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Bullfrog Snot is by far one of the more interesting new items released for the model train industry this year.
Locomotive traction has always been a concern, and Bullfrog Snot offers a solution.
...don't let the name scare you off...
this Bullfrog Snot is actually a liquid plastic that
when applied to a loco's wheels creates a traction tire...
...it does meet the
claims by the distributor and can
be useful for anyone looking to
get more traction relatively easily.
For my purposes it exceeds what
I expected...
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- "This is the biggest breakthrough in model railroading thats ever came along."
- " ...an AMAZING 111% improvement!"
- "... I can triple the pulling power"
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- "I have already doubled what the unSnotted engine could pull. I am happy."
- "I'm thinking a 50% to 100% increase in pulling power."
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" … The results were significant … According to the force meter in our workshop, which we use to measure drawbar pull, the N scale Alco went from having a drawbar pull of .64 ounces (equivalent to 15 cars on straight and level track) to .96 ounces (equal to 23 cars). The HO scale road switcher went from a drawbar pull of 3.52 ounces (49 cars) to 8.8 ounces (123 cars). Bullfrog Snot is a boon for locomotive models with poor traction."
"....Saw your review (MR) and wondered if it would help on my HOn3 Locos; got some and it works like a charm!! Some small locos which struggled and could only pull 2-3 cars up a 2-3% grade are pulling 4-6 cars!! Love the snot! Works really well on the small engines and even railcars with wipers for pickup."
"This is the biggest breakthrough in model railroading thats ever came along."
" ... BullFrog Snot has been a long-needed tool for n scalers - At least for those interested in modeling/operation pre 1955. Thank you for the time you've spent developing it ...."
" ...an AMAZING 111% improvement! ...The BFS has absolutely transformed this engine. I confess I was a bit skeptical at first, but I'm rapidly becoming an enthusiastic endorser!"
" ... the result was essentially clear, unnoticeable, and very thin. An obvious improvement in traction is evident.."
" OH BOYS, I think we got something great here!! The NW2 is pushing the same train it stalled with earlier tonight! No stalling, as flanges are free of snot! As far as longevity, we'll see? But 1 jar will last your life time! So just lay on some more. Running the train much slower than before has shown no problems!!! It is very sure footed. I like Snot! "
"... My layout has a wicked 2.5% grade on a 24"-radius curve, which has really limited what my steamers could pull. My fleet of mostly Connies & Mikes could only pull 6 to 8 cars up that grade without the wheels slipping and the whole train grinding to a halt. But the new jar of Snot just arrived. I applied it to a couple of test subjects, a 2-8-0 and a 2-10-0. Next day the Russian managed 13 cars up the grade, and the Consolidation easily pulled 20 cars and probably has muscle available for a few more. So I am now firmly in the camp of Snot Believers, and will schedule the entire motive roster to receive the Snot."
"Well, I tried out Bullfrog Snot today. I tested it out on a Bachmann Spectrum Series K4 Pacific that could barely pull four matching heavyweight cars. After a day of curing, drawbar pull skyrocketed from four cars, to nine, without one slip..."
"So , in a word . IT WORKS .... I know now that I can triple the pulling power of a non traction tired loco ..... That makes me feel a lot better about the anemic ones I have. Bet that new 0-8-0 can be improved .... we have a new option ."
"Today, on the level, and through 17" radius turns on my layout, my 2-6-6-2 pulled 40 assorted freight cars (40' and 55 ton loaded hoppers) before slipping. The best I had done BBFS on our level Ntrak layout had been 16. Boy does this locomotive look great pulling a long string like that! ... the results are remarkable. If I can apply this product, with my near legendarily inept modeling skills, anyone should be able to do just fine :-) Thanks ... to Bull Frog Snot! I'm guessing that my jar will end up transforming all the "shelf queens" in my NTrak club in the next month!"
"After 24 hours of total run time on my GP40...pulling 24 cars. I still dont see much wear... "
"My 2-6-6-2, day two of running, about twelve hours total, no change. as to newest concerns about loading, it is cruising around the layout at 6 volts, .175 amps, and peaking at .2 amps at the crest of the grade. "
Trix 2-8-2 Lt. Mikado HO: "I decided to subject this beastie to the Bull Frog Snot treatment on one pair of drivers and it can now pull on my 3% grade what my much larger and heavier BLI Niagara was pulling...four long passenger cars and a reefer up front. Quite impressive!"
"I did stick my hand on the track and that little loco smacked it hard and was pushin!!"
"It really transforms the 2-6-6-2 doesn't it? I think Bachmann should include a bottle of BFS with each engine :-) I love seeing mine pulling slow coal drags.
"Thanks so much for this product. I think the guys in our club are going to like this , I sure know I do."
" I received my bullfrog snot and used it on one of my n scale locomotives. before it pulled a maximum of 7 cars on level track. now pulls 24 on level track. very impressed"
"What an excellent product, Works like a charm."
"My snot arrived last Monday and I applied it to the No.2 & 5 drivers of my Spectrum 2-6-6-2 and had it pulling a 52 car coal train round the club's Ntrak layout on the weekend, it was worth the price seeing that. A VO1000 with snot on the No.3 wheelset was switching a cut of up to 25 cars while an unsnotted unit just sat and spun it's wheels. The initial results seem promising."
" ...this is the best thing in N scale since, well, Bullfrog Snot."
The Darling Downs Model Railway Club Inc. in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia got some Snot to evaluate and we are now a distributor for it, our tests show significant improvements and as many of our locos are used for public displays, it won't take us long to evaluate the life expectancy and/or other attributes/failings. A Kato GS4 that threw its tires in the first few minutes was detired and became a poor puller, (6 Atlas ACF Hoppers up a 3% grade with an 'S' curve and a 180 degree curve) two layers of snot in the traction tire grooves and its performing far better than original, 19 hoppers up the same section of track, more testing is to be done on a variety of locos. A Kato U30c went from 16 to 25, and a Bachmann light Mountain from 5 to 10. And this is runnning upside down Down Under!
"On the flat the unmodified VO1000 pulled 19 cars without stalling whereas the modified one pulled 25 cars. On the grade the unmodified one pulled 11 cars and the modified one pulled 16. Not bad, not bad at all. Actually when you look at it in percentage terms it's not just "not bad" it's awesome, woops almost swore there....It is way more of an increase in pulling power than I expected....For the cost per loco works out cheep and of course the more you have and the more you do the cheeper it becomes. Decent sized trains up the grade here we come. Very happy and highly recommended."
"I have already doubled what the unSnotted engine could pull. I am happy."
"I'm thinking a 50% to 100% increase in pulling power...which some of us have witnessed first hand...will make most modelers pretty damn happy! Add to that the ease (nothing to take apart) of application/removal/reapplication when necessary and we can all do the ‘Mepos dance of joy.'..."
"If this product will improve a small yard goat... 100% then what will it do for a larger locomotive? "
"That BULLFROG SNOT is gonna end up being one of the biggest sellers thats ever been introduced to model railroading. I learned with experminting that once applying the drop to the rotating driver, using the tip of the toothpick and lightly going back & forth spreading a super even coat. Just takes a couple seconds. After my pulling supprise with a Lifelike Berkshire and its now pulling power I did a Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-6-2 class H5. After the application the steamer easily pulled 60 MT type cars or 40 Atlas & Bachmann types.
Needless to say, i'm now coating sets of wheels on every engine I have wether steamer of diesel without traction tires."
"I tried with a Kato NW-2. It used to pull 2 cars up the test hill. Now it pulls 8.
I am impressed.
I can't tell you the number of people I know who have been looking for a solution to the traction tire replacement dilemma on HO steamers. This is truly a halleluia moment for model railroaders!
And from the O scale community: "After reading the post, I got some of this stuff for one of my passenger engines and my initial reaction is IT WORKS GREAT. It was very easy to apply. The instructions recommend using a toothpick to apply the goop, but I found I needed to apply with a toothpick and smooth out with a flathead screwdriver for 0 scale wheels. It does dry virtually clear. I don't notice it visually at all when it is running. It doesn't look cheesy like the rubber band wheels we've all seen. No electrical issues with this engine."
And from the HO world: "I have solid 3% grades with curves in the 28-50" ranges. My 4-8-4 BLI Niagara struggled to pull four Walthers heavyweights and a reefer up those grades, ... I added Bull Frog Snot grip compound to a pair of drivers and nearly doubled the ability of the Niagara to pull on the same grades."
" ... your product looks like it will do the job. I applied it to the Schuco monorail, it has two drive wheels with four rings for traction, two on each wheel. The monorail now runs along the track ... I have also used your product on my Fleischmann HO turntable ... "
"I got a jar last week and have been testing it in 0 scale. I'm very surprised at how well it has worked. I've had dramatic improvement. I was surprised to read some of the results that posted no improvement in those links. I don't even believe it, or there is something wrong with their batch, or applied improperly, I don't know.."
I received a bottle of BFS last week and started applying it to steam engines, since tender-pickup locos are easiest to power belly up without removing the shell casings. I have two ancient Atlas 0-4-0's which I purchased in the early 80's. Though the boiler is metal to add weight over the drivers, they pulled/pushed only a few cars. After I applied BFS, the weaker 0-4-0 pulled 10 box cars! I couldn't believe it. Also, I applied BFS to 4 Key brass PRR M1's since the traction tires rotted a long time ago. After a few applications over a 30 hour period, those 4-8-2's are pulling long freights just like they did when new. I'm still applying BFS to my steam locos and then I'll work on the diesels. This stuff is great. Many thanks.
" ... we just tried Bull Frog Snot at OCSMR. we used it to replace a traction tire on one of our subway cars and it worked perfectly and in my opinion has better adhesion than the original tires. we also put it on a Beep which had no tires to begin with. it now can pull twice as many cars as it did before, even up the grade to our upper level. a bit expensive, but worth it."
" ...I have tried Bullfrog Snot on several of my N-scale engines. It did all you stated it would to improve traction. I was a bit hesitant about purchasing Bullfrog Snot because ot the price. However I added Bullfrog Snot to five Model Power steamers for which I was going to purchase traction tires/wheel sets for at $7+ each. As I calculate it Bullfrog Snot has saved me $10...."
"The P2K 0-6-0 and 0-8-0's just aren't very good pullers. I've got a few of them and mine all had a 10 car limit. Any more and the wheels would slip, that is until I discovered Bullfrog Snot. I bought a bottle of it just out of curiosity and it actually works. My little 0-8-0's can easily pull 20 cars now. I think thats a lot for such a tiny switcher."
And from South Africa: " I have a Bachmann mogul which I've just converted to DCC. This was battling to pull 3 lighted coaches up a 2.8% gradient. So I added one drop of Bull frog snot to each side of the rear drivers and left to dry over night in a loco cradle. The result is impressive, the loco is now completely sure footed over this gradient and I have no hessitation in recommending this product. Just one tiny drop on a tooth pick on each driver is all it took."
"I have four Proto Y3's ...... what I have found that makes a world of difference on those locomotives is Bull Frog Snot on the drivers. I have no idea whats in that stuff but it does work."
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