Тормозной вагон и его аналоги на железных дорогах мира

Car that had brakes used by Guards which is usually placed at the end of the Train
the analogous vehicle used on North American railways

Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. The equivalent North American term is caboose, but a British brake van and a caboose are very different in appearance, because the former usually has only four wheels, while the latter usually has bogies. German railways employed brakeman's cabins combined into other cars. Many British freight trains formerly had no continuous brake so the only available brakes were those on the locomotive and the brake van. Because of this shortage of brake power, the speed was restricted to The brake van was marshalled at the rear of the train so both portions of the train could be brought to a stand in the event of a coupling breaking. When freight trains were fitted with continuous braking, brake vans lost their importance, and were discontinued by many railways. However, they still continue on some important railways, such as the Indian Railways, besides the heritage railways.

Railways were a formalised development of industrial tramways, which had found need on occasions to add additional braking capacity by adding an empty truck to the rear of a group of tramcars. This allowed the "locomotive" — often a cableway powered by a steam engine at the surface — to operate both safely and, more importantly, at higher speed. The first railways, such as the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830, used a version of the tramways buffer and chain coupling, termed a screw coupling. Vehicles are coupled by hand using a hook and links with a turnbuckle like device that draws the vehicles together. Vehicles have buffers, one at each corner on the ends, which are pulled together and compressed by the coupling device. With no continuous brake across the entire train, Designed for high speed operation on milk and parcels trains rather than stopping power, they had a lengthened cabin, but did not cover the entire twin bogie chassis.

In Australia, brake vans (or guard's vans; both terms were in common use) were often also used for carrying parcels and light freight, and usually had large compartments and loading doors for such items. Some of the larger vans also included a compartment for passengers travelling on goods services or drovers travelling with their livestock.

Sugar cane railways in Queensland sometimes have radio controlled brake vans. The wagons in these trains are unfitted and have no continuous brake pipes.

On Indian Railways, brake vans are still in use to a great extent on freight or goods trains and in some passenger trains. The brake van in the passenger trains (usually the first and last coaches in the train) is a part of a coach and consists of an enclosed room/cabin with two small seats facing opposite each other, one seat having the writing table for the guard to assist writing and working his train, the opposite seat being a spare. The van also has a small lavatory. A special feature of the passenger brake van is a small dog box where passengers can carry their pets along with them while they travel in the same train in a different coach. The guard generally remains responsible for the water and pet food while the train is moving, and there are features to the dog box to allow the same. The brake van also contains a stretcher, an emergency train lighting box, and a stand to hold the lamp signal during the night. The vacuum or air pressure gauge is hosted in front of the guard's seat with a lever to operate it in case of emergency. The hand brake can be used in case of high emergency. The remaining part of the coach consists of space for carrying parcels and small goods. It also has seating for ladies or for the disabled (wheelchair friendly). The goods brake van is less attractive, is generally the last vehicle on the train, open on both sides, and does not necessarily have interior lighting/lamps, but it does house a small lavatory seat for the guards, owing to their long hours on freight trains. The van is less secure and has fewer features than a passenger brake van. Eight wheeled brake vans were introduced recently to improve the riding comfort for the guards.

A passenger brake van was a combine car originally designed to serve the same purpose as a goods brake van, but, when continuous brakes became standard on passenger trains, its use changed. The van may have equipment for the application of continuous brakes in an emergency if fitted alongside the hand brake for when the train is parked without a locomotive present. The vehicle also provides a compartment for the guard, a luggage compartment, and sometimes passenger accommodation, as well.

In the UK, converted British Railways Mark 1 passenger brake vans are used as the basis for preserved steam locomotive support coaches.