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B/O Tomica New Town Station Set (1996)

Originally written May 24, 2024


The B/O Tomica New Town Station Set (ニュータウン駅セット) was released in August 1996 and features a very cool station with elevated train line and multi-lane road pickup and drop off area as well as a Plarail train and B/O Tomica bus. The set was rereleased in new Motor Tomica packaging in 1997 with some changes when the range was renamed.


As the red box and B/O Tomica banners imply, this was primarily sold as a Battery Operated Tomica set.

Set contents
Quantity
Item
Photo
2 pieces
Tomica Express (Huis Ten Bosch livery 485 series)
1 Sea World Bus
3 R-01 Straight Rail
2 R-02 Half Straight Rail
20 pieces R-18 Slope Curve Rail (four of each A and B slope curves and 12 mini block piers)
1 D-01 Straight Road
3 D-02 1/2 Straight Road  
4 D-03 Curve Road
20 pieces Station
1 "N" Battery  

The train in this set is the B/O Tomica World Tomica Express which is based on the Kirishima & Hyuuga Huis Ten Bosch livery 485 series with cool block colors. The headmark is a "Tomica Railway" mark and there are even colored stickers on the rear of the cars.

The bus in this set is decorated for Sea World but rather than the American theme park this appears to be a stand-in for the real Huis Ten Bosch or House in the Forest, a Netherlands-themed theme park which is served by Huis Ten Bosh Station. Parts of the station are also marked for Sea World. This is a fairly late Japanese production Motor Tomica, dating to July 1996 when almost all Tomica and Plarail production had moved to Thailand or China. I believe the 1997 Motor Tomica version of the set would have come with a China-made bus.

The New Town Station in this set is made up of 20 pieces (two of which I am missing - there should be an additional thin yellow sign and red bench) which come together to make a very cool operational station. The upper level has a train stopper that links down to the left lane of the lower dropoff/pickup area and a stopped train will release any stopped vehicles and then itself after a small time of waiting at the station. A button near the road can also release a stopped car. The middle lane of the road had a stopper and rollers that link into the orange sign in the lower left, rotating it around. The right path has a stopper with stop and go controls. The station is well-detailed with stairs up and down, signs, benches, and tons of stickers. It is produced in China.

The straight rails in this and the later versions of the set are oddly roughtop rails that were produced in China. It seems Tomy was trialing production of some items in China in 1996 and ended up making Motor Tomica there but Plarail was not as widely-produced there. Curve slope rails are produced in Thailand and the B/O Tomica road is produced in Japan.

The different lanes of road present several different play options, letting the cars run right through or controlling the start and stop buttons directly or, admittedly my favorite, completely automatic operation where the bus and train loop around, with the train releasing the car and then itself.

Set name B/O Tomica New Town Station Set
ニュータウン駅セット
Release period 1996; 1997
Vehicle rating Track rating
Accessory rating Overall
Notes: Released as B/O Tomica in late 1996 and then again as Motor Tomica and Tomica Plarail World in 1997 Price 6980 yen (1997)
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