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Mercedes-Benz exhibited new implement configurations for the Unimog at the 9th InnoTrans, held from September 18 - 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany. Among them, a Unimog U 400 used as a shunting vehicle and for clearing snow made possible by a newly designed powertrain that in addition to a torque converter clutch for pulling heavy loads also includes a crawler gear transmission for very slow operating speeds. The Unimog can be equipped with a snow blower powered by its mechanical front power-take-off shaft, available ex-factory, for clearing snow off the tracks or the road. The rail technology comes from Zagro and consists, among other things, of a railway car brake system, upward-pivoting buffered couplers and a radio remote control. DB FuhrparkService GmbH took possession of the Unimog on display at the trade show; it will be operated by DB Regio Nordostbayern in Hof, Germany. Another innovation on the Mercedes-Benz booth was a rail and grooved rail cleaning vehicle for tram operations. The newly developed rail gear from CMAR makes it possible even for the long-wheelbase Unimog to navigate very tight turning radiuses. The Unimog’s hydraulic system controls 5 different work processes from lowering and pressing down the rail gear to driving a high-pressure water pump for cleaning grooved rails.
Being driven by the road wheels on the rails makes the Unimog ideal for use as a shunting vehicle. Since the friction coefficient of rubber on steel is significantly higher than that of steel on steel, the dual-mode Unimog can develop enormous pulling power at a comparatively low weight, and can tow loads of up to 1,000 t. Generally speaking, the Unimog transfers the high emission standards of road transport onto the rails. With its low fuel consumption during shunting – the experience of many customers shows a fuel consumption of about 5 to 6 l of diesel fuel per hour of operation – makes the dual-mode Unimog an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to a shunting locomotive. Some 80 to 100 Unimogs with dual-mode design are delivered to railway companies around the world each year, making the legendary universal motorised working machine a fixture in this industry as well.
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Shunting and Clearing Snow with the Unimog
Mercedes-Benz also displayed the U 400 with rail gear and railway technology from Zagro and the XS 122 loading crane with man basket from HIAB. The Unimog chassis comes ex-factory with hydrostatic drive that allows continuous adjustment of the operating speed, even by remote control from the basket. 
