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Plarail Elevated Rail System (1999-)
In 1983 Tomy released a set commemorating the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen 20 years prior and introduced a new style of raised wide-radius curves with special piers with integrated track connectors. These pieces were reused in several sets released in 1997 but in 1998 Tomy developed a new more-modern style of elevated track with integrated side barriers for the modern Plarail system. In 1999 these track pieces were first released in the Elevated Rail Set
Elevated Rail Set (1999)
The first product to feature the new elevated rail sections was the 1999 Elevated Rail Set (高架レールセット). The box shows the range of the late 1990s new power era, with several Shinkansens joining new and old conventional line trains... The ST8 mark indicates the box was printed in 1998, when the track sections had already been finalized and passed toy safety requirements and had the production box design ready.
Set contents
| Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Elevated Straight Rail |
 |
| 8 | Elevated Curve Rail |
 |
| 12 | J-14 New Block Bridge Girder (grey) |
 |
| 12 | Overhead Wire Holders |
 |
This rail set includes a nice oval of the new elevated rail, which has PLARAL in its tooling like several other new Plarail toolings developed in the late 1990s.
The system looks rather nice, especially with multiple lines next to one another or with the J-16 City Station and other modern accessories that fit in with the bridge girder standard like the Shinkansen Station. An identical track pack set was released in the 2000s before the individual track released in 2008.
R-26 Elevated Straight Rail (2008)
In January 2008 an individual version of the elevated straight rail was released with two straight rail sections, two grey piers, and two wire holders as R-26 Elevated Straight Rail (R-26 高架直線レール).
R-27 Elevated Curve Rail (2008)
At the same time in January 2008 an individual version of the elevated curve rail was released with two curve rail sections, two grey piers, and two wire holders as R-27 Elevated Curve Rail (R-27 高架曲線レール).
A few Plarail sets include these track sections
| Year | Name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|