Tires on 4-8-4 Niagara

[OlddManWithHO]

Got a Niagara that can not pull more than 5 Passenger cars up a helix.  Any way to put tires on this loco?

Roger

[ABC]

Maybe try bullfrog snot, I've never used it, but heard it works pretty good.

[bobwrgt]

The snot is a good place to start. I have used it and it works pretty good. Not cheap but will go a long way. Search the internet and you can find it on sale.  To put a tire on it you would have to make a groove in a driver to hold it on. Not easy. Just to see if it would help you could wipe a thin layer of silicone on one driver and let it dry. I have found that the silicone does not last as long as the snot.

Bob

[jonathan]

The bullfrog snot does work.

I applied it to just one drive wheel on a Bowser G5 10-wheeler.  It went from pulling 8 cars to pulling 27 cars.  Likewise it did wonders to an old Mantua Mikado

I haven't been brave enough to try it on a new model.  I tend to double-head my locomotives so pulling a long train isn't normally an issue.

It is a little pricey, but it does make a noticeable difference.  It's still cheaper than buying another locomotive. 

The instructions recommend you try it on one driver to start, preferably the drive wheel that contains the main gear.  You will lose current pick up on that driver, but normally there are enough pick up wheels so this wouldn't be an issue.

Regards,

Jonathan

[OlddManWithHO]

Thanks all!  I'll give that snot a try!