A term used in the days of freight train operation when some or all the wagons in a freight train had no continuous brake, only a hand brake. The hand brake was operated by a lever on the outside of the wagon and held down in the application position by a pin in a hole. Freight trains about to descend a gradient would stop and the guard would "pin down the brakes" on some vehicles to control the speed. At the bottom of the gradient, the train would stop again and the brakes would be released manually.