fall inside a hole
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Tomy Super Rail
In the early 1970s Tomy decided to develop a larger intermediate train toy to fill the position between Plarail and something like a traditional model railway, and Super Rail (スーパーレール) appeared in 1972. The saying used to be that "when you graduate from Plarail, its Super Rail." A range of different track, trains, accessories, and sets were released. Trains had reversing gearboxes and more advanced types could uncouple cars and change speeds. In the mid 1970s the series was renamed "Super Rail Black" before returning to the original Super Rail name in the later 1980s with sets remaining in production into the early 1990s. Some trains and accessories were discontinued in the later 1980s although they could still be found on store shelves. The series continued to get new sets throughout the late 1980s with the last new set appearing in 1991, almost 20 years after the system first appeared. The larger size and advanced features kept the series going longer than other 1970s train toys like Mini Mini Rail and My Rail, which were displaced more heavily by the rise in popularity of N scale model trains in Japan in the 1970s.
The series was exported to the United States in the mid 1970s as Switch-A-Rail and to Spain by Geyper, both with a few exclusive sets and trains. In Brazil a range of different sizes of sets were released by Estrela as Ferrorama starting around 1979, getting new sets into the later 1990s and a reissue of one of the smaller sets in the early 2010s.
Sets
Super Rail sets ranged from fairly small basic sets with two or three-piece trains and small track layouts to an absolutely massive multi-train set with elevation. The initial sets with grey rails varied in size and were replaced by the cheaper Super Rail Black sets in the later 1970s, with some larger sets appearing again in the later 1980s with the rise of the bubble and the return to the Super Rail name
Early Super Rail sets (1972-1974)
The early Super Rail sets used the larger radius curved and primarily two-speed trains, with even the small sets being rather luxurious - the high price of many sets and trains led to the development of cheaper locomotives and eventually the Super Rail Black range.
Super Rail Black sets (1975-1985)
In 1975 the Super Rail Black series of sets replaced the earlier large sets with new black track and more trains and cars. During this era many trains gained light and other features.
| Year | Set name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | ED-75 Set | Early Super Rail Black set with reversing, two-speed ED75 locomotive and coupling and uncoupling freight cars |
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| 1976 | Limited Express Tsubame Set | Oval with reversing track and 151 series Tsubame limited express train |
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| 1978 | D-51 with Headlight Set | D-51 steam locomotive with oval and siding with automatic coupling and uncoupling feature |
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| 1980 | Hikari with Headlights Set | Small oval set with 0 series Hikari train with lit headlights |
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| 1980 | Kuha 481 Series with Headlights L Express Set | Large oval with lit 481 series L Limited Express train |
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| 1982 | Tohoku Joetsu Shinkansen with Headlights Set | Big oval set with new large 200 series Shinkansen and tunnel |
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Later Super Rail sets (1986-1991)
Around the time of the introduction of the new 100 series Shinkansen in the mid 1980s the packaging style changed to a white stripe design similar to the Tomix set boxes of the time, with some larger sets appearing during this era.
| Year | Set name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Tokaido Sanyo New Shinkansen Set | Basic oval set with 100 series "New Shinkansen" |
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Trains
Super Rail trains are larger than Plarail or common wooden-type trains, and are closer to the size of HO-scale trains. They are made of plastic with reversing gearboxes, with some trains also being able to change speed, with actions controllable by different controllable track sections or static triggers that can be clipped into the rail. All trains have at least a simple reversing gearbox, and the two-speed trains have mechanical speed-changing gearboxes and electrical or mechanical reversers. Because of the momentum of the big trains with C batteries running them, they slow down and reverse nicely after getting triggered to switch direction. Some track sections can even stop a train by holding it in neutral.
Lots of trains run on two axles per car but some 1980s trains have two four-wheel bogies with four-wheel drive on the rear one. Some of the large locomotives like the DD-51 and EF-66 even have three bogies - the later EF-66s have two speeds, headlights, and a whistle as well! Many of the 1980s range of bogied trains with headlights stayed on sale into the later 1980s after new toolings had stopped being developed.
Locomotives and Trains
| Year | Name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | D-51 Steam Locomotive | The initial Super Rail train, a two-speed D-51 steam locomotive | |
| Later 1972 | ED-75 Electric Locomotive | Red two-speed ED-75 locomotive used in several original Super Rail sets |
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| ~1974 | DD-20 Diesel Engine | The first of the small cost-reduced locomotives, the single-speed DD-20 | |
| 1975 | D-51 Steam Locomotive | Cost-reduced single-speed D-51 steam locomotive for Super Rail Black | |
| 1975 | Hikari Shinkansen | Hikari 0 series Shinkansen with intermediate-car-drive | |
| 1976 | Limited Express Tsubame | 151 series Tsubame limited express train |
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| 1976 | 111 Tokai-type Express Train | Green and orange Tokai-type 113 series commuter train | |
| 1976 | Klaus-type Steam Engine | Another of the very cheap trains, the small steam locomotive Klaus | |
| 1978 | D-51 Steam Locomotive with Headlights | D-51 revised to include a working headlight | |
| 1979 | EF-66 Electric Locomotive | New two-speed EF-66 locomotive | |
| 1980 | DD-51 Diesel Locomotive with Headlights | Nice large DD-51 diesel with headlights | |
| 1980 | L Limited Express Kuha 481 Series with Headlights | Bogied 481 series L Limited Express train with lights |
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| 1980 | Hikari Shinkansen with Headlights | 0 series Hikari with added headlight feature |
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| 1980 | Tsubame Express with Headlights | 151 series Tsubame rereleased with headlights | |
| 1980 | JNR 111 Series Train with Headlights | Tokai-type train with headlights | |
| EF-66 Electric Locomotive with Headlights and Whistle | New version of the EF-66 with headlights and a triggerable whistle | ||
| 1981 | Tohoku Joetsu Shinkansen with Headlights | 200 series Shinkansen with nice long bogied cars and headlights |
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| 1982 | Tokaido Shinkansen Hikari with Headlights | Blue and white 0 series version of the nice long detailed 200 series tooling | |
| 1982 | Sleeper Express Train with Headlights | 583 series Sleeper Express train based on the 481 series tooling | |
| 1986 | Tokaido Sanyo New Shinkansen | 100 series Shinkansen in smaller two-axle style | |
| 1986 | Shuppo D-51 Steam Locomotive with Headlights | D-51 with headlights and chuffing noisemaker in the tender | |
| Yamabiko Shinkansen | Smaller two-axle 200 series |
Freight and Passenger Cars
The initial D-51 sets contained two-axle freight cars to show off the spring-assisted automatic coupling and uncoupling gimmick, and with later sets came two-bogie cars that could also be coupled and uncoupled. New types and color variations of freight and passenger cars continued to be produced as time went on.
| Year | Name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Covered Freight Car | WHAM 80000-style box van first sold in brown and later also white, and green |
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| 1972 | Tank Car | TAKI 45000 series tanker car sold in three colors |
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| Later 1972 | Passenger Car Suha 43 | The first Super Rail coach, an older Suha 43 series | |
| Uncovered Car | Open bolster wagon type car sold in three colors but most commonly black | ||
| Conductor's Van YO 6000 | YO 6000 series brake van | ||
| Container Transport Vehicle Koki 5000 | Long flatbed car that can hold five containers | ||
| Car Transport Ku 5000 | Double-decker car carrier | ||
| 1976 | Tsubame Express Intermediate Car | Tsubame Limited Express middle car | |
| 1976 | 111 Series Train Intermediate Car | Individual release intermediate Tokai-type car | |
| 1979 | Hopper Car Hoki 2200 | Cream hopper car | |
| 1979 | Uncovered Car Toki 21100 | Toki 21100 open car with pipe load | |
| 1979 | Sleeper Car Ohanfu 25 | Blue Train-style sleeper coach | |
| 1980 | Passenger Car Oha 50 | Red cars also sold in a set with the DD-51 | |
| Freight Car Set | A five-pack freight car set with variations of regular individual release cars |
Rail and Accessories
Older early 1970s Super Rail track was tannish grey while Super Rail Black series track was black with silver-painted rail surfaces. Three radii of curve and different point rails were produced as well as an elevation system. More information about Super Rail track and accessories can be seen on the Super Rail rail page.
Catalogues
More Tomy catalogues can be seen on the Tomy Paperwork page.
| Title | Description | Cover |
|---|---|---|
| Tomy Super Rail Automatic Control System D-51 Steam Locomotive | 1972 leaflet included with the initial two sets explaining the functionality of the system |
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| Tomy Super Rail | Later 1978 Super Rail Black catalogue |
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| Tomy Super Rail Catalogue | 1982 Tomy Super Rail catalogue, with the later, larger bogied trains |
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| Plarail Super Rail/Action Rail '90 Catalogue | 1990 catalogue showing Plarail, the remaining Super Rail range, and a few other Tomy toys |
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One of the Super Rail sets I purchased on the Japanese auction sites included some pictures from seemingly the late 1970s or early 1980s of a child's Super Rail setups. I think they are an interesting time capsule of the way Super Rail was really played with, so scans of the photographs can be seen here.