I have yet to purchase any BFS however when I get home in June will do so, meanwhile I do find this thread very interesting and informative and hope that it continues with the applications on different locos and the before and after results.
Good thinking, I may have to look into this. The prototype had to get the weight of steam locos correctly balanced too. Even if we don't operate our engines to the full capacity afforded by Bullfrog Snot we can still comfortably pull more realistic loads than we could before.
Has the manufacture er submitted a sample to any of the Model Railroading Magazines for a review by them on this great new product?
Quote: Congrats to all! It isn't that often that a thread this long has remained a joy to read from start to finish. Does that mean the Bullfrog Snot thread would qualify for a "sticky" status? Sorry, I couldn't resist ;-)
This is off-topic... however. There is a new restaurant in Winter Park, Florida and it is named: "The Ravenous Pig" It has pub food and monthly menu changes with interesting dishes. I almost would not go there because of the name!! Another strange name place is "The Trough" in Gunnison, Colorado... I cannot bring myself to eat at the trough. Sorry for the off topic... just could not resist... and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Tillman
Very good question! I can't really answer it definitively, but I can give some perspective. First, I think the publishing cycle of the major model RR publications is much longer than this thread's existence. The N-scale pubs have a shorter cycle, but even then still longer than the Internet. Second, I'm not sure the major pubs have staff any longer that have the time and interest to do this kind of testing. I'm not denigrating them in any way--it's just the nature of publishing a magazine these days. Third, we're seeing some reviews on this product from known modelers. They've made mistakes in applying it, and acknowledged them. There have been tests by quite a few, so the results haven't been rigged. As an admin, I can attest for the independence of many of the members here.:tb-biggrin: They are why my hair is much grayer and thinner than even my four daughters caused.:mbiggrin: I think it's just neat that this product has received so much attention here on Trainboard. We are just accelerating the normal product cycle, without bias, in a world that is turning faster and faster every day. I haven't seen any bias, pro or con, for this product. Just a stunning interest in it, a responsive manufacturer, and a very informative and entertaining thread.
As far as the longevity of the product, my 2-6-6-2 has happily been pounding along the rails with it's 19 hoppers in tow for a total of about 4 hours. There is no noticable wear on the BFS "tires" that I can observe or have instruments to measure. I've got a stretch of track that's flat that I'm going to use this evening to see how the engine pulls on the flat. In the past it would do 16 box cars/loaded hoppers on our NTrak layout. I'm guessing it should come close to doubling that, based on the performance on my grades.
Today, on the level, and through 17" radius turns on my layout, my Bachmann 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! I actually think I can improve on this. I've still not gotten a consistent "full tire width" application on the two axles (one on each set of drivers). There's definitely a learning curve involved to getting it to spread evenly without getting too much on. So hopefully I'll have time to give that another shot over the weekend. I would hasten to add that even without having a full tire width applied, the results are remarkable. If I can apply this product, with my near legendarily inept modeling skills, anyone on this board should be able to do just fine Thanks Bill, for introducing us 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!
I'm in Sydney and I bought 5 bottles, basically to save a lot on shipping. If anyone wants any of the remaining 4 bottles, let me know (offline) and you can have them at exactly what I paid for them: Aus $43.44 per bottle plus whatever it costs me to send them to you from Sydney. Phil
There's more of us down here than you think.:tb-biggrin: 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 an spun it's wheels. The initial results seem promising.
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. I've lettered mine for the NYC, which used them for that purpose in my area (through the Grand Canyon of PA) back in the 30's.
George, What was the radii on the track this loco ran on and was the wheel with the most wear on the outside of the radius? Thanks, Bill
