Tues 1-2-2023 8:04 p.m.
Someone out in internet land has been having trouble repairing broken Atlas S-2 handrails. It appears that the handrails are injection molded using Delrin (Acetyl) plastic / polymer. Super Glue does not seem to hold the broken handrails together, so they break again.
The basic problem is not the incompatibility of Delrin and Super Glue. The problem is bonding area. The bonding area is too small.
What to do?
I ran into two problems with the handrails on the Atlas locomotive which I own. The first problem was a handrail which broke loose on the ladder at the back of the loco. I ended up cutting a 3/32-inch long piece of black sewing thread and coated it with Super Glue. I let the glue dry and bent the thread at a right angle. Then I put some Super Glue on the broken handrail area. Using a tiny jeweler's screwdriver, I picked up a small amount of Super Glue from the area so that I could pick up the piece of Super Glue-coated thread. Then I moved the piece of thread to the area next to the broken handrail and the locomotive body. Finally, I teased the piece of thread into position and applied another coating of Super Glue. It is very tedious work.
The second problem was with a broken joint between the top of the handrail and a stanchion. I am working on repairing that right now. I began by taking a very fine piece of coper wire (0.001 to 0.003 in diameter) and bent the end of the wire into a hook. (Note: The wire came from a discarded section of multistrand electronics wire.) I used Super Glue to attach the hook to the handrail. I am waiting for the Super Glue to dry. The next step will be to wrap the wire around the back of the stanchion and then wrap the wire around the adjacent handrail. Then I will mop the area with Super Glue. When the glue is dry, I will clip off the excess piece of wire.
Regards,
ag01
