I like Unimogs. If you’re not familiar, Google it up, but in short, it’s a 4x4 truck made by Mercedes-Benz that is renowned as a nearly unstoppable tool in many applications. It’s really as much a tractor as a truck, especially in its early versions.
I recently bought a Unimog and it’s not my first, but it is my first hy-rail Unimog. Now if I can just figure out power and DCC[^o)]
Originally made by Roco, this model is now made by Herpa. Here’s a link to a pic at Walthers (326-742818):
I came across a couple of neat historical flicks about Unimogs. Your German may be as bad as my rusty German, or worse, but they’re worth watching if you need some inspiration for handy vehicles to bring products to the railhead.
I don’t have any pictures, but I used to teach people to drive UNIMOGs. They came with a 26 speed transmission (9 speeds, reverse). They are quite a machine.
Unimog´s history is quite close to that of the Landrover in Britain. It was intended as a universal vehicle for farmers, which could do a lot more than a tractor.
The name is an abbreviation for Universal Motorgerät, i.e. universal motor device. The idea dates back to the immediate post-war days and production began in 1946. Truly a multi-purpose vehicle, it quickly found many uses, mainly our side of agriculture. In 1951, Daimler-Benz took over the production.
One of the early UNIMOGs (1955)
UNIMOG fire truck (1966)
UNIMOG fire truck (1987)
UNIMOG road & rail tractor (2000)
The latest version now looks like this:
The UNIMOG has long left the simplicity of construction and ease of maintenance its inventor had in mind. It has turned into an expensive high-tech multi-purpose vehicle, costing a fortune.
Heh, Ulrich. Great pics! [:)] A fortune is 1:1, but still affordable in 1:87, another reason to like model railroading!
Here’s a a pic of my other two 'Mogs:
Frank,
That thought had crossed my mind. Not sure about the measurements of the Bachmann powered hy-railers. The pickup truck looks like its bed is way too long. The 4x4 that looks like a Jeep wagon has a wheelbase that may be closer to what’s needed for a 'Mog, but it shows out of stock. Anyone have one of the Bachmann hy-railers and could give me some measurements of the wheelbase? It can’t be too long to fit under most versions of the Unimog and look right.
Chad,
Nice looking 'Mogs! I haven’t picked up any of the later versions in order to stick with my layout’s rough era (before 1975), but yours look great. I’m being tempted to ignore era.
Phil,
Maybe US Army 'Mogs? I know they had a bunch set up as combat engineer vehicles in Germany during the Cold War, equipped with front end loaders and backhoes. I still see one every once in awhile, but I’m guessing they are getting pretty long in tooth by now and may be being phased out.
Thanks, I think you would like those Kibri kits, I made sure I got both chassis versions. (I wish I had one of them finished & weathered though, ha hah!).
I do not have the round nose versions that you do, & I am drooling!!
Nice catches, enjoy them!
Thanks for bringing up the subject, it’s pretty cool to connect with folks with similar intrests!
There were a couple of interesting railroad related items in the second “Historical Unimog - Part 2” video that mlehman linked to in his OP (YouTube states “no description available”, but there is a “1963-1968” title in the first Part - so 1968?).
The Unimog shunting the steel slab wagons in the first few minutes was NOT a hi-railer, but had it’s road wheels replaced by rail wheels. Can’t figure out why, hi-railers were definitely available at the time as the next 6 minutes or so of the video demostrates, and by just using rail-wheels you lose the flexiblity of taking to the road when needed - like at 6:00 in the video, when the yellow-orange UniMog pulls some freight wagons head-first into a siding blocked by a track bumper, so it just uncouples, raise the outriggers and takes to the road to exit the dead -end - no need for run-around tracks here. By just having rail-wheels you lose that flexibility - might was well get the German equivalent of a Critter - it will pull more wagons.
1b) Those automatic universal couplers that mate with the hook on the freight wagons look really cool.
I never thought of SLIDERS for use as Hi-railers outriggers - clearly the Germans did, at least 40 years ago. They also thought of pneumatic turntables mounted on the UniMogs so they can rotate themselves into position
I say “whoa!” when the guy coupling the freight wagons at 7:14 (wearing a proto-hi-visablity vest!) stands between the wagons being coupled - yeah, the buffers protect him, but the wagons do move a not insignificant amount. Standing like that between 2 North American freight cars being coupled - you won’t get a chance to ever do that again! Didn’t the British use long shunter’s poles to couple/uncouple their chain couplings from the side of the wagon? Why wouldn’t the Germans do that?
Here’s a tip. Look at Broadway Limited’s new HighRail truck. It’s based on a Ford F something or other, but for 75bucks you have a very nice already DCC’d drive system. the HO wheels are actually the trucks tires, and are grooved to look like a tire. A little work with a paint pen or a small brush will get you the hubcaps in the desired color, and all that holds the shell down is a screw at each end, so it shouldn’t be all that difficult to dropo this little guy under a UNIMOG shell, so long as the wheels are tall enough for your liking. And surprising for such a short wheelbase, the thing doesn’t have as much trouble through switches as you might th
Want a treat? go to google and find: UNIMOG U 500 BLACK EDITION, Just the thing to hit the hardware stores in, and it’s only $ 275,000.00 this thing makes previous models look like Tonka toys.
The wheelbase is the critical measurement. Can you measure yours and tell me what it is?
tatans,
I’ll have to stick with HO 'Mogs on my budget, much as I’d like to indulge in a real one. I’m a little surprised they’re not more. When I first priced one in the late 70s, you could drop $40k without too much trouble. Fortunately for exploring those old narrowgauge raodbeds in Colorado, we can still afford to put gas in our '97 LandCruiser – the next best thing to having a 'Mog offroading.[;)]
Ulrich,
Even my HO budget is a little short of that one, but it looks great. Maybe if the wheelbase of the BLI chassis works out, they’ll be a cheaper alternative?
chutton,
That second video is cool and the solid wheel Rail’Mog certainly provides a prototype of what’ll result from mixing the BLI chassis with a 'Mog superstructure. I’d still like to retain the road/rail look.
To my utter suprise, my Hi-Rail Ford truck matches the wheelbase of the Kibri short chassis Unimog exactly!!! The Hi-Rail axle point measurement is 1.230"
That is something to really consider doing!
It’ll work with a little kit bashing!
I remember those transmissions.We had Unimog crash truck at the airport at the 1980 winer Olympics at Lake Placid.What a truck.The truck could do almost anything.
Thanks for confirming and clarifying that it is the BLI unit! This is great news.
My hy-rail and radio van 'Mogs both have a 1 5/16" wheelbase, so that’s just a nudge longer than the BLI chassis. However, since there is a long frame, there’s plenty of room to accommodate the slightly shorter BLI chassis wheelbase. It will work, assuming the drive can be integrated with the superstructure without too many issues.
I’ll likely use the hy-rail 'Mog for the conversion, as the BLI “rail” wheels look a little funky. Wonder if and how much trouble they are to remove, since they look mainly cosmetic? Although the 'Mog’s rail wheels aren’t superfine, they do look better, so would prefer to retain those if that can be done and it won’t interfere with the chassis. It might even track better or potentially provide for more pickup to retain the operating rail wheels.
I acquired two more Unimogs this week. One is a tan 404 'Mog (326-740814) configured as a “mobile communications unit.” There’s a clear dome shown in the online catalog pic, but it came with a standard hatch cover instead. Neat little unit that could be used as a camper or utility/tool truck, too.
The other is a OD green 416 'Mog (326-743099) with a tarped bed. The “tarp” comes off and the bed could be configured for just about anything, from hauling cargo to being replaced by an entirely different body. As a more modern model, it’s got some seriously fat tires.
