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Plarail Thomas the Tank Engine-series rolling stock

First written June 2024

Thomas the Tank Engine is the titular character of the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends T.V. show as well as a main character in the Railway Series books it is based on. In 1992 Tomy began releasing a series of Thomas Plarail trains, sets, and accessories. Throughout the decades since, Tomy has produced a wide variety of new toolings and variations for trucks, carriages, and other rolling stock.

Specific pages covering passenger cars and the Troublesome Trucks are also available.

Van (1993)

In 1993 the early 1970s Plarail box van was released in grey with the original Plarail Henry. Seemingly around or slightly ahead of the release of the Talking Henry in 2000 the stubby rolling stock chassis was updated with axleboxes and in the early 2000s trucks that used this chassis moved from having the "open" end of their axles hammered or pressed flat to hold the wheels on to having a metal "cap" at the open end of the axle which can be removed with a pinion puller.

This tooling was adapted by HiT Toys and later Fisher-Price for their TrackMaster series and released in a variety of colors.

Log Car (1993)

In 1993 the early 1970s Plarail log car was released in grey with three logs with the original Plarail Henry.

Although the Thomas-series version of these trucks were all produced in Thailand, the toolings having moved in the early 1990s, logs included with Japan-made Henrys in 1993 and 1994 have shorter logs, even though the trucks and logs in both versions were produced in Thailand. They have similar molding slot marks.

These log cars were first exported in the 1997 American Battery Operated Rail System as part of the Percy Accessory Set. This pack included Percy and the log car without logs.

Like other short-chassis rolling stock, the log car chassis gained axleboxes around 1999 and changed to using capped instead of hammered axles in the early 2000s, with a brief hammered axle with molded axleboxes transition period. The grey plastic was also slightly lighter in the 2000s.

The log car was also used in different colors for a few Thomas promotional items as well as being included with some regular three-pack releases like Stephen.

This tooling was adapted by HiT Toys and later Fisher-Price for their TrackMaster series and released in a variety of colors.

4863 Log Car (Motorized Road & Rail) (2004)

In 2004 individual log cars with three logs were sold in the United States in hanging plastic boxes.

Cattle car (1994)

In 1994 the Plarail livestock car was released in a nice brown and black color scheme with the Plarail James. This cattle car unfortunately does not have the pig and sheep inside like the late 1970s Plarail version but the doors still slide open and closed.

Like other rolling stock, the chassis tooling was updated with axleboxes in the early 2000s, with axles changing to the capped type seemingly at the same time.

In the 2010s some decorated variations of the cattle van were released in themed train packs. A nice orangey-brown van with white roof was included in the Thomas and Lots of Freight Cars Set, which is probably my favorite Thomas variation outside of the James version.

Brake van (1994)

Also included with Plarail James is a version of the fairly common Plarail guard's van or brake van, based on a JNR design. The original Plarail release has red wheels but the Thomas series version has grey wheels like other Thomas-series rolling stock.

Like the other short-chassis rolling stock, the chassis tooling was updated with axleboxes around 1999 and capped axles in the early 2000s.

Later on, HiT Toys and Mattel both used their TrackMaster versions of this brake van a lot as it was cheap and small.

Fuel Tanker (1995)

In 1995 the 1970s Plarail tank car was released in yellow with a black chassis with fuel stickers along with the Plarail Percy.

An unstickered example of this tanker, still in yellow, appears in the Thomas and Lots of Freight Cars Set. Oddly, this tanker reverts back to the style used up to the early 1990s where the tanker body is all-round instead of having a raised platform where the single sticker is located on the original Plarail versions. Because there is no sticker at all, the screws are exposed...

4864 Fuel Wagon (Motorized Road & Rail) (2004)

Starting in 2004 in the United States individual fuel tankers were sold in hanging plastic box packaging.

Sodor Mail Van (1995)

In 1995 the 1979 Plarail mail car was released in a brown Sodor Mail version with Plarail Percy.

Around late 1997 or early 1998 the Sodor Mail stickers on the right side of the truck started being applied backwards as Mail Sodor. This carried forward to all of the export releases.

Like other trucks, in the early 2000s the hammered-flat axles were replaced with more modern capped ones. The color of the car and roof also got lighter over time. Shown from left to right are an early Sodor Mail-stickered car with darker roof and body, early Mail Sodor car that still has the darker coloration, a later hammered-axle Mail Sodor car with slightly lighter roof, and a 2000s capped axle Mail Sodor car with lighter body and roof.

4868 Sodor Mail Car (Motorized Road & Rail) (2004)

In 2004 the Sodor Mail Car was released in individual plastic hanging packaging in the United States.

Troublesome Truck (1996)

Released with Edward and in the first Thomas the Tank Engine and Freight Cars Set in 1996, Troublesome Trucks are a staple of the Thomas series and were widely used with a variety of faces and colors in the following decades. Troublesome truck variations and other rolling stock based on them are covered on the Troublesome Truck page.

Troublesome Van (1996)

Also released in 1996 and using the same chassis as the Troublesome Truck is this Troublesome Van based on vans seen in the television series. This is a nice van with a laughing face sticker on the rear but unfortunately unlike the troublesome truck no other face variations were released before the CGI era. It is covered in more detail on the troublesome truck page.

Tanker (1997)

In 1997 for the Plarail Diesel a new tooling was introduced to produce tankers more similar to the style seen on the Thomas TV show, as the existing Plarail tanker tooling was based on a Japanese-style tank car. This tanker was first used in white as a milk tanker and yellow as a Sodor Fuel tanker. The opaque fuel stickers on the yellow tankers are covered with a clear tape-like sticker.

In 1998 a tar tanker was introduced with Plarail BoCo and later sold with the 2003 T-5 Plarail James.

These tankers actually continue to use the same chassis as the existing Plarail tanker from the early 1970s and the tooling was even used decorated like a Japanese tanker in the regular Plarail range a few times like in the 2001 Railway Yard Full of Freight Cars Set. It also appeared in the Thomas-series equivalent Thomas and Busy Freight Cars Set with a face and blank white body.

An export-only variant is the Hot Cocoa tanker included in the Thomas Holiday Set.

4862 Tidmouth Milk Tanker (Motorized Road & Rail) (2004)

In 2004 individual milk tankers were sold in hanging plastic boxes in the United States.

TF-05 Raspberry Tank (2006)

As part of a range of individual rolling stock releases in Japan in 2006 a red raspberry syrup tanker was released as ラズベリータンク Raspberry Tank with a dark brown buffer piece.

Like the other TF series rolling stock, the chassis is marked with a production period and there is a Gullane (Thomas) Limited licensing sticker like the red passenger car.

Works Unit Van (1999)

Released as a set-exclusive double-ended van in the February 1999 Donald and Douglas Snowplow Train Set to connect the twin engines together back to back, this van closely represents the one seen in the television series down to particular molded details on the different sides of the van. There are weights inside to help stop the van from lifting off the rails when connected between a powered train pulling another train that is unpowered but weighty (potentially also having a battery inside), particularly around curves. These coaches use a screw with a large rim around the head to hold the chassis together.

In 2001 the Splatter and Dodge three-pack was released with a greenish version of the van with no text. This pack was also available in Europe and Australia.

Earlier examples of this coach use a screw with a separate plastic rim around it to emulate the old wide-brim screws while later examples use a revised version of the chassis insert piece.

Brakevan (1999)

In 1999 a new tooling of brakevan resembling some of those used on Sodor was first released with Plarail Stepney. Interestingly, there does not seem to be a designated "correct" way around for the roof to be installed, and the pip sticking out closer to one end appears both ways around during multiple production periods.

Older examples do not have axleboxes and have the old curvy Tomy logo on the bottom. The later examples with axleboxes added have the new straight Tomy logo.

A few set and train pack variants of this brakevan were also released.

In 2008 the regular release Plarail Emily included a grey van with white roof.

When Plarail James was redesigned in 2014 it included a green brakevan with yellow stripes.

Breakdown Train (1999)

The first Plarail breakdown train, consisting of a crane and flatbed, was included with Plarail Mavis and some of her later international rereleases. The crane and flatbed do not actually play with other Plarail rolling stock very well, although you can kind of stick a truck on the flatbed.

In 2001 a slight color variant was included with the Thomas and Busy Freight Cars Set.

In 2002 the chassis tooling was updated, changing the Thomas licensing date to 2002.

The flatbed and crane both use the tiny wheels and bent axles used on some different rolling stock in the later 1990s and early 2000s.

Flatbed (2001)

This spring-loaded flatbed was developed for and included in the Thomas and Busy Freight Cars Set in May 2001. The chassis is similar to the breakdown train chassis, using the same bent axles and small wheels.

The spring-loaded side of the flatbed can be used to hold a few different Thomas-series accessories like the Terence, Caroline, and Trevor included in the set. A few alternate colors of this flatbed are included in sets like the Motor Road & Rail Rocky and the Plarail Victor and Kevin pack. The green flatbed reappeared carrying Kevin in a later Thomas freight car pack.

Works Flatbed (2003)

A similar flatbed that reuses some parts of the spring-loaded flatbed chassis but with a new cargo section on top was released first with Harvey in 2003.

Color variations of the flatbed appeared in packs like the Busy Bee James, Plarail Victor, and the rereleased Plarail Harvey.

Works Unit Van (powered) (2003)

In 2003 a new powered works unit van was produced for the Plarail Harvey that contains a Thomas-type gearbox and space for a C battery.

 This van's chassis was adapted for the 2004 More Talkative Thomas' Annie and the van was also used for the 2004 More Talkative Percy and recolored blue for the later Harvey rereleases.

Jet Engine (2005/2006)

In late 2005 a train pack based on the episode of the TV show Thomas the Jet Engine was released for the Motor Road & Rail ranges that included a two-part "flatbed" containing the jet engine and wooden crates like the one seen in the show as well as a surprised, high-speed Thomas. In 2006 the pack was released as a standard three-piece train in Japan as T-24 Thomas the Tank Engine and the Jet Engine.

The rear jet engine section takes two AAA batteries and a red light inside flashes as it rolls similar to the Chinese Dragon.

In 2010 just the box crate car was given away at Japanese Toys R Us stores for buying a certain amount of Thomas Plarail. It is a darker orange color than the regular box cars.

Chinese Dragon (2006)

In October 2006 the Thomas the Tank Engine and Percy and the Dragon Set included a light-up flashing Chinese Dragon similar to the one seen in the television series episode it is based on. The flashing effect is similar to the Jet Engine where the rear wheels activate a red light inside periodically as it rolls. Similar to the Thomas the Jet Engine European releases, the dragon itself was also sold with a slight variation of the export Thomas and a troublesome truck with a DVD containing the episode in a special pack, then later as a standard three-pack train without the DVD in both late Motor Road & Rail and Tomy TrackMaster packaging. These releases can be seen on the Thomas Motorized Wikia.