# Pickup sliders for Aristo freight car trucks



## Steve Monson (Dec 27, 2007)

Is there a fairly easy way to install pickup sliders on Aristo freight trucks? An LGB/Piko part, maybe. 
Thanks. Steve


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

LGB has/had an electrical contact set (#63193). This is a small plastic piece that holds 2 carbon plugs that push against the inside of metal wheels to pick up the current. These are screwed to the coupler tongue on the trucks. Wires are then soldered to the metal tube that holds the graphite plug. I have used these on several LGB cars where I wanted lights and the car didn't come with any electric pickups.

These would probably work on the Aristo trucks if the coupler tongue is still there. But you will need to buy metal wheels. All of my AristoCraft freight cars came with plastic wheels. 

I have never seen any rigs for track skates or sliders that can be retrofitted to a pair of trucks.

Check with Train-Li one of our MLS sponsors.

Chuck


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

You should also be able to find the Aristo pickups that fit their trucks also.

Greg


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

USA Trains also has a pickup and is much like the LGB version.


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## Steve Monson (Dec 27, 2007)

No, I mean sliders for power pickup on a trailing car where it isn't easy (or I don't want) to add sliders to the locomotive. I already have some trailing cars carrying Aristo Train Engineers and sliders on them would be helpful. I have added the contacts mentioned above on some for power pickup, but without a lot of improvement. I am hoping sliders would help more. With all the locos that come with sliders, I was hoping one would be easily adapted to car trucks. Steve


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Steve:

LGB and I would guess that others also have replacement skates. Unfortunately, you will have to design and build a housing to connect them to a freight car truck. 

The LGB ones are just a skate and a spring, no housing. That is built into the engine truck.

Chuck


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

All of the sliders are just a pick-up shoe and a spring and utilize the architecture of the truck to contain them. None are separate entities. Also, they really need to be placed right between the existing wheels of the truck because if you locate them along the body, they will leave the rails in curves, drop down and derail the car when the curve straightens.

I am looking at a Bachmann "truck" from a sierra passenger car. Bachmann was smart enough to include a plastic tube on the truck that runs perpendicular to the direction of travel and is obviously made to hold a pair of springs and contacts, so if you use the right trucks, the conversion is simple to pick up power from the wheels.

But that's still not a slider.

So, if we look further at the truck we find that the crossbar is held to the side frames with a pair of Philips screws located right between the wheels. If a spring were soldered to a brass washer it could be located using these screws and a skate could be soldered to the spring (or something similar). Alternatively, a bent length of springy brass/copper/piano wire/etc. could be secured directly using these screws.

You need to look at what you have to work with and be cre8tive.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

You can buy axles/wheels that have built in pickups. Gary Raymond has some nice ones. I've bought several from him. You don't get the drag that way as you do with sliders or the ones that press against the back of the wheel. He has them in all different sizes.
[email protected]
www.trainwheels.com is his web page.
http://forums.mylargescale.com/www.trainwheels.com


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

Steve:

You might want to wander around George Schreyer's site and see if there is something there that would be of use.


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## Steve Monson (Dec 27, 2007)

Thanks everyone.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Ball bearing pickups are no good for locos and high current applications. Aristo found that out early, that is why they have a different pickup method than through the ball bearing itself, in fact the "balls" are non-conductive ceramic.

rail-head "sliders" or carbon brush pickups on the backs of the wheels work best for locos, but I have very few issues, only locos like a Lionel pacific that only had pickups on the drivers.

Greg


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