Coasting Boards still relevant?

[387star]

Do Drivers still use these boards if not why not?

 

[800001]

Yes they do still use them, for example high speed coasting yesterday at Grantham on up main due to OHL damage

 

[357]

Do you mean coasting with pan down or the old school boards to save electricity?

 

[hexagon789]

Depends, I think some are obsolete for current traction and simply haven't been removed. Drivers certainly do coast wherever possible, but I think a lot of it is simply based on route knowledge rather than trackside signs per se.

 

[PringlePopper1]

I would say I use coasting boards as maybe a landmark for a braking point on some journeys, so I hope they don’t get rid haha.

 

[800001]

I would take coasting boards to mean, where trains need to coast without power and pan down in areas where there is overhead line damage.

Not aware Of any other reasons why they would

 

[E27007]

Yes they do still use them, for example high speed coasting yesterday at Grantham on up main due to OHL damage

There are permanent coasting boards and temporary coasting posts.
Temporary are for the situation you note, OHL damage, the coasting boards are therefore require mandatory action by the driver.
Permanent posts are to advisory to assist the driver, they are positioned so thatr if the driver is running at linespeed, closing the handle and without braking (hence coasting) the train will approach the platform at around the right speed for a smooth stop, the idea is to save fuel/power and wear and tear on brakes etc

 

[Val3ntine]

Lets be real, I don’t think they ever did (Majority). But as mentioned above they’re probably more used as braking points or location reminder landmarks etc.

 

[2192]

What do coasting boards look like, and are temporary and permanent ones the same? Would I have seen them going to and from school in 1952 Kingston to Raynes Park on the Southern Electric system?

 

[ComUtoR]

Do Drivers still use these boards if not why not?

(At my TOC) Because they became largely irrelevant. Traction, signalling, service levels, infrastructure etc all evolved over time but the old boards remained

What happened was that new ones were put in place. They were carefully measures and checked and for a time, they worked a treat.

Years later, they are again wellmout of date. What we achieved with a coasting board was easily replaced with eco driving policies. New trains drive a lot better and are more efficient, and Drivers just naturally became more and more efficient.

Some are still good if you are aware of them or have someone teach you through route knowledge. Some do indeed make decent brake points.

(This is based on the "white diamond" style coasting boards)

 

[70014IronDuke]

Lets be real, I don’t think they ever did (Majority). But as mentioned above they’re probably more used as braking points or location reminder landmarks etc.

I was under the impression that the Southern Railway introduced coasting boards (in the 30s?) and that they took them pretty seriously at the time, although - again an impression - not 'mandatory', like a PSR.

 

[Val3ntine]

I was under the impression that the Southern Railway introduced coasting boards (in the 30s?) and that they took them pretty seriously at the time, although - again an impression - not 'mandatory', like a PSR.

Most likely the case, I admit to not knowing the history or origin of it’s initial introduction. However since I’ve been a driver anyway, (last 5 years) they’ve been more or less irrelevant for their intended use. Even learning one of my routes my instructor said “During low adhesion if you haven’t put the brake in before this coasting board it’s 50/50 luck wether or not you stop at the next station”.

 

[dk1]

I don’t think I ever paid attention to them.

 

[Agent_Squash]

Wouldn't they be superseded by driver advisory systems on the trains themselves these days?

 

[driver9000]

The only place I see the old white diamond coasting boards is in the Strathclyde region and they only applied to local electric trains.

Modern coasting boards which require Drivers to drop the pantograph can appear pretty much anywhere and must be obeyed.

 

[dk1]

Wouldn't they be superseded by driver advisory systems on the trains themselves these days?

Only if we switch them on

 

[387star]

Wouldn't they be superseded by driver advisory systems on the trains themselves these days?

Not if you drive tatty turbos

 

[class 9]

Wouldn't they be superseded by driver advisory systems on the trains themselves these days?

I remember when they were trialing DAS at Freightliner, one of the managers commented that where DAS was advising coasting, Drivers were doing anyway with or without it.

 

[70014IronDuke]

What do coasting boards look like, and are temporary and permanent ones the same? Would I have seen them going to and from school in 1952 Kingston to Raynes Park on the Southern Electric system?

Possibly, but I'm not sure of the distance between the two locations you mention is. As far as I know, the Southern was the first railway to introduce them, and it did so as the electric system got larger. In fact, this thread has got me thinking a lot about these and how they were first introduced and on what criteria they were based. (see below)

Most likely the case, I admit to not knowing the history or origin of it’s initial introduction. However since I’ve been a driver anyway, (last 5 years) they’ve been more or less irrelevant for their intended use. Even learning one of my routes my instructor said “During low adhesion if you haven’t put the brake in before this coasting board it’s 50/50 luck wether or not you stop at the next station”.

I totally accept your experience today, of course. And it's quite logical that as the technology of rail travel has developed, such things as coasting boards have become irrelvant, or at least needed changing to keep up with changes.

The first question it has raised in my mind is: why did the Southern introduce them (assuming they were the first)?

One reason, I suspect, is because with electric traction, there is no self-serving interest to drive efficiently: with steam, a driver had an incentive to keep to schedule while not wasting energy - a sensible driver wouldn't want to waste steam and his fireman's energy if he could close the regulator and still keep time.

With an electric unit, this self-regulating feedback didn't exist, and maybe management found some drivers pushed things to the limit, keeping power on until the last second, then winding back and immediately braking for the next stop. I don't know how expensive - relatively - electricity was back in the day either.

The Southern, being famous for its prudent spending, obviously thought it wise to advise drivers on this, but what were the criteria for the trade-off for energy saving versus additional running time involved?

If, say, you had 2.5 miles between station A and station B, even if you had a line speed of (say) 75 mph, I dare say it wouldn't pay to work the train up to above 65 mph - much more cost effective to take it there, say, within a mile and then ease back on the power before coasting 0.5 miles and then braking at a point about 1,000 yards before station B. (all depending on gradients, of course - and I'm just guessing the distances involved.)

I have looked up the Southern Electric Group website here

Southern Electric Group – This is the Official Web Site of the Southern Electric Group (SEG).

www.southernelectric.org.uk

but, somewhat surprisingly, I can't find a search function.

 

[Mattyblob]

We have a coasting board on a steep 15mph incline - shut off and coast here if you'd like to serve the previous station again

 

[Railsigns]

The earliest reference to coasting boards I have is in a North Eastern Railway book of "Rules and regulations in connection with the working of electric trains" from 1912.

 

[387star]

We have a coasting board on a steep 15mph incline - shut off and coast here if you'd like to serve the previous station again

Are they there for a station ahead ? Do they take the next stations/speed restrictions into account ?

 

[alf]

They were installed by the Southern between the wars to discover drivers who did not obey the rules!