3 "Toad" brake vans of the Great Western Railway

The GWR Toad is a class of railway brake van, designed by and built for the Great Western Railway. Used by the GWR from 1894, and post-1947 by the Western Region of British Railways, its role was a safety brake on goods trains in the West of England, the Midlands and Wales.

No longer in operational use by Network Rail, a number have survived through preservation and on many heritage railways, owing to the design, which incorporates a long, open veranda and large enclosed cabin; this makes the Toad an ideal, cheap, and versatile passenger carriage.

Background

By HMRI law, every goods train needed a brake van attached at the end of it. This was because most wagons were only fitted with hand brakes, and so the brake van had an important part to play in the safe running of goods trains by adding additional braking capacity. Once trains fitted with vacuum brakes were introduced (from 1904 on the GWR), a guard was required to travel at the rear of every train to ensure that it stayed as one train.[1]

Design

Sand boxes and hand brake on the veranda
The handle for operating the sand boxes

The nickname "Toad" was derived from the GWR's telegraphic code for a brake van, with each bespoke Toad model allocated diagrams in the AA series. The standard GWR brake van design dates from 1894, with many varieties were built between 1894 and the early 1950s.[2] Early vans were just 10 or 12 tons weight, but this gradually increased to 20 tons.[3]

Each Toad had a large guards compartment/cabin extending about two-thirds of the length of the van, with the remaining "veranda" open on three sides, but covered with a roof. Full length external footboards and hand rails allowed the guard or a shunter to ride on the outside during shunting movements. On the veranda, in addition to the screw brake handle, sand boxes were fitted to the rear to allow the guard to sand the rails if necessary, to stop the wheels slipping. A full height door allowed access from the veranda to the cabin, matched by a door on the far end of cabin in most versions. Whilst all versions had side entrances on both sides onto the veranda, some versions included additional full height side doors into the cabin. Inside the cabin were: tool boxes; cupboards; a light and other electrical systems powered by an axle mounted dynamo; a seat; a combined table/desk, often two, with one collapsible; and a stove powered by wood or coal collected from the lineside. Another two sandboxes were also fitted inside the 'closed' end of the van. These were operated by a linkage from the veranda when the van was travelling with the veranda trailing.[3] The guard was first aid trained, and so the cabin contained the train's main first aid kit. Like the roof, the inside of the cabin was painted white for safety reasons, derived from the practice of the time in hospitals. Windows in both ends of the cabin allowed the guard to see out and keep an eye on his train, but actual operations were only possible from the open veranda, which made this a cold and weather-beaten job all year round.[3]

Most Toads carried the name of their home depot on the side. The GWR had a practice of allocating Toads to fixed runs, allowing the allocated guards to build up experience on a particular route, and hence increase safety.[4]

Derivatives

Specialised types included AA8 which had a low, central body to allow forward visibility (for the banking locomotive) on the steeply-graded Pontnewynydd line in south Wales; it had an open veranda at each end. AA7 were small 12 ton vans for working over the Metropolitan Railway’s underground lines to Smithfield Market. AA4 were fully enclosed vans for working through the lengthy Severn Tunnel. Other fully enclosed vans were built for use on permanent way trains and were given diagram AA6. The next batch of permanent way vans were rated at 25 tons and fitted with ploughs to spread newly laid ballast (AA10).[3] Diagram AA23 was the last GWR design of Toad, and several vans from this lot of 326 never saw GWR service, having been completed under British Railways.[5]

Withdrawal

In 1968, the requirement for fully fitted freight trains to end with a guard's van was lifted. From this point onwards, the guard was allowed to ride in the rearmost locomotive cab, giving a good view of the whole train. By this point in time: the Beeching cuts had reduced by two thirds the amount of trackage in the UK; most steam locomotives had been withdrawn; the quantity of wagon-load freight services was in decline; and most British Railways diesel and electric locomotives had cabs at both ends. As a result, although still required for unfitted trains, there was less operational need for so many brake vans, and like many designs the GWR Toads were withdrawn.

A Toad brake van that was built in 1877 survived on the Kent & East Sussex Railway as No. 24 until withdrawn and scrapped in 1944. [6]

Preservation

A sturdy and well built design offering a large enclosed open area, many Toads initially survived into a new life on industrial railways through being deemed "safe" by HM Railway Inspectorate to be used for the transport of workers. It was deemed effectively a small railway carriage.

This generic safety approval was noted and followed initially by many railway preservation societies, who bought Toads to offer ride-on experiences on their developing lines. Hence the number of Toads that survived into preservation versus a number of other pre-grouping designs, and later British railways types, is relatively high.

List of preserved GWR Toad brake vans
No. Image Built Date Lot No. Style First allocation Last allocation Current location Notes
17293 Swindon Works 1943 1383 AA20 Northampton & Lamport Railway
17294 Swindon Works 1943 1383 AA20 Dean Forest Railway
17295 Swindon Works AA21 South Devon Railway
17391 Swindon Works 1939 AA21 Bristol Harbour Railway
17392 Swindon Works Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
17438 Mid-Norfolk Railway Private Owner
17908 Swindon Works 1913 AA13 Cardiff Bluebell Railway[7]
35290 Swindon Works 1948 AA23 Museum of the Great Western Railway
35377 Swindon Works 1948 AA23 Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway
35420 Swindon Works South Devon Railway
35907 Swindon Works 1944 AA23 Watercress Line Mostly used for DOWT events.
17293 Swindon Works 1943 1383 AA20 Northampton & Lamport Railway
40362 Swindon Works 1895 AA6 Hereford Severn Valley Railway Fully enclosed permanent way derivative
56400 Swindon Works 1900 AA3 Didcot Railway Centre
56769 Swindon Works AA15 Dean Forest Railway
68500 Swindon Works 1947 AA23 Great Central Railway
68684 Swindon Works 1924 AA15 Hayle Didcot Railway Centre
68777 Swindon Works 1939 AA20 Newton Abbot South Devon Railway
68786 Exeter South Devon Railway
114751 Swindon Works 1934 AA20 Leyton Midland Road, East London West Somerset Railway GWR 813 Preservation Fund owned van. Based on The West Somerset Railway
Swindon Works Manchester Ship Canal Gloucester Docks

In fiction

In The Railway Series children's books by the Reverend W. Awdry and the TV series Thomas & Friends, a brake van character named Toad is based on and named after the GWR Toad.

References

  1. ↑ Atkins, A. G.; Beard, W.; Hyde, D. J.; and Tourret, R. (1975). A History of GWR Goods Wagons. Vol. 1: General. London: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-6532-0.
  2. ↑ "Toad the GW Brake Van". pegnsean.net. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Atkins, A. G.; Beard, W.; Hyde, D. J.; and Tourret, R. (1976). A History of GWR Goods Wagons. Vol. 2: Wagon Types in Detail. London: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7290-4.
  4. ↑ Slinn, J N (1978). Great Western Way. Frome: Historical Model Railway Society. ISBN 0-902835-03-3.
  5. ↑ "GWR AA23 Toad brake van no.35413". East Somerset Railway. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  6. ↑ Stephen Garrett, The Kent & East Sussex Railway, The Oakwood Press, 1999: page 85
  7. ↑ "Great Western Railway 20 Ton "Toad" Goods Brake Van 17908". Bluebell Railway. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Western Railway brake vans.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.