The brakes on the Michigan car were supplied by the Royal Equipment Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut.  The specific type of brake is referred to as the Duplex Model B.

Top of the brake band.

The patent covering our brakes.

Our brakes as we found them show some improvements from the 1910 patent drawing, including lock nuts, shown in the December 1910 patent, below.

Our brakes have some of the improvements shown on the December 6, 1910 patent.

These are referred to and advertised as “duplex” because these external contracting brakes worked when the car was moving forward or in REVERSE. Many brakes of that era did NOT work in reverse. Indeed, several serious injuries to drivers and passengers of antique vehicles in recent years have been attributed to failure of the cars to stop while rolling backwards on hills.

Stop in forward or reverse.

Contemporary advertising made much of this duplex braking feature and the use of Raybestos brand lining on their brakes. Raybestos® brand lining was another product of the Royal Equipment Company. It utilized a woven asbestos fabric strengthened by copper fibers. Copper or brass fibers in asbestos free brake lining material is still used today in non-disk brake applications.

The Royal Equipment Company Duplex brakes explains the brake system for our external contracting brakes that are engaged by pressing the brake pedal, but another company is probably responsible for our internal expanding brakes. We believe that company is the Sheldon Axle Company. https://wp.me/P45zSY-ho

Evidence of this can be found in the description of the brakes included with the model No. 201-D, Floating Type axle appearing in a brochure about this so called “Pleasure Axle” which differentiates it from the axles it made for trucks. Which presumably were less pleasurable.

I find this ad particularly humorous at so many levels. I guess their other axles are unpleasurable. Hurtful? I mean really, what IS a pleasure axle. Some kind of nice shaft? Hey – hey. My eyes are up here.

A page from the brochure describing the expanding brakes is attached below.

Brakes. 14″ by 2″ face. Internal expanding. Our own make, the toggle type, very effective and durable. Click to enlarge image.

The brakes that came with the “Pleasure Axle” were operated with the hand lever or emergency brake lever.