Vacuum Brakes

Driver's Brake Valve

The most recognizable and visible brake item was the driver's brake valve. The image shows a driver with his right hand on the removable handle of the valve.

These were manufactured, as was much of the vacuum brake gear, by Gresham & Craven.

This is the company drawing for the 1½" pipe version:

This is an information leaflet on the valve, page three uses details from the above drawing, page four shows the 2" pipe version:

In these two company drawings, one shows the removable handle for the valve, the other shows the top part of the valve itself. These link to pdfs, drawings courtesy of Chris Bull and scanned by John Joyce:

The final drawing is BR Derby drawing DE/64973 titled 'Modification to Drivers Brake Valve'. Sadly a B/W scan so the coloured section are not clear, the drawing is a copy of Gresham & Craven drawing S/2973/B.