From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Dissatisfaction with the current brake system and outlining a policy for future development, referencing the Girling Brake and a visit to Rovers.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 120\3\ scan0064 | |
| Date | 15th November 1933 | |
| xourb W/S. To Mr. from E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} c. WOF. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Hy.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} Dv. Hdy.{William Hardy} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} E.3/HP.15.11.33. xourb re Girling Brake, and Visit to Rovers. I am replying to your memo Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}1/E.14.11.33 as being responsible for the design, and it is on my recommendation that we have followed up this matter and obtained all the information we could from Rovers as per memo E.10/HP.3.11.33, copy attached. Briefly the position is as follows: /sponge and We are dissatisfied with our present standard brake operation between the servo and the road wheels because we consider the/friction of operation is excessive and the equalisation of one road wheel brake with another is not sufficiently good, particularly in view of the weight of the mechanical distribution gear involved. The former item is referred to particularly in connection with the amount of direct braking with the foot and its application in connection with applying all four road wheel brakes directly instead of two only, as we do at present, with a view to banishing the phenomenon of brake thumps. As regards equalising, our present bevel shaft equalisers although elaborate do not give us a superlative result and would require still more elaboration to make them as efficient as we should like. We believe we can achieve a better result for less weight by other means. Our policy has been, therefore, firstly, to improve the present system as far as possible by incorporating direct braking to all four road wheels, or alternatively developing an efficient damper for the rocking lever to prevent front brakes thumping. Secondly, we have been developing a scheme of hydraulic distribution from the servo to the last operating lever on the frame operating each brake rope. This scheme does not include the Lockheed rubber tubes and their disadvantages since the brake ropes are retained. Our | ||