4". Any information would be much appreciated.
 
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30907

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Welcome to the forum.

The only Newsome Google throws up is on the outskirts of Huddersfield.

The sign could possibly relate to the Penistone-Huddersfield line, or (more likely in my amateur opinion) to the Newsome-Huddersfield trolleybus route which closed in 1966 (says W...pedia), both of which would have downhill stretches into Huddersfield. I can't find an independent Huddersfield Trolleybus website, sorry.
 

Taunton

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1 Aug 2013
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Coasting Brakes were a trolleybus (and trams before them) safety feature, it allowed the vehicle to run without power (coasting) up to a certain speed (actually rpm of the motor armature connected to the wheels), whereupon a centrifugal governor initiated rheostatic brake would cut in. It was to prevent runaways out of control on downwards hills if the brakes failed. My guess is the sign was for drivers to switch it on at certain points, which was common with various hill-related safety features, they were not fully automatic. Once on the level you switch it off again, and can do a higher speed. Some of these restrictions were quite official, and had been laid down by the Ministry at given points when the system was inspected, and featured in the staff instructions.

The same equipment did this for any movement at all in reverse, known as a Run Back brake, to guard against running out of control backwards on upward hills.
 
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