OCR Text |
Show , Leather Rrnke Shoes. A company lias been formed in New : South Wales fo? tho purpose of exploiting exploit-ing tho manufacture of railway brake shoes from compressed leather. Waste leather scraps are steeped in a solution and subjected to a hydraulic pressii to mold them to any desired shape. The ! leather shoe is said to possessdistinct ad- I vantages over that of iron, with superior :. t'fticiency in every way. The leather I ; shoe weighs 4t pounds against 21 ; pounds for iron, and it will wear three i times as long. More than this, it has a ; greater coethcient of friction, so that ' forty pounds of air pressure is as effect- ! ivo as seventy pounds with iron brake i fchoes. There is one pre-eminent benefit which . the introduction of the leather brake j ; shoe would confer on communities which are subjected to the necessary , . evil of tho elevated railroads. They ; wonld thus bo spared tho dangerous shower of iron particles, which now in- j jure so many eyes. An attempt basal- ! , ready been made to nemedy this serious 1 i source of danger by the use of com- j ; pressed paper. This, however, was I found to be impracticable. It is earnest- ' j ly to be hoped that the new shoe will I stand tho test of practical work. New York Commercial Advertiser. , l , ! |