Hi Tom, I believe that plastic shrinkage can be remedied by removing the link, reaming out the hole a little and re-connecting it to the pin so it rotates freely again. I have done just that lots of times with splendid results. Most of the time I can reuse the link bar. I also clean the plastic link very thoroughly, removing all the white residue until it looks pretty new again. I run a lot of original link cars and after I do the above maintenance, they work just fine. Don't know how long that will last - maybe another 50 years?
Tim Brown ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 6:02 PM Subject: [S-Trains] link couplers Thanks to all for the replies. Very helpful. Tim, there is a very good reason why link couplers are not as likely to work well as knuckle couplers. Link couplers were made of acetate plastic with a stearic acid mold release agent mixed into it. The acetate plastic has shrunk considerably over time, especially with the migration of the stearic acid to the surface (that white stuff). Knuckle couplers were made of styrene which is only now beginning to shrink very slightly sometimes. In short, link couplers tend to shrink around their pins and bind, and coupler knuckles do not tend to shrink around their rivets, but move freely. Tom Jarcho S-Trains list sponsor: http://www.americanflyertrains.com All the Flyer you desire...books and accessories too! To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list send a note to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] S-Trains list sponsor: http://www.americanflyertrains.com All the Flyer you desire...books and accessories too! To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list send a note to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
