In my experience, rod brakes work only for very slow riding. Their braking power is much less than caliper brakes. Part of this is due, as said above, to the chromed Westwood rims. When wet, the friction between brake pads and chromed rims is very little, plus the brake linkage has some inherent flex that absorbs some of the travel/force.
I've seen caliper brakes on Westwood rims, but the rounded rim profile wears down the pads very quickly. There are apparently rims made for both rod and caliper brakes, but I've never seen one.