brake van

English

Noun

brake van (plural brake vans)

1. (British, rail transport, dated) A railway vehicle used to brake a (goods) train, usually placed at the end of the train. These were essential before continuous train braking became universal.
   • 1940 November, “Notes and News: A Highland Collision”, in Railway Magazine, page 612:

     The provision of sanding-gear on brake vans operating over such lines should be compulsory (this old Highland brake was not so fitted); [...].

Alternative forms

• brakevan

Related terms

• caboose
• guard's van

References

• “brake van”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.