Coded Manual

I was on the Auto Tube Rambler in 1979 mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/LUArchive/html/auto_tube_rambler.html

which as you can see crossed over from the DL to the Central at Ealing Bdwy. It worked in manual mode throughout the system, except:
1) around the top of the Hainault Loop and
2) I believe not on the Vic except when we exited from Northumberland Park Depot it was run in auto mode to show that the train would be tripped as all trains at the time had to be run in manual mode when exiting.

Of course I cannot now remember whether it ran in auto mode on the Vic itself but assume not as we ran onto the Picc to and from Finsbury Park x-overs. Things have probbaly changed now and 25 mph is top wack in manual...I am interested to know.

When we were on the D-Stock tour we finally managed to get up to 70 on the Met after a lot of effort and a good run up but what the max speed was on the Auto-Tube tour I have no idea.

The codes were identical - the kit used on Hainault - Woodford was basically the same as the Victoria, albiet on the Victoria the equipment was redesigned and improved.

67TS was regularly used on the shuttle to cover for 1960 stock until the mid 1980s.

The vigilance button must be held down for both coded and slow manual.

**Ahem** I have been a driver on the Victoria Line for the past two years. I can assure you with absolute certainty that the vigilance button (also known as the "mushroom") must be held down in order for the train to move in coded manual. While it is true that exceeding the 25mph speed limit imposed by 270 and 180 codes will result in the train being tripped (i.e. the code trip valve will be de-energised), so will releasing the mushroom. After all, the mushroom is the dead man device on the 67 stock, and as such is still required just as much for coded manual as slow manual.

It is only possible to release the mushroom in coded manual without getting tripped if the CTBC is in a braking position (not hold, off and release or a motoring position) and/or the selector key is in "inter". Placing the selector key in inter prevents motoring and applies the brakes, so the train will remain stationary or, if moving, will come to a stop.

I suppose it could have been modified at some stage - various things have been done to the '67 stock over the years.

Although the trips that you mentioned seem to have been achieved in a different way, there is a method I know of which allows the run from Seven Sisters to the depot to be done without holding down the mushroom. Put simply, it requires starting off in coded manual with the mushroom pressed, then quickly changing to auto once 20-25mph has been reached (and no need to hold the mushroom thereafter). The train will then maintain whatever speed it was doing at the time. However, it will sail merrily past a red signal (and get tripped) if the driver is not paying attention and fails to prevent it. When the data dump is taken, the hot water that the driver was already in for the SPAD might just reach boiling point when "they" find out that the train had been put in auto. This particular cheat is strictly against the rules. Sometimes drivers get caught out after a data dump is taken following a fault report entry in the defect book, resulting in a telling-off from management.

As I mentioned earlier, I am not saying that this is what you saw, and I don't know for certain if it would work out on the line (although I don't see why not). But I am certainly not going to try it. I like my job too much!

My main enquiry was really concerning a situation where the train is moved off the vic on to another line i.e if its been taken to the depot at acton or the test track at south ealing. In this case, would the vigilence button still need to be pressed if the train is travelling on another line?