Most early wagons only had brake handles on one side.
After many accidents(some fatal) to shunters pressure from the ASRS and the BOT forced the railway companies to put brake handles on both sides of the wagons
Statistically for the numbers employed more shunters were killed or seriously injured than coal miners when wagons only had one brake handle.
For a good read about this subject try reading the History of the NUR (vol 1) by Phillip Bagwell.
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Either he's dead or my watch has stopped.
Groucho Marx
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