Object No.88

At the beginning of carriage construction in Wolverton in 1865, passenger train braking was simply under the joint control of the engine man, who used his own tender brakes and whistled for brakes from the guard, who farther back down the train then applied his own van brake. Only the guard’s vehicle was braked and in some cases in a long train three guards’ vans would be equi-spaced along its length. John Clark developed a chain brake, and in the early 1870s E.W. Webb, the LNWR Locomotive Superintendent at Crewe , in association with R. Bore at Wolverton, modified John Clarke’s chain brake. This is an 1/8th scale model of a Brake Van with the Clarke-Webb Chain Brake system. It was made by James Coker (1845-1916) in 1878. He joined the Railway Works as an apprentice fitter in 1858 and rose to the position of Head Foreman of the Lifting Shop. He was also Foreman of the carriage department Royal Train staff for 33 years.