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Hornby R60351

RailRoad: BR - 20T Brake Van

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI images rather than photographs

Prototype Era
Era 8 (1983 to 1994) British Rail Sectorisation

Manufacturer description

Brake vans were an essential fixture on freight trains where the continuous brake was not available. Loose-coupled wagons only had hand-operated ‘sprag’ brakes which had to be applied individually, for example, before descending a gradient. 

Trains were prone to broken coupling chains, so the brake van was essential for bringing a train to a halt under such circumstances. From 1968, the requirement for a brake van to be coupled to a fitted train (wagons with vacuum brakes) was removed from the rule book. BR adopted the LNER ‘Toad D’ van as the basis for its own standard brake van design. 

This OO gauge model van is an example of a BR 20T Brake Van.

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

Hornby RailRoad BR 20T Brake Van (part number R60351) is an OO gauge model representing the British Rail brake van used during the sectorisation era.

Brake vans were a standard component of freight trains where continuous brakes were not fitted. Loose‑coupled wagons relied on hand‑operated sprag brakes, which had to be applied individually, for example before descending a gradient. The brake van also provided a means to stop a train if a coupling chain broke. From 1968 the requirement for a brake van on trains equipped with vacuum brakes was removed from the rule book, but the design based on the LNER "Toad D" van remained the BR standard.

This model reproduces the BR 20‑ton brake van in accurate detail for use in OO gauge layouts.