fall inside a hole
Chug-A-Log Choo Choo (1975)
Originally written November 12, 2023
The Chug-A-Log Choo-Choo was seemingly the first of the "Playrail" series of sets and, based on trademark filings, was released sometime in early to mid 1975. The name incorporates some American train onomatopoeia. Unlike later Playrail sets, the Chug A Log Choo Choo set was not based on an existing Plarail set nor a Plarail Land set, although it contains pieces used in regular Plarail sets. The set features the period log-loading station gimmick pieces and a D51, log car, and tank car. Like some other Plarail export sets from the 1970s, the track layout is not actually what is in the box, although in this case the contents are actually probably more impressive than the box implies.
I found a boxed copy of this rather hard to find set in an eBay listing with three other Playrail sets of the "Merry-Go" variety. In addition to a boxed copy of the set, I have a second example of the D51 with Tomy sticker included in the set.
Set contents
|
Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 3
pieces |
"Tomy"
D51 with log car and Shell tanker |
 |
| 5 | 90 Degree Curve Rail (slight molding mark variations) |
 |
| 2 |
Straight Rail (seemingly unique hard plastic variant) |
 |
| 2 pieces | Turnout Rail (one pair, odd plastic mix) |
 |
| 2 pieces | Log loader |
 |
| 4 pieces | Log unloader and corral |
 |
| 2 | Logs |
 |
The D51 in this set pulls a period Shell tanker and the log car matching the Plarail log loader and depot. The D51 is of period construction with metal crank pins and an all-metal old power gearbox with clicking "chuffer." Instead of a D51 sticker on the cab, a red and yellow TOMY sticker is affixed. This sticker is longer than the original D51 sticker and overhangs the molded frame intended to border it. There is no sticker on the smokebox. When I received it, the chassis for this D51 was in three pieces and had already been glued together once at some point in the past. The rubber components also needed replacing, including the traction tires on the early wheels which are thinner than later examples.
I also have another D51 that originated in one of these sets. This D51 was purchased individually in April 2021 and was the first time I had seen any components from this set for sale. The front power switch is loose and I used some tin foil to aid in its proper operation, as well as replacing part of the deteriorating power switch mechanism. I had previously learned of the set's existence from this blog page, which is also basically the only other place I have seen a copy of this set at all. The individual D51 seems to be of an older make. It uses the lighter more "milky" plastic siderods as well as the rougher rear coupler. The molding is actually dated 1975 at the front, while the presumably later one is not. The earlier molding also seems to be somewhat rougher in general. My guess is that early on Tomy was using an early 1970s D51 tooling to produce engines for this set and added the 1975 date marking to the molding but eventually moved over to using a newer tooling on the fresher D51 - I would be interested in closely comparing these D51s with some 1970s Japan-issue D51s, but I currently only have an earlier 1970s D51 and several 1980s and 1990s D51s. The body shells for the D51s have their Made in Japan text and molding slot number marked on flipped and mirrored parts of the body shell, but this may have been a difference between slots in a larger mold that could make multiple shells at once and is not necessarily indicative of a fresh mold by itself.
The freight cars are 1970s moldings with more fragile axle holders and an older style of coupling. I believe this was around the time these features were updated in the Plarail range, although I do not know exactly when this transition occurred. Although the picture on the box actually shows two Shell stickers on the side of the tanker, the one I have only has one per side. Unlike the Plarail version of this tanker where the stickers are used to cover the screwholes, this tanker can be taken apart without disturbing the stickers as they are left uncovered. Chassis and logs are marked Japan.
The track in this set is somewhat odd. The 90 Degree Curve Rail first appeared in Plarail sets around 1974 and were apparently made of a harder plastic mix, as are the ones in this set. They have "A" and "B" molding marks. The rest of the rails are similarly made of this harder mix. The turnout rails are the closest to normal Plarail, and have molding markings matching turnouts of the era. The straight rails are also stiff plastic. It does not seem to be brittle, although it would certainly not survive anywhere near the amount of bend that you can put into a modern Plarail. These straight rails also have molding slot marks. The roughtop tread on these rails seems to be somewhat "muted" versus later roughtop rails, with 1975 being fairly early after most rails began having roughtop tread in 1974.
The log loader is the same style used in the handful of Plarail sets that used this gimmick. The log car has a protruding catch that hits the orange lever in the loader base which shifts the log dispenser back to release a log into the passing car.
25% speed
The base of the dumper and corral has a curved lip that engages with the log car tipper and tilts it over. The molding for the base still includes molding features for where the roof over the dropoff was installed on some other releases of this accessory. A three-piece fence holds tipped logs in. One of the side pieces as well as the rear piece of the fence in my set are missing the connecting joint. The rear section slots down into the side pieces which sit inside the base. At some point I will 3D model these pieces and 3D print some replicas (and make the files available here).
The log loader and unloader together create a cycle where the train picks up and drops off the log loads, as shown here on the smaller rectangular layout shown on the cover of the box. Two logs seems a little too few to make this fun for more than a few laps, I think one or two additional logs would make the set more fun.
The larger oval with passing loop layout is more interesting and the train can be diverted from its normal path. As set up here if the train ran around the smaller oval it would overload the log car, so setting the passing loop to skip the loader and revisit the dump makes more sense.
This is certainly the coolest and most interesting Playrail set to me. The other Plarail Land "Merry-Go" sets are interesting but are clearly aimed at a younger audience and the gimmicks, while interesting, are not really train related. The Plarail log loader and dumper, on the other hand, is a cool train-related concept that roughly emulates real train operation, and it is pretty cool. I also like the D51 with Tomy sticker as well as the old rolling stock with early moldings.