And now for something a little bit different. As may have been hinted elsewhere on this site, I am not only a canadian west armchair modeler in transition, but also a huge fan of Sweden. So naturally, I am also interested in swedish railroading, especially around the area I used to spend most of my childhood summers: Småland.
Inspired by Småland, I already offered some modeling regarding the Smålspåret between Växjö and Västervik, by modeling some Statens Järvägar narrow gauge equipment. So sometime the itch gets me and Iam thinking about doing something about it. I noticed, there is rarely any decent 3D printable swedish rolling stock on the Internet, at least not where I looked. There are two commercially available T44 locomotives made by Märklin/Trix in Germany and by Jeco in Sweden, both out of production (or sold out). There is no Td locomotive made, that I know of. So that will be my main focus here. Eventually I plan to do both. But what’s the difference?
SJ T44 vs Green Cargo Td/TdE
Basically the Td is a modernized T44, produced from a T44 locomotive between 2009 and 2012. I will try to compare the engines from a modellers point of view, stating obvious spotting features and pointing out details I noticed.
But beware, I am by no means any expert on these locomotives, I never enjoyed a cab ride and I only encountered a few, when I was in Sweden. I am also not a typical railfan, so you won’t see me hunting trains anytime soon. I just enjoy modeling and all the techniques that support the hobby. Thus I do my own STL files for 3D printing. As usual, if there’s any interest in what I do, contact me and talk to me, please. I’m not giving away STL files for free (these are a lot of work), but I might consider offering 3D printed models through commercial services (at least, if I’d be able to produce them at a reasonable price comparable to Jeco AB’s shell for example – maybe as a replacement).
| SJ T44 | Green Cargo Td / TdE | Notes | |
| Manufacturer | NOHAB and KVAB | NOHAB, KVAB, rebuild by Bombardier | |
| Numbering | Statens Järnvägar (SJ) 259–283, 314–323, 329–416 total 123 units | Green Cargo (GC) Td : 353, 371-376, 378-394, 396-416 total 45 units TdE : 354-365, 367-369, 377, 395 total 17 units | |
| Wheel arrangement | Bo’Bo‘ | Bo’Bo‘ | |
| Gauge | 1435 mm | 1435 mm | Standard gauge |
| Length (bumpers) | 15400 mm | 15400 mm | |
| Empty mass | 76 tons | 76 tons | |
| Tractive effort | 220 kN | 220 kn | |
| Power | 1235 kW | 1350 kW | |
| Prime mover | GM EMD 12-645E | MTU RV 4000 R43 | |
| Traction motors | 4x EMD D77 | 4x EMD D77 | |
| Speed | 100 km/h | 100 km/h | |
| Wheel diameter | 1030 mm | 1030 mm | |
| Built / Rebuilt | 1968–1987 | 2009-2012 | |
| Type | Diesel-electric | Diesel-electric | |
| Cab detail | Wheel controls and analog instruments | Lever style controls and MFD stle electronic instruments |
Spotting Features T44 vs Td/TdE
Spotting Features on the Td are Xenon Headlights with much smaller lenses. The exhaust stack is located free standing on the long hood, offset from cab, while it used to be mounted to the shorthod, attached to the cab on the T44, there is a small radiator box (speaker?, aircondition unit?) set at the location of the former exhaust stack on rear cab, above the short hood instead of front the front.
The small cabinets on both sides of the cab on T44s are gone on most Td units (Td396 seems to be an exception). There is MU-Unit stand on rear/front platforms (maybe only on radio-controlled TdR units).
Additional Vent openings on Long hood (a small vertical one right in front of cab and two small ones above and set one panel backwards from large front vent (see through), as well as another small vertical set of louvers right behind the two openings on the long hood (vs only one set of two vertical vents on left long hood on T44).
Internal cab: modern lever run level selector (vs wheel on T44). Large MFD on Td vs analog instruments on T44.
There is more: The Td features a single horn on long hood pointing forward instead of a cab mounted horn pointing downward. There is a destinctive bulge on the short hood of the Td, as well as an antenna on the cab roof.
There are caged orange strobes on the inside of each platform steps on both types
Modeling – 3D Construction – 3D printable model
Obviously I’ve only started, so expect there to be some progress, sometime, somewhere on this site 😉