Tim, if I recall correctly MR actually did the test you suggest. It was
right after the McHenry and InterMountain plastic couplers came out. A check
of the Mag Index maintained by Kalmback should pop this up, look for coupler
reviews. It may have been the Feb 1996 issue. I recall they did a weight
test to determine if the couplers would part or break.

Doug Harding
Iowa Central Railroad
http://d.harding.home.mchsi.com


Tim O'Connor wrote: Tony, that's a great question and it seems to me like a
perfect subject for a magazine article... maybe RPCyc, because none of the
major mags would publish an article that might point out flaws in an
advertiser's products...
Seems like a simple test could be devised, X pounds on the drawbar with a
pulley system. Each brand could be tested for its load failure and then we'd
know exactly how much strain they could take! Also, they should be tested
over 48-72 hours as well to test for durability when subjected to smaller
loads over a period of time. (A problem especially with plastics.) It might
also reveal the weakness of some coupler boxes as well, since the boxes
might fail before the couplers do.