A brake van is a wagon at the rear of a Goods train where a guard would sit with a handbrake. The job of this wagon was to provide extra braking force for a train and as an emergency hand brake, should an unfitted train become devided from the locomotive and become a runaway. Brake vans also supplemented the brake-force of a train operated by the Guard during normal running,
Most vans had both normal brakes and vacuum brakes. They also contained a fire for the comfort of the Guard.
In 1968, the requirement for fully fitted freight trains to end with a guard’s van was removed from the rule book, and the guard was allowed to ride in the rearmost locomotive cab, which provided a good view of the whole train. By this time, the Beeching Axe had reduced by two-thirds the amount of trackage in the UK; as a result, most steam locomotives had been withdrawn and most British Railways standard-design diesel and electric locomotives had double-ended cabs. Therefore, there was no operational need for so many brake vans, and many types were withdrawn.
NVR Wagon Group 