First released as the Talking Thomas set in Japan, this large set with talking Thomas train was exported to Europe and North America in 2001 as part of the Talk 'n' Action series. The European Tomica World release was called the Talk 'n' Action Magic Rail Set and the American Thomas Motorized Road & Rail release was called the Thomas Talk 'n Action Set.
The large Talking Thomas Set (おしゃべりトーマスセット) is the first of the two Japanese Talk 'n' Action Thomas sets in the Thomas Plarail series, releasing on March 2nd, 2000. The set was the last Plarail Thomas set to use the old curvy Tomy logo, with the new one going into use by the time the Talking Thomas Talking Harold and Station Set was released in Summer 2000.
This set was produced for a few years, with the box shown here being a later 2001 print that has components spanning production from late 2002 to early 2003, meaning this copy of the set was likely sold in 2003.
Set contentsQuantity |
Item |
Photo |
---|---|---|
2 pieces | Talking Thomas (Japanese Talk 'n' Action Thomas) | |
4 | R-01 Straight Rail | |
5 | R-02 Half Straight Rail | |
8 | R-03 Curve Rail | |
1 | R-04 Double Track Straight Rail | |
4 | R-05 Double Track Curved Rail | |
1 pair | R-11 Turnout Rail | |
1 pair | R-13 Single/Double Point Rail | |
6 types | Talking trigger rails | |
5 pieces | Ffarquhar Station | |
4 pieces | Tunnel | |
5 | Trees |
The Thomas in this set is, of course, the talking "Talk 'n' Action" or Talking Thomas (おしゃべりトーマス) with attached Annie battery compartment. Thomas and Annie are permanently connected by a somewhat-fragile coupling system, with Annie holding three AA batteries and housing a separate power switch from the usual gearbox power switch on Thomas' cab. Thomas holds the speaker, gearbox, control board, and switch to read the track patterns.
This set includes some nice double-rail track, five trees with rimmed bases, and the standard Ffarquhar station and tunnel of the era.
My copy of this set produced in late 2002 and early 2003 uses the new-for-the-time new-logo track tooling, although copies from 2000 to 2002 or so would have come with earlier track that did not have the new logo molded into it. The talking rails in my set were actually produced across the December 2002-January 2003 divide.
The track layout is nice and large to accommodate all of the trigger tracks and give Thomas space to carry out his actions. More details about the Talk 'n' Action Thomas' actions can be found here.
The set layout is large compared to most sets, mostly to fit all of the talking rails around the layout. Click the GIFs above to view the video version with sound.
In 2001 the Talking Thomas set was localized with a British English voice for the European market as the Tomica World 7409 Talk 'n' Action Magic Rail Set.
In 2001 the Talking Thomas set was localized with an American English voice for the North American market as the Motorized Road & Rail System 7409 Thomas Talk 'n Action Set. The box shown above is an unused example of the version with Tomica World VHS, still shrink-wrapped, with Thomas still behind a taped plastic sheet.
This set was distributed by International Playthings, as many of the other sets that specifically mentioned Tomica World were.
I also have a used American copy of the set in a more-worn box. This version does not have the Tomica World video (or a large yellow barcode) sticker on the front.
Here is a scan of the instruction manual from my unused copy of this set.
Set name | Talking Thomas Set おしゃべりトーマスセット 7409 Talk 'n' Action Magic Rail Set 7409 Thomas Talk 'n Action Set |
Release period | 2000-2003, Japan 2002-2004, United States 2002-2003, Europe |
Train rating | Track rating | ||
Accessory rating | Overall | ||
Notes: | Overall rating adjusted due to novelty of Talk n Action series, especially outside of Japan | Price | 4800 yen (2000) |