Abstract: In a vehicle braking system having a slack adjuster with an actuator and an electrically operable car control unit, an electrical switch is responsive the position of the actuator and is coupled to the car control unit to provide an indication of the condition of the vehicle brake shoes, i.e. whether or not the brake shoes are disengaged from the vehicle wheels.

Abstract: A vehicle axle driven electrical generator assembly for supplying electrical power to electrically operable vehicle brakes, the generator having a magnetic field producing rotor and a stator with conductors in the magnetic field. The rotor has its axis of rotation coaxial with the axis of rotation of the axle and is rotated by a drive shaft which is either secured to the end of the axle or is loosely coupled to the end of the axle. The rotor and the stator are encircled by a housing to which the stator is secured and the housing is restrained with respect to rotation by either a link acting between the housing and a fixed portion of the vehicle or by securing the housing to the fixed portion.

Abstract: In a hand brake mechanism for railway cars in which a chain drum is rotatable by a manually rotatable shaft connected to the chain drum by a gear train, a centrifugal governor or brake connected to an intermediate gear of the gear train reduces the speed of rotation of the gears only after the force applied to the brakes has been substantially reduced, and hence even though the initial speed of rotation of the drum and the let-out speed of the chain when the brake is first released is substantially unaffected, the governor or brake is effective as the forces are reduced to substantially the forces of inertia of the brake mechanisms, the hand brake parts and the chain, so as to reduce the speeds of rotation of the hand brake parts to a small value and thereby prevent damage to and wear of the parts and increase the life of the hand brake mechanism.