fall inside a hole
Super Rail Black D51 with Headlight Set
Originally written August 29, 2024
The D51 steam locomotive is a classic Japanese steam locomotive and was one of two steam locomotives developed for Super Rail, originally in the 1970s. This D51 with Headlight Set (前照灯付 D-51 セット) was first released around 1978, replacing the older Super Rail Black D-51 Set which was similar but without the light fit to the engine. This set includes an oval of track with a controllable reversing section and a turnout rail with uncoupling track. This seems to have been a fairly common Super Rail Black set and it can pretty regularly still be found for sale in Japanese auctions.
I have two copies of this set, one marked N-27 and thus printed in 1978 or early 1979, with the second one marked N-28 and thus produced in 1979 or early 1980. A few things changed on the box including the intended age mark on the cover.
Set contents
| Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 3
pieces |
D51 with headlight and WHAM 80000 van |
|
| 4 | Straight Rail |
 |
| 3 | 1/2 Straight Rail |
 |
| 8 | C Curve Rail |
 |
| 1 | B Turnout (right) |
 |
| 1 | Return Control Rail |
 |
| 1 | Uncoupling Rail |
 |
| 4 | Line Catenary |
 |
| 1 | Semaphore Signal |
 |
| 1 | Buffers |
 |
| 2 | Reversing insert |
 |
The train in this set is a D-51 steam locomotive with functioning headlight and reversing gearbox. The tender has a pin-and-hole drawbar connecting it to the engine and a spring rigged to the rear coupling. This is used for the automatic uncoupling feature. The main engine takes two C batteries, with metal contacts in the upper body shell powering the lamp at the front.
The set includes one van, a brown WHAM 80000 type, with the spring-loaded couplings required for the coupling and uncoupling gimmick. The doors on each side of the van can be slid open and closed. Some Super Rail trains like the early 0 series used pin-and-hole couplings between the carriages, but freight cars and many other and later trains used this style, with freight cars having the spring loaded mechanism.
The main gimmick of this set is centered around the automatic coupling and uncoupling feature, so there is a turnout to make a siding for the shunting operations to happen on and the automatic uncoupling rail. The rail can be set to couple and uncouple on a cycle or set to just let trains pass, with a return section further town to return the incoming train in either case. The Return Control Track is a half-straight-long section that includes two levers that, when flipped, will reverse a train that enters the rail from the side the lever is on.
The overhead line wire frames used here have cool toolings and the signal has a semaphore arm and ladder around the back leading up. The buffer piece for the end of the siding is also very cool.
My older copy of the set included a worn out copy of the instructions that seem to have gotten some battery leakage or other liquid on them at some point... here they are anyways. Also included was a circa 1978 Super Rail Black catalogue.
The main feature of this set is the reversing siding where the D51 can pick up and drop off freight cars. The reversing track changes back and forth between letting the train pick up any carriages in the siding and leave or uncoupling the front car from the engine as it heads back out. I think with fresh traction tires it might flip around a little faster, but to be honest with the weight of two C batteries behind it every time it hits one of the reversers I think the wheel slip and sense of momentum is really neat, and the D51 runs quickly around the little set.
Click for video with sound!
Only shunting one car seems a little funny, but that's okay because I have two sets! Many of the Super Rail Black series sets were not as complex as the earlier Super Rail sets, where an old D51 set came with two freight cars, two concentric loops, and a larger five-function control track, and another came with a loop with bridge and longer siding... The smaller, later sets certainly helped keep costs down, and it does seem like the Super Rail Black sets are a little more common as a result, but the older sets are very luxurious.