Fastest approach

Dagenham East WB, Barking EB, Acton Town WB (If you have a clear run in). What else?

Do many drivers use emergency and 'Dropped' emergency as part of normal braking? I know it is frowned upon but is the sort of thing I can imagine happening.

Now, I'm a bit more adventurous that Colin because I usually start braking in Service 4 and then move up gradually to Service 1.

I never plan to use emergency to stop at stations, although I do occasionally misjudge and end up having to use it.

It's certainly possible to approach West Ham EB at 45mph, but at that speed you need to start braking before you reach the start of the platform! 35mph at the start of a platform sounds about right. The approach to West Ham EB is up a fairly steep gradient, which helps because even when the front of the train is in the platform most of the train is still going uphill.

Approaching Barking EB I might well hit 45 but I slow to about 35-40 to go over the points just before the bay road, otherwise it's rather rough. But the limit is 45mph.

Putting the CTBC in emergency is not quite the same as letting the deadman go ('dropping the handle'). If you hear a burst of air as the train comes to a stand, then the deadman has operated. It could be that the train op has accidently let go of the CTBC in a position other than rheo1 & hold, which would operate the deadman, or he/she has used it to 'assist' the train to stop.

I travel on the Circle quite often on my way into work and have never experienced a train op doing it at every station - but if I did, quite frankly, I would consider that person incompetent to safely transport me - and would get off the train and board the next one along.

That's correct, except on the three types of stock you have mentioned, and also the 67T/S, which has a deadman 'button' instead (for use in manual mode).



On those stocks, instead of holding the handle down, you turn it through 90 degrees and hold it in that position.

For a roller-coaster ride, there really is nothing like Angel - Kings Cross. I really will have to get some of the transparencies of that stretch of tunnel transferred to digital and you will see what I mean.

They supposedly went through a lot of bad ground during the original construction and compressed air was used in places. I think that there is also a deliberate gradient in the vicinity of the old Weston Street signal box.
It is really bad though and was apparently even worse before reconstruction. To get a feel for it, stand at the rear of a car and look forward through the other cars in the direction of travel. You will then see just what the track is doing. It is unreal.

I seem to remember going into Wanstead from Leytonstone being a very fast approach and the poor Guard half chocking from all the brake dust . Also a quite few more on the Cental

haha, I think admin Colin is a bit on the harsh side regarding other's driving techniques ;D

...and please don't be in front of me on my final trip of the day ;D

Personally I think these t/ops who pussy foot around at 30mph, have the thing at a crawl before it gets to a platform and then wait for the world and his wife to saunter from the street to get on their train, before creeping back up to 30mph shouldn't be driving them.
(comment motivated by my following such a train on my last trip yesterday, to the point i was on the verge of calling up the line controller to have a word. Cost me 6 mins from Earl's to Embankment. Also the previous night i was passenger with another driver who was so agitated by the preceding drivers dawdling, he slowed to, ahem, make a gesture, when passing the train now in Barking sidings !!)

My aim is, subject to speed limits, to move straight to parallel and remain there roughly to outer home, short coast to just past inner home and then apply service 3 with the aim of holding that until, just before mirrors, a touch of off and release or service 1 takes a jolt from the stop. sweet !

It does depend upon the train though, the brakes are very variable from train to train, and I'm quiet prepared to drop the handle momentarily ...or all the way ...if that's whats called for, other times, you've gotta ease off the brakes or it'll stop half way down. I'll always have one flag or the other up (though i don't recommend that for a new drivers first few months !)

Fastest approach is most definitely Dagenham East w/b (I've heard some trains will do 55mph there, presumably on some authorised test )
Others are Elm Park w/b, West Ham e/b and Mile End e/b
The ride upwards into West Ham and Mile End making later braking possible

As for the Victoria Line, Kings Cross s/b undeniably the fastest. If the ATO isn't braking by the points your not going to stop ! Anyone jumping stands little chance of the train stopping much before the mirrors even in emergency !

Should you have been in the cab? Did you confuse it for a shed?

(So I had a License allowing me to enter non-passenger-areas. Many other of my Colleagues chose a S-Bahn cab as a mor suitable way of getting home(late at night), than in the passenger area with 20 drunks getting back from the discos...)

And as my friend was (at that time) still working for the S-Bahn, I chose it as an option (I had a hi-vi vest with "Deutsche Bahn" on it anyway) that was usually quite nice...

Alright, getting too much off thread, so I´ll shut up.