CD 312 CargoNet from Sudexpress
Introduction
One of the locomotives that I have wanted for some time is the CD 312, which is a Stadler Euro 4000 disel locomotive. That locomotive can still be seen in operation as per writing of this article. The above picture is of the CD 312 001 which is the exact number that was created in model.
The model of the CD 312 was created as a 40 year aniversary locomotive for NMJ. It was therefor exclusively sold by NMJ back in 2019 when the model was released. I still have an email from NMJs newsletter describing the model. The model apperantly only came in a DCC sound edition with a limited number of models.
I have recently been to a model railroad fair. One of the hightlights of that fair is the vast ammount of used locomotives and rolling stock available for purchase. One of the models I was lucky enough to stumble across was a model of the CD 312! It was probably the only CD 312 model available at the fair. Lets just say that I quite quickly bought that model before anyone else got the chance.
First look at the model
This is a used model, so there will likely be some quirks and issues with the model. The first impression I got is that this model actually is in quite good shape. There is barely any scratches or signs of usage on the model. The model came with a box similar to the one that the BR159 CargoNet came in. Some aditional parts where included and even the manual was stil there. Thats definetley something you can't excpect with a used model. Bellow is a picture of the model and parts bag after I took it out of the box.
I noticed the following signs of useage after the first inspection:
- There was some residual liquid, probably oil, on the top of the model. The resiude is barely visible on the above picture.
- The bogies had a lot of oil on the bottom cover.
- The large windows in the front and rear is a tiny bit dirty barely noticable to the human eye.
All of this things are something that is to be expected when buying a used model. Most of the residue on the top of model was easily brushed of using a model brush. Bellow is a picture of the oily bogie.
I used cotton swabs dipped in isopropanol prima to clean of all the oil. There is in no way supposed to be that much oil on the bogie. The windows where gently cleaned with a microfiber cloth with some water ater brushing off dust first. The cloth I used is designed for computer displays, but works fine for other applications as well. I decided to only use water with the cloth to avoid doing any damage to the model. Using a microfiber cloth will prevent scratches in the surface compared to other cloths
Attaching detail parts
There was initially three types of parts that I wanted to fit on the model. Those where couplings, mirrors and windshield wipers. I started with the couplings. The model came pre-fitted with some strange type of coupling that I have never seen before in one end. Bellow is a picture of that coupling. That end didn't have the snow plow mounted either, but the snowplow that was supposed to go there was in the parts bag. The parts bag only included one coupling, so I had to find another one. I luckly had some spares laying around.
The first step for fitting the coupling is to take of the snowplow. That can be taken of by simply pulling carefully straight up. The side without the coupling needs an additional arm fitted to the model. That arm will provide a NEM-socket for the model. The bellow images shows the coupling, arm and snowplow besides the pocket that the arm should be attached to.
It can be a bit difficult to attach the arm to the pocket. I had to use a plier to help the arm into the pocket. I could then attach the coupling to the arm. All I had to do on the other side was to take out the existing coupling followed by inserting the new coupling. Be aware that it is necessary to hold the arm while draging out the coupling to avoid breaking the arm. Bellow are two images showing the result after fitting the two couplings.
The next parts I fitted where the windshield wipers. They where quite easy to glue into place using Faller expert plastic glue. I used a reverse plier in combination with my fingers to push the windshield wiper into place. Make sure that you attach the windshild wipers in the correct direction. They should always point to the right when you look straight at the window in either end. They wil thus go in different directions relative to eachother. Bellow is a picture of the model after fitting the windshield wiper.
The next thing I tried to fit was the mirrors. I eventually gave up on them, as I was afraid that I would damage the model if i spent to much time trying to glue them into place. There is some space for the mirrors in the packaging, but there is in my opinion a risk that they will easly break off while the loco is packed and unpacked. Having the mirrors on will also make it harder to do service on the model.
Pictures of the prototype
The CD 312 is actually a locomotive I have seen a few times, as it's commonly used in log trains and some container trains. I have images showing the locomotive in log trains and container trains, but the only images with decent quality is of the locomotive in log trains. The bellow two images is from a log train with two CD 312 locomotives. The one in front is CD 312 002 and the one in the rear is not possible to see unfortunately.
I do also have a picture of the T68, which is another type of Euro 4000 that can be seen in traffic. That locomotive is also available in model. I do not know the differences between the T68 and the CD312, but the pictures do show some differences in the designs like vents being present on both sides of the top headlights on the T68. Bellow is a picture of the T68 hauling a container train.
Let's have a look at how the model compares to the real thing next.
This model is impressive in terms of the details in the front. There is a few discrepancies however. The first one is the lack of the Vossloh logo on the side. That could be realistic though as the picture of the locomotive is from 2025, while the model is from 2019. The ladder going out benath the doors is also incorrect. The ladder is aligned under the shell in real life, while it lines up with the railings on the model. The design of the lights is also different between the model and prototype.
The detailing related to the coupling can not be compared in this case, as I have the model couplings attached. Having a lot of detail parts together with such a coupling makes no sense, as it will prevent normal operation of the coupling.
There is also some discrepancies in terms of mirrors. The model mirrors are only attached on the top, while real mirrors are attached at the top and bottom of the side window. Let's compare the sides of the model next.
The picture I have of the CD 312 is mostly from the front unfortunately, as it is a locomotive that is usually parked in spots where they are a bit hard to reach. I would say thought that the model looks quite like the prototype when seen from the side. Even the smal text on the bottom seems to be correct.
First run
The first test run actually went quite well. The locomotive just worked straight out of the box. I where able to run in the locomotive in 30 minutes in each direction without any issues or peculiar sounds. It should be noted that I did have some problems with stalls when going slow over some of my switches. You would think that a six-axled locomotive (three axels on each bogie) would perform better. This issue with current pickup at low speeds is actaully something I have heard about before with this model. People I have talked with about this model have told me that bad current pickup is a well-know issue with the model. The issue is apperantly related to the way the wheels are designed.
Another thing I noticed during the test run was one of the front handrails. It's bent out of place as you might see from the above picture. The way I fixed that was to glue it into place. I have no idea why I did not spot the handrail at the first inspection. I probably didn't spot it due to being excited about getting my hands on this model!
I have tested this model at a club layout. What I noticed during some hours of operation there was that the snowplow on both sides would fall off from time to time because the coupling will push it out of place. The biggest difference between my interim layout and the club layout is that there are quite steep inclines at the club layout. My impression is that the coupling arm will slightly bend downards when the loco goes downhill, thus pushing the plow out of it's sockets. It might be tempting to glue it, but that is actually a bad idea. I will explain why when i later look at the inside the model.
Another thing to be aware of related to the coupling is that there are some detail parts hanging down from the chassis that sometimes causes the coupling to get stuck. That prevents the coupling from moving laterally which might cause some problems with certain rolling stock. This might also be a contributing factor to the snowplow issue described above. I therfor decided to try to remove those detail parts using my reverse plier. I where able to take off one of the parts using the plier, but the other seven parts where glued in place in a way that made it impossible to take them out without doing damage to other parts of the model. I therefor decided to simply cut of the parts. The bellow pictures shows the model before and after cutting the parts.
Why did I decide to cut of the parts? I want to operate my trains. It's therefor more important for me that the locomotives work with as few faults as possible. Detail parts that you can barely see that prevents operations and causes delay gives no vaule for me. Such parts will just ruin the fun it is to operate the locomotive. That might be different for you though, so always think twice before cutting off parts like this.
One of my model railroad friends have pointed out to me that there is some scratching sound from the speaker. Such sounds are usually caused by either something laying on top of the speaker membrane or a dent in the membrane. I have investigated the issue and most likely identified the cause. I will go more into details later.
Programming the decoder
One of the first things I changed with this model was the sound level. The sound volume is quite high, which in my opinion is a good thing. It's much better when you have to reduce the volume rather than increase it. The sound level in the decoder was 128 overall and 64 for faded sounds. I reduced it to 32 and 16 respectively. I might finetune the volume at a later time, as I am not entirely happy with the sound levels.
The next thing I programmed was the lights. This model have lights that changes in the direction of travel, which is something I do not want on my models. I always want to control the lights independently of travel direction. I changed F0 to toggle the lights in the forward direction and F23 to toggle the lights in the reverse direction. Bellow is a screenshot from the programming changes.
One interesting thing to note is that the function for turning on the cab light and the top head lights follows the direction of the white lights. If you turn on the cab lights, then the end where the white lights are will have it's cab light on. Having white lights in both direction will thus cause cab lights to be on in both directions. Having all lower white lights off will result in the cab light being off even when the function is activated. This is the same behavior that my Y1 railcar have.
Light and sound functions
This model have white and red lights at the bottom and a white headlight on the top. It also have cab lights. Bellow are some images showing the possible light combinations.
One thing that annoys me about the lower white lights is that there will always be red lights in the opposite direction. That is fine when only driving the locomotive, but doesn't make any sense when dirving with wagons. Red lights is typically used to mark the end of a train. It should be noted that I have seen locomotives run with red tail lights while hauling wagons, even though they are not supposed to. There might be a way to change that, but I strongly suspect that the lights are hardwired to be turned on at the same time, which in my opinion is a bit sad, as it gives less options for programming the lights.
The sound functions are in my opinion decent. Be aware that there is an alarm sound going on when starting the engine. You might not want to start the engine with that alarm sound with the volume at maximum late at the evening.
The model comes with four different horn sounds. There are also a conductor signal and station annoncement for some reason. Not sure why you would need that on a locomotive used for hauling cargo that lacks the required electronics for legaly hauling passenger coaches. It should also be mentioned that the station annoncments included with the model (which can be changed with a CV value) are in the incorrect language. There are also some other sound effects and functions. Refer to the function mapping included with the online manual for a full reference of all the functions.
Inside the model
Lets have a look inside the model. The way to take of the shell is to start by taking of the snowplows. And that is the reason why you should never glue the snowplows into place! You won't be able to take of the shell if you glue the snowplows in place. The next step is to gently bend out the shell so that it clicks out. The shell can then gently be pulled upwards. Be careful with the details on the shell. I had to glue one of the roof grills into place from the inside as it broke of. Bellow is a picture after taking of the shell.
One thing I noticed on the inside was the strange way the wires are done for the front and rear lights. There is simply a thin copper wire without any insulation laying on top of the circuit board as shown in the bellow picture. This looks the same in both ends.
I find this wireing quite suspicious. Could be that they are this way from the factory, but I find hard to belive that a manefacturer of model trains would do wireing like this. I am tempted to replace these wires with properly insulated ones, but I will leave them like this for the time being as there might be a reason for having them without insulation that I am not aware of.
Let's have a look at one of the components that I was interested in having a closer look on. That component is the speaker because of the strange sound. It is not possible to screw out the speaker without first screwing out the four screws holding the circuit board into place. Those four screws can be screwed loose using a PH1 screwdriver. Bellow is a picture after detaching the circuit board. Note that I have pulled out the connector leading to the speaker.
The speaker can then be detached by unscrewing two screws. Both of them can be unscrewed with a PH000 screwdriver. Bellow is a picture of the speaker after It has been detached from the chassis.
There is definetley a dent in the membrane, just like my model railraod friend thought. Such a dent will surely cause unwanted noise. I did try to use a paper clip, vacum cleaner and straw to straighten out the bend without any luck. The noise isn't bothering for me though, but it would defientley be nice to have a speaker without damage. Preferably a speaker with better bass. I do actually have a speaker in my EL11 thats not in use (that model do not have a sound decoder), but that speaker is a 24 mm one and will therefor not fit in the CD 312 which needs a 28 mm speaker. I might buy a new speaker at a later time, but I will leave it as is for the time being.
Final thoughts
This model looks nice in terms of quality, but it does unfortunately have a few issues. The two most annoying issues are the snowplows that sometimes fell off and the bad current pickup. The other issues are minor and therefor something that can be safely ignored. I do in no way regret this purchase, even though it has some issues. I did buy it as a used model, which means that I hopefully paid less for it than what it would have costed as a new model. The price I paid for it was definetley lower than what you pay for similar models today.
Superspeed500 2025