In light of recent discussion in another place, I've just put together this little item.

The original 3-way Automatic Point Rail has been around since 1978, when it was released in its own Automatic Point Set along with the 583 series Sleeper Limited Express.

  

 

 

So, where's the awesome developed main layout my new bedroom was supposed to have?

Well, a long chain of annoying and unfortunately nessecary delays, along with work, University and some recent health issues making me too tired to do anything of any substance has pretty much nixed development on that for the foreseeable future :/

But if you thought that would stop me from making a couple of temporary lounge circles when I felt like it, then you're wrong ;)

The last couple were built for a cousin's little boy, when he came over, and I'm pleased to report we have a new Plarail and classic-era Thomas (no AEG here :D) convert lol 🤣 PlarailMan Jr. perhaps?

Maybe a little young to jump on BPT yet, but he's getting a nice little selection of Plarail Thomas from 'Uncle Plarail' this year for Christmas :)(incidentally, his dad was very impressed to hear that what he knew as Tomica World was very much alive and well, with an extensive collectors community)

But, for privacy's sake (and the fact I couldn't part him from the layouts long enough to get clean pictures) I can't really post pictures of those layouts on here.

But the one I built today in my lounge, for me exclusive ly? Let's go! I decided on classic Japanese stock for today, so steam, classic electric and the 100 Series 'shark-nose' Shinkansen.




















Incidentally, while I'm here, let's talk about the Southward containers from AliExpress - These are absolutely superb!

Take that for what it's worth, because of course they aren't exactly TOMY quality, but for the price point and the level of detailing, plus giving the option for using Western/European style shipping containers on a Plarail layout as a nice alternative to the stock JR style containers that TOMY make, they're brilliant.

No issues with the running either, the wheels turn smoothly and they get around bends and under tunnels and pillars with no trouble at all - If it wasn't for the slightly cheaper feeling plastic, you could truly convince me these were a TOMY design, as evidently Southward have done their homework to make these generally Plarail compatible.

Finally, I think they make a great partner to the Plarail EF66 especially, as the EF66 design was exported to Spain to run with RENFE (Spanish National Railways), where it would have hauled, you guessed it, European style containers!

Maybe there's a neat idea for any of you customisers out there, converting an EF66 to a RENFE 251 Series, with a train of Southward containers for the most authentic rolling stock :)

Is there any plarail talking engines that speaks English except talk'n'action ones?

I have been thinking lately about why Plarail produced trains for the Japanese Market with English on them.
Now you might say that it is because on the TV shows they have English on the engines so you have to produce them with the English so kids can Identify them.
I like this way of thinking, but what about Hiro?  He was a Japanese engine who was shipped over to Sodor to work the railway.
Should he at least have his name in Japanese on there?
Doesn't a Japanese produced toy made for the Japanese market and of a Japanese engine at least get he right to have his name in Japanese on the engine, even if the English is there also?

28/09/2022

The Back & Go Thomas and The talk 'n' action Thomas. You may be wondering what these two have in common. But first a little bit of history on both:

1.The Back & Go Thomas was exclusive to the 2011 set, Back and Go! Thomas Misty Island Set. While the original prototype featured a updated face, the final one had an original molded one.
https://thomasmotorized.fandom.com/wiki/...Island_Set

2.The talk 'n' action Thomas was first released in 2000 (Japan) and featured in a few sets.
https://thomasmotorized.fandom.com/wiki/...ail_Thomas

Now back to how I made the discovery

This morning I was just looking through some tomy items on eBay. On of these was a TNA Thomas, and I noticed something about it, that I never noticed before, the coal was lifted. At first II thought it was interesting as my back and go Thomas also had raised coal, and then it hit me (no, the back & go Thomas didn't fall of the shelf and hit me in the head).But before I could be sure that my theory was true I needed to check the back & go Thomas' shell.

I remembered something about it since I first put in a battery, in the top of the body, a small circular shape could be spotted.


             


   

a quick check with my TNA Toby showed that the speaker could fit in it (PS: I don't own a TNA Thomas, but if someone could provide images of the inside of the body, that would be great!). I then tried looking for more clues, and then, I spotted something else(I always thought that the fact that the switch hole was much shorter than on other engines). I noticed the part where the mold had been changed for this Thomas, and when compared to the TNA Toby switch hole it was clear that before the mold change they would have been the same size.







This confirms to me at least 99.99% that the body is used from the TNA Thomas, just modified



As a quick side note here's the way the direction changes are done:

I have found numerous sources for blue train track but am looking for a source for the grey road track for the motorized vehicles.  Any help would be appreciated.  I am a new member here and just starting to get into this new hobby. I am already hooked.

Tomica Town Christmas DX Set with Santa Claus & Reindeer Bus

Who could resist a Scary Santa Pla-kid?

im new to this whole plarail collecting shindig, and just wanted to ask around and thought this forum would be helpful, where does one find the best prices for plarail/trackmaster on the market besides ebay and its gut wrenching prices.

A listing of Taiwan limited release Plarail.

Most of the text on the boxes is in Traditional Chinese. In most cases the characters are the same as those used in Japan, but there are some differences between Japanese (Kanji) and the Chinese (Hanzi) characters used in Taiwan. Simplified Japanese kana (Hiragana – ひらがな, and Katakana – カタカナ) are generally not used except for the logos – e.g. Plarail プラレール. One obvious difference is that on Japanese boxes ‘set’ is セット - ‘setto’, whereas on these it is 組 – ‘zǔ’.

Most boxes carry an English name and a Taiwan Chinese name, but in many examples one is not a translation of the other. Sometimes the Taiwanese name on one product can be the same as the English name on a different product, which can make things a bit confusing. So for each one I have given three names, the English, the Chinese characters, and a translation of the Chinese into English.

Items are listed in chronological order of release. A few items might possibly have been released one or two months earlier than the dates given, but I think they are pretty much correct.

Five different trains are represented, these will be described very briefly as they appear in the list.


(no English name)
TW-01 700T 台灣高鐵列車
TW-01 700T Taiwan High Speed Rail Train
Release date: June 2007.

The Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) 700T is based on the 700 Series Shinkansen, with the "T" referring to Taiwan. The trains were manufactured in Japan by Kawasaki, Nippon Sharyo, and Hitachi, and were the first Japanese Shinkansen trains to be exported. The TSHR came into service on January 5th 2007 and is still in service.

The numbering suggests that Tomy were planning a TW-series of Taiwanese models, but TW-01 is as far as it ever got. The Plarail 700 srs Shinkansen of the same era is shown for comparison.

]

What if during 2004, HiT Toy Company or TOMY made a game on the Nintendo DS where you could build your own TOMY layout, drive trains, play games to unlock new engines?

I tried making a mock-up of what the box art would look like. forgive me if it looks a bit bad, I don't really use my PC for editing.






What are your thoughts on this idea?