fall inside a hole
Bill and Ben Harbor Friends Set (2004)
First written July 18, 2024
The Plarail Bill and Plarail Ben Harbor Friends Set (プラレールビル&プラレールベンの 港の仲間たちセット) is a Thomas-series Plarail set released in 2004 featuring the only release of Plarail Bill as well as his twin Ben and Cranky at the harbor. This set is somewhat hard to find and is sought after for the Plarail Bill, so it can be expensive to buy complete.
Set contents| Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 4 pieces | Bill and Ben with two Troublesome Trucks |
 |
| 4 pieces | Crate loads (two each of two types) |
 |
| 3 | R-01 Straight Rail |
 |
| 1 | R-02 Half Straight Rail |
 |
| 8 | R-03 Curve Rail |
 |
| 1 pair | R-13 Single/Double Point Rail |
 |
| 5 pieces | Cranky at the Docks (set variant with green cranky and black bucket) |
 |
This set comes with the only Japanese release of Bill as well as Ben, both with eyes facing one another. Bill was released outside Japan as part of the Thomas Motorized Road & Rail System and uses the standard chassis and body tooling for 2004 with the new logo on the chassis but not the updated CE and disposal marks added by the time of export Bills starting in 2006.
The trucks in this set are the happy and sad face types normally included with Plarail Ben. There are two different types of crate load which both look nice in the trucks.
The Cranky that is part of this destination was the first time this moving Cranky was produced in green - it was later used again in the Thomas ferryboat set. Not used in any other set or release is the black bucket - this and the older chassis Bill are the only true set-exclusive components.
It is nice that this set comes with two engines, neither of which are Thomas, and it has a cool variant of the very nice Cranky at the Docks destination which has a powered action feature that makes Cranky swing back and forth and "load and unload" a stopped train before automatically releasing it again. Although there is not a direct interaction between Cranky and the cargo pieces, the inclusion of two engines and the trucks as well as Cranky and Bulstrode lend well to a harbor scene, the track layout is a little sparse and it is not as impressive as a set as the original Thomas the Tank Engine Strongman Cranky Set which has four trucks and a much larger double-track layout.
| Set name | Plarail Bill and Plarail Ben Harbor
Friends Set プラレールビル&プラレールベンの 港の仲間たちセット |
Release period | 2004, Japan |
| Train rating |
 
| Track rating |
 |
| Accessory rating |
| Overall |
|
| Notes: |