fall inside a hole

Tomy Train 1 (1988)

Originally written April 19, 2024
Updated Spring 2026

Tomy Train 1 is one of the initial American and European release Tomy Train sets and includes a red steam train with passenger and freight car, tunnel, and passing loop layout with a small station. I do not have an original copy of the set but all of its components were sold elsewhere. This set was first sold in Europe in TOMYTRAIN packaging and in America in Tomy Trains packaging in 1988, with a new TOMY TRAIN box appearing around 1992.

Set contents

Quantity	Item	Photo
10 pieces	Red #12 steam locomotive with red coach, yellow well wagon, and caboose
2 pieces	Driver and passenger figures
2	Logs
1	Half Straight Rail
6	Curve Rail
1	Stop Rail
1	Reverse Rail
2 pieces	Turnout Rail (1 pair)
1	Banked Curve
2 pieces	Tunnel
5 pieces	Train Station
3 pieces	Fir Tree
1	Stop Sign

Tomy Train 1 includes a red #12 steam locomotive, open top passenger car, hopper wagon with logs, and red caboose. I quite like this little train in any of its configurations, particularly with the all-red passenger train. The train shown here is representative of a later Tomy Train 1 without studs in the engine's cab or the caboose roof.

Included in the set is the original Tomy Train Station with seats and sign. The tunnel in the set is the standard Tomy Train tunnel.

The standard blue driver and the female passenger figure are included in this set. Early copies would have lacked magnets in the feet, but I am not sure if later copies would have had them present... The female figure was also made with pink legs instead of white around 1991, but I am not sure if this was included in all sets made around that time.

The track layout is the fairly common "Basic No. 2" oval with passing inner siding. Sprucing it up slightly is the neat banked elevated curve rail and the signature controllable reversing rail.

The initial American release Tomy Train sets used this adapted European TOMYTRAIN leaflet. Some European releases come with individual instructions.

Note the lack of 1308 Station - I forgot to place one on the set before taking the video. Even as a small set it comes with two figures, several train cars that come apart, both a stop rail and return rail, two turnouts... although there is not a ton you can do without more track, it offers some good starter pieces, and there is enough to play with the reversing feature as well as a stop rail for stopping at the station.

In 1991 the American Tomy Train No. 1 set was replaced by the Tunnel Train set and eventually the Tunnel Sound Train Set in 1993. In Europe Tomy Train 1 remained on sale until the end of the regular European range around 1995.

Set name	Tomy Train 1	Release period	1988-1991, North America 1988-1995, Europe
Vehicle rating		Track rating
Accessory rating		Overall
Notes:		More photos	tt_tomytrain_1

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