I prefer timelines myself for simple animations. So yes you can do it without matinee.
I would usually not use a skeletal mesh for an escalator. Any animation that can be done in the editor in general should, with skeletal animation reserved for stuff you can’t do in the editor (deformations etc.). Memory and processor wise, though you could say the benefit may be offset by the increased drawcalls from building it in the editor.
Try animating in the editor and see if that improves the collision issue.