 | | Liebherr branded box. |  |  | | The various parts. |  | | Plenty of lights for working on the rails at night. |  | | Articulated boom allows offset digging. |  | | Graphics on the body are excellent. |  | | Fitting the grab. |  | | Travelling on the road. |  | | Loaded on a Nooteboom low loader. |
| Road rail machines are specially adapted for running on railway tracks and are used heavily in railway construction and maintenance work. Often working at night, they are fitted with additional lights.
The Liebherr A 900 C ZW is a machine in the 20 tonne class.
Packaging
The box is in the standard Liebherr design and the model and parts are securely packed within expanded polystyrene trays. There were no defects or missing parts on the review model.
There is no information provided about the real machine or the model.
Detail
A piece of scale track is provided consisting of a solid plastic base which is moulded to represent sleepers and ballast, and a pair of metal rails. The ends have connectors so pieces could be joined to make longer track sections.
The wheels hubs are nice metal items with good treaded tyres. The inner tyres have a different tread pattern which is used to engage with the rail head and provide traction and braking. The chassis is cast well with metal outriggers and rail bogies.
The body of the machine is very good quality with authentic details within the casting including grilles and door handles. Thin metal grab rails are excellent. The cab has very good detail inside including an additional passenger seat. Mirrors, wipers and lights are present outside and there are some realistic looking tiny graphics.
The boom and stick are cast well and the use of friction rivets means there is no obtrusive modelling technique spoiling the look of the model. A particularly good detail is the very fine hydraulic lines running to the cylinders.
Two tools are provided, a ditching bucket and a clamshell. Both parts are metal and well made.
Features
The steering axle works and a reasonable range of movement can be achieved.
The rail bogies can be raised and lowered as can the outriggers.
The model rotates and is stable on the tracks even without the outriggers down.
Movement of the articulated boom is very good with five separate moveable sections including the ability to offset on either side.
The bucket can dig at an angle and the clamshell opens and closes but cannot rotate.
Quality
This is a very good quality model with minimal use of plastic. The paintwork is very nice and the graphics are excellent.
Price
It is good value for the high quality offered.
Overall
It is great to see a model of a road rail machine and NZG have implemented this Liebherr very well indeed. The functionality of the model is a strong point and it is easy to highly recommend.
Footnotes
The model first appeared as NZG model 544. It was updated in 2009 with an amended body casting and paintwork and graphics revisions. In 2010 three special livery versions were announced 'Sersa', 'Verhoeven' and 'ETF' in runs of 300 models each.
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|  | | The parts in the tray. |  | | Outriggers down and ready to dig. |  | | View underneath. |  | | Detailed rail wheels and outriggers. |  | | Height is excellent. |  | | Loading a tipper. |  | | Grab details are very good. |  | | It is a convincing haulage load. |
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