Railway brake assemblies including knock-back compensating means

A brake assembly for a wheel and axle set of a railway vehicle, comprising two rotors having opposed braking surfaces, two braking shoe means, one only associated with each rotor, and a single brake-applying means actuating both braking shoe means, wherein each braking shoe means comprises a friction member engageable with its associated braking surface, a support carrying said friction member and being movable to a datum position under the action of a return force provided by a brake return spring means, a fixed structure, a pivoted link connecting said support to said fixed structure to permit movement of said support towards and away from its associated braking surface in response to operation of said brake-applying means to engage and disengage said friction member with said surface, and resilient means separate from said brake return spring means which biases said pivoted link to a datum position in which said support is held in its said datum position, said resilient means being yieldable when said return force exceeds a predetermined amount to permit movement of said support beyond its datum position in a direction opposite to its brake applying direction and operative to return said support member towards the datum position when the return force is reduced below said predetermined amount, whereby wear of said friction members is equalized.