Bogies with current collection. Kato, Greenmax or Tomix?

[utrainia]

Hi there,

 

I'm looking for some bogies for a carriage project I'm working on. I want the carriages to be lighted so I need bogies with power pickups.

Looking on Hobby Search I see:

• Kato: Small range, but all bogies have pin point bearings with current collection.
• Tomix: I can only find motor bogies? They do however have current collection via inside pickups.
• Greenmax: Massive range, but none of them seem to have any current collection. It seems that only one wheel is insulated meaning the axle is live, so I could fit pickup strips to these.

 

Does this sound right? If so it looks like I'll have to go with Kato, which is a shame as the Greenmax bogies are closer to what I'm after. Do Tomix sell unpowered bogies? Or should I just fit pickup shoes to the Greenmax bogies?

 

Thanks very much,

--Michael

[kvp]

Tomix trailer bogies afaik with power pickups:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10211963

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10166666

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138796

 

So you can choose whatever you find good for your project. My only suggestion if they are avilable is to use bogies that pick up from both rails.

[utrainia]

Thanks KVP. I had a good hunt and those three you've found seem to be the only ones from Tomix that HS has in stock, and they're twice the price of the Kato ones :-(

 

I agree about power pickup from both rails; I suspect I'll settle for Kato bogies for that reason, but I'll experiment with adding pickup to the Greenmax bogies along with a capacitor keep-alive circuit.

 

Thanks for the help,

--Michael