I'm not an expert on the modern rail scene in the UK but I do live in SE England and see occasional freight movements on my local mainline. The old 4-wheel wagons with side operated brake levers are really only to be found on heritage lines. AFAIK most British freight workings use bogie wagons and are fully vacuum braked with wheel operated brakes when stationary. The screw-link and hook coupling is still the commonest form for loose wagons although some permanently coupled consists may use buckeye types.

[attach]67277

Thank you for the update. Further question on couplings on passenger cars: Are knuckle couplings used on passenger cars exclusively
or link and screw on older wagons? Are British couplers compatable with European couplers? I was watching an old British video about locomotive types used and they showed some cargo vans being sorted at a freight yard. Vans were released and allowed to run downhill to make up tracks. A yard man would run alongside a moving van and using a pole, apply the lever brake. It looked like a very dangerous job. I wonder if they still do it the same today. U.S. yards use retarders between the rails to slow down cars as they are being sorted for a new train make up.

I believe that all modern passenger coaches in the UK and Europe are coupled with knuckle couplers. This started in the 1950s with the trend for permanently connected multiple-unit trains replacing locomotive hauled trains. On most modern freight wagons the knuckle coupler can be swung down to allow the use of a screw-link coupler where there is a compatibility issue.

Gravity hump marshalling yards do exist in the UK and Europe but since the 1960s they have been large, centralised installations. They are computer controlled and use retarders similar to those used in US yards. The old practice of a shunter running alongside a descending wagon and applying its brake with a pole as a lever was discontinued or certainly phased out about the same time.