1. A safety apparatus for an inclined hoist system of the type having wheeled cars operable on track means laid on a fixed base means, the apparatus comprising: guide means extending parallel to the track means, a guide mount secured to the base means and projecting upwardly therefrom, said guide means being fixed on the guide mount and having flange means projecting laterally relative to the guide mount, said guide means including at least one wooden member defining a longitudinal exposed surface, guide shoe means depending from the car and having a lateral flange portion extending under the flange means of said guide means, a shaft mounted on said car adjacent said guide shoes and projecting parallel to said surface of said wooden member, a safety catch fixed to said shaft and aligned with said surface, said safety catch having a tooth for penetration into said wooden member, and means responsive to a runaway condition of said car for rotating said shaft and to thereby pivot said safety catch for moving said tooth into contact with said surface.

12. A safety catch for use in a hoist system of the type having a car drawn upwardly along a path of guided travel, a wooden member extending parallel to said path adjacent the car, said wooden member defining a longitudinal surface for engagement by said safety catch during uncontrolled descent of the car along said path; said safety catch comprising a body portion, a hub portion formed integrally with and located at one end of said body portion, said hub portion having a shaft receiving bore with the axis thereof extending normal to said body portion, said body portion projecting away from said hub portion in the direction of descent and defining a forward edge in the direction of pivot of said safety catch about said axis in a direction toward said surface of said wooden member, a tooth on said forward edge, a tail pad on said forward edge and defining a surface for engagement with said surface of said wooden member for thereby limiting the penetration of said tooth into said wooden member, said engaging surfaces forming a guide contact line, said tooth being formed integrally with said body portion and protruding from said forward edge at a location between said tail pad and said hub, said tooth defining a gouging surface on a front side thereof relative to the direction of descent, the front surface being disposed at an angle relative to the line of contact and extending from a tip of said tooth in a rearwardly inclined relation relative to the direction of descent, said body portion having a splitter portion formed on said forward edge between the gouging surface of the tooth and said tail pad, said splitter portion being within a splitter gap and being recessed relative to said tooth and tail pad, the axis of said hub being located, relative to the tooth, splitter gap and tail pad, in a section of an annulus drawn about a reference point F, the annulus having an outer radius R1 and an inner radius R2 and being derived from the equation: R KBd where K 3.75 for R1 and K 1.62 for R2, Bd ( 1/2 Dt + Lsg + Lpr), where Dt the effective depth of the tooth measured from said guide contact line in a direction perpendicular to said guide contact line, Lsg length of the splitter gap between the tooth and tail pad measured along a line which is a prolongation of said contact line, Lpr effective length of the tail pad measured parallel to said guide contact line, the reference point F being located at an intersection of a line drawn normal to the guide contact line from the midpoint of Lpr and a line drawn parallel to the guide contact line from the midpoint of Dt, the sides of the section being defined by radial lines drawn from refeRence point F at angles of 14* and 46* relative to the guide contact line.