loco weight
- Thread starter BIG-D
- Start date
Selector
Well-Known Member
Many engines could stand more weight, but there is a much easier solution...if you can buy that. 
There is a product, a sample of which I paid to have shipped to me (I live in Canada, and I was getting the sample for nothing, so I offered to pay for the shipping) prior to Christmas. It is called Bull Frog Snot. It is a pale green liquid that you paint in a thin layer on one set of drivers with the engine inverted and powered so that the axle turns while you paint this thin layer. Did I mention that it must be a thin layer?
It dries in perhaps 10 minutes, but they suggest letting it cure for much longer. When an hour or two have passed, invert engine, set on rails, and be amazed at its new towing capacity.*
I did three of my engines, steamers, and the results are darned near spectacular. I would recommend this product to anyone with multiple pickups on driving axles.
* If your engine is a short wheelbased one, such as an SW or an older 0-6-0 and equivalent with trucks and no tender pickup, and the like, you may find your engine not handling insulated frogs very well. If it is a really old clunker, you may not even get any pickup and it will become a doorstop. The engines I performed the magic on were all BLI steamers and one Trix Mikado. I give it a solid thumb up.
There is a product, a sample of which I paid to have shipped to me (I live in Canada, and I was getting the sample for nothing, so I offered to pay for the shipping) prior to Christmas. It is called Bull Frog Snot. It is a pale green liquid that you paint in a thin layer on one set of drivers with the engine inverted and powered so that the axle turns while you paint this thin layer. Did I mention that it must be a thin layer?
It dries in perhaps 10 minutes, but they suggest letting it cure for much longer. When an hour or two have passed, invert engine, set on rails, and be amazed at its new towing capacity.*
I did three of my engines, steamers, and the results are darned near spectacular. I would recommend this product to anyone with multiple pickups on driving axles.
* If your engine is a short wheelbased one, such as an SW or an older 0-6-0 and equivalent with trucks and no tender pickup, and the like, you may find your engine not handling insulated frogs very well. If it is a really old clunker, you may not even get any pickup and it will become a doorstop. The engines I performed the magic on were all BLI steamers and one Trix Mikado. I give it a solid thumb up.
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The Bullfrog Snot idea is, generally, a lot better idea than just adding weight without knowing how it affects your stall current draw. With older Athearn BB's, you could add just about as much weight as you could fit in and not worry about exceeding the motor capacity becuase they were built like tanks. With modern engines, especially DCC engines, you really have to know what you're doing since the motors are a lot more delicate and you have an electronics board to deal with. Most modern engines come weighted at about the right weight or weighted to near their stall current draw. I'd be very careful about adding weight to most engines today.
Bread&steel
Member
Most modern engines come weighted at about the right weight or weighted to near their stall current draw. I'd be very careful about adding weight to most engines today.[/QUOTE]
I agree. Just let the engine pull what it can. If you need to, just add another locomotive.
I agree. Just let the engine pull what it can. If you need to, just add another locomotive.
