The Busy Freight Train Set was a 1996 Tomy Trains set released primarily in the U.K. but with translated packaging for other European territories. The Tomy Trains rebrand featured some oddities and variants and this set features cool variants of the crane, log loader, container car, and several other Tomy Train pieces. The train also includes the log tipper car and Santa Fe locomotive.
This series of boxes had many different panels showing the different play features on each side. Unfortunately, these restickered Tomy Trains sets do not seem to have performed that well, and these sets went out of production in 1996.
Set contentsQuantity |
Item |
Photo |
---|---|---|
7 pieces |
"Amtrak" diesel locomotive with log tipper car, two logs, and
container car |
|
1 | Log truck | |
3 pieces | Driver and two worker figures | |
2 | Straight Rail | |
3 | Half Straight Rail | |
12 | Curve Rail | |
2 | Stop Rail | |
1 | Reverse Rail | |
2 pieces | Turnout Rail (one pair) | |
3 pieces | Adaptor Track (two double convex, one double concave) | |
1 | Y-Shaped Point (R) | |
1 | Automatic Reverse Rail | |
1 | Buffer | |
14 pieces | Freight Station (set variant) | |
1 | Log Depot (set variant) | |
3 pieces | Crane (set variant) |
The train in this set is a short logging train with a red and silver Santa Fe-style diesel, tipper wagon, and flatbed with blue container with set-exclusive sticker variants. This set (and the other later Tomy Trains sets) are chock full of variants, like this alternate log tipper truck and white and red shirted worker.
The two main destinations, the Crane and the Freight Station and Depot, are also recolored or restickered variants. The freight station also has dark blue ramps, and the one in my set came with all-red seats and railings, which may or may not be correct. The log truck has unfortunately had its push-n-go style drive removed, although the driver's seat is still spring-loaded if you push down on it.
Additionally, the base for the station in my copy, bought from the U.K. in 2021, is completely hollow and lacks the magnetic mechanism to move the figures around. Additionally, neither of the two surviving of the three original figures have magnets in their feet. I looked around online and it seemed like there was a version of this set with the levers in the base but I do not know if those versions came with magnetic figures or not, but it doesn't look like this one ever had the mechanism installed - there are no remnants of threads cut inside the plastic screw supports for the usual bottom cover. The lack of magnetic feet also means that the chute's magnetic override switch to drop a log even when set to off if a figure was present cannot be activated unless a figure with magnet feet from another set is used.
Relatively uncommon for Tomy Train sets is the use of joint rails or adaptor track as they were called for Tomy Train. Being based on the old odd-length Plarail type, they fit in oddly and with age do not sit well. The requirement for one joint rail comes from the use of a Y-shaped point which also acts as a joint rail on one of its branches. Two more joint rails are needed to approximate the length of a full straight (half straight reverser track + 3 ~1/6 straight joint rails).
This set comes with a folded instruction sheet that mostly seem to be showing you were to put on all the stickers. Yes, you had to put on all the stickers - even the locomotive sticker! Check out the almost-completely-used sticker sheet below.
I think 24 stickers is probably about the most stickers I would want to put on a toy. The sticker that's left, #19, is the log truck's tail lights.
There are some aspects of this set - mostly the recolored crane, to be honest - that I really like. It comes with arguably the two coolest Tomy Train operating freight accessories, and what more could you really ask for from a late-era freight set? The track layout is a little empty feeling, especially without any trees or signs like older sets, but I do like the loop concept and appreciate the nice long siding to pick up trains in. As always, of course, you can move the destinations around and change the track plan if wanted.
The Tomy Trains series is cool for its use of one-off set variants and some exclusive pieces, but was unfortunately the end of the regular Tomytrain series. After the Fun Day, Busy Freight, and Your Town sets went out of print in 1996 the only Tomy Train sets that continued production were late Singapore-era Thomas the Tank Engine sets.