Product Numbering & Bar Code Verification of Phantom Plarail Sets

Melody Tohoku Joetsu Set is 1982, I will state it here because BigLobe Plarail Musuem made an error on stating that the production started at 1985.
TT-37 seems to exist, but since 1990 the system has changed. So I think TT-37 will be the last one in the TT-nn numbering. (Unconfirmed, will check later)

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We found the numbering systems for 1988 to 2019. This is the "ST n" numbering system.

How "ST n" works: The last two digits of the manufacturing year are the corresponding numbers. "ST 19" will be manufactured in 2019. And, 1988 = 8, 1989 = 9, 1990 = 0 or 90, 2000 = 0 or 00 ...

The weakness of this system is that every tenth of a year is omitted unless you scan that barcode and JAN number to find out the year.


L Limited Express Rail Road Crossing Set, 1988 Reprint is ST 8.

What we have for now: 「G-19 ... G-27」、「MS-28 ... MS-32」、「N-33 ... N-35」、「TT-36 ... TT-37 (unconfirmed)」、「ST 8 ... ST 19 / ST 0」
Actual years:                   1971 ... 1978            1979 ... 1983           1984 ... 1986          1987 ... 1988 (unconfirmed)           1988 ... 2019 / 2020
Kind of general era:   Early Hikari-Go Mark    Mid Hikari-Go Mark    Late Hikari-Go Mark            Red TOMY Logo           Red TOMY Logo to Blue TOMY Logo
                                Mid Hikari-Go Mark    Late Hikari-Go Mark   Winter Production Era       Logo changed                          Logo changed

The reason why there are 2 eras in a stretch of the years is because as said previously: Basic No. 3 Set (1977) is a yellow box and has the Mid Hikari-Go Mark.

Winter Production Era is where most of the scarce Plarail are released in one shot, like the Hankyu 6300, Relay Shinkansen, Family Travel Salon Car, etc...

This is the general guide on how to determine the era:


1st is Early, 2nd is Mid, 3rd is Late. If box does not have the logo on the front but has it on the sides, it is manufactured during Late era.