I have seen a picture of an Unimog Hyrail vehicle pulling a grain car, now i would like to model it in HO scale, my question is, does the Unimog Hyrail tractors in the USA have standard knuckle couplers on its backside to pull cars?
The only UniMogs we see here are NATO surplus with gas engines[:D]
-strange looking critters!
I think the Unimog-based Hyrail is very much a European thing - I know of one or two this side of the channel too although converted Land Rovers seem just as popular - I’d guess they’re cheaper and easier to get parts for here, and in real terms there’s not much a Unimog can do that a Defender can’t. Kibri offer a Unimog Hyrail in HO and I’ve seen a motorising kit made by a small Austrian company whose name I can’t remember. Most US Hyrails seem to be based on a locally-built large crewcab pickup judging by the photos I’ve seen.
Thanks for the infos, but what kind of couplers do they have?
Providence and Worchester had one, it had standard AAR coupler on rear
Here is a picture of one in Mexico that probably has a coupler on it.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=115946
Massachusett’s MBTA also have one as a transit emergency rerailing vehicle…
I’m surprised there’s not more of the Unimogs around America. From what I’ve seen, they’re so versatile.
The Unimog has been around for decades and the military in Germany bought a number to supplant American-built equipment. Therefore, you will see more used Unimogs coming to the US. A while back some Unimogs with snow removal equipment somehow found their way to the Army base at Ft Irwin outside Barstow. But, the average government agency would have it’s collective head handed to it if it sought to buy a foreign produced automotive product. Plus the cost of a German-produced automotive products outstrips the cost of a US-produced piece of equipment. Until Mercedes Benz introduces a Unimog carrying either the Freightliner or Dodge nameplate (2 US brands they have purchased), expect the Unimog to be a rare find.
Funny looking little rig with hyrail gear.
Unimogs have been around for years, a great many were used by German farmers as tractors, this one unit could do everything, some of the old ones were beasts, years back we used one for surveying and had to transfer it back to Calgary, a trip of 180 miles, this vehicle would not go over 30 mph and ate gas at an alarming rate, so in the back was a 45 gal.drum of fuel (deisel) I think, when it arrived the driver was almost deaf and the trip took hours and hours, that was the end of unimogs for us. I would not want to speculate the cost of a new one.
I bet it would be a pretty penny.
check for yourself at : http://www.unimogtrucks.com/
The Unimog is very much alive, Arnold Swartzenegger has one.
They are very versatile and can be delivered with the weirdest attachments.
Hi all,
I think Santa Clara County VTA has one.