brake van

noun

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.

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Meanings

nounbrake van (plural brake vans)

plural brake vans · alternative brakevan

  1. UKdatedrail transportA 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.

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

    1940 November, “Notes and News: A Highland Collision”, in Railway Magazine, page 612
Cite this entry
APA

brake van. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brake%20van

MLA

“brake van.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brake%20van. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brake van,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brake%20van.

Source: brake van on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.