non-automatic en · ADJ
Etymology
From non- + automatic.
Meanings
-
(alt-of, alternative, not-comparable) Alternative form of nonautomatic.
alt of nonautomatic
And they had to be automatic (after several disasters with non-automatic systems) so that a brake failure or breakage of the coupling would not leave the train without reasonable brakes.
1964 March, “Train braking - the next steps”, in Modern Railways, page 186: