diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc
index c87d040b..48970c3d 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/build-remote.cc
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ static void openConnection(const string & sshName, const string & sshKey,
 
 static void copyClosureTo(std::shared_ptr<StoreAPI> store,
     FdSource & from, FdSink & to, const PathSet & paths,
-    TokenServer & copyClosureTokenServer, counter & bytesSent,
+    counter & bytesSent,
     bool useSubstitutes = false)
 {
     PathSet closure;
@@ -99,19 +99,6 @@ static void copyClosureTo(std::shared_ptr<StoreAPI> store,
     for (auto i = sorted.rbegin(); i != sorted.rend(); ++i)
         if (present.find(*i) == present.end()) missing.push_back(*i);
 
-    /* Ensure that only a limited number of threads can copy closures
-       at the same time. However, proceed anyway after a timeout to
-       prevent starvation by a handful of really huge closures. */
-    time_t start = time(0);
-    int timeout = 60 * (10 + rand() % 5);
-    auto token(copyClosureTokenServer.get(timeout));
-    time_t stop = time(0);
-
-    if (token())
-        printMsg(lvlDebug, format("got copy closure token after %1%s") % (stop - start));
-    else
-        printMsg(lvlDebug, format("did not get copy closure token after %1%s") % (stop - start));
-
     printMsg(lvlDebug, format("sending %1% missing paths") % missing.size());
 
     for (auto & p : missing)
@@ -194,7 +181,8 @@ void State::buildRemote(std::shared_ptr<StoreAPI> store,
     if (machine->sshName != "localhost") {
         printMsg(lvlDebug, format("sending closure of ‘%1%’ to ‘%2%’") % step->drvPath % machine->sshName);
         MaintainCount mc(nrStepsCopyingTo);
-        copyClosureTo(store, from, to, inputs, copyClosureTokenServer, bytesSent);
+        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> sendLock(machine->state->sendLock);
+        copyClosureTo(store, from, to, inputs, bytesSent);
     }
 
     autoDelete.cancel();
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
index 27e18212..892e8103 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ bool has(const C & c, const V & v)
 
 
 State::State()
-    : copyClosureTokenServer{maxParallelCopyClosure}
 {
     hydraData = getEnv("HYDRA_DATA");
     if (hydraData == "") throw Error("$HYDRA_DATA must be set");
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
index 525db44e..b439a6b8 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 #include "pathlocks.hh"
 #include "pool.hh"
 #include "sync.hh"
-#include "token-server.hh"
 
 #include "store-api.hh"
 #include "derivations.hh"
@@ -136,6 +135,10 @@ struct Machine
         counter nrStepsDone{0};
         counter totalStepTime{0}; // total time for steps, including closure copying
         counter totalStepBuildTime{0}; // total build time for steps
+
+        /* Mutex to prevent multiple threads from sending data to the
+           same machine (which would be inefficient). */
+        std::mutex sendLock;
     };
 
     State::ptr state;
@@ -191,10 +194,6 @@ private:
     nix::Path machinesFile;
     struct stat machinesFileStat;
 
-    /* Token server limiting the number of threads copying closures in
-       parallel to prevent excessive I/O load. */
-    TokenServer copyClosureTokenServer;
-
     /* Various stats. */
     time_t startedAt;
     counter nrBuildsRead{0};