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Plarail Talking Thomas/Talk 'n' Action series

First written July 2024

In 2000 Tomy began releasing a series of Thomas trains for their Thomas Plarail and export Thomas motorized toy ranges that featured sound and dialog as well as control over the train's motor with a hanging switch that read bumps in specialized activation rails to create a range of talking characters that could be programmatically triggered to say different lines and perform different actions. In Japan this was called the Talking Thomas (おしゃべりトーマス, literally Chattering Thomas) series and it was exported as the Talk 'n' Action range in Europe and Australia and Talk 'n Action in North America. Three trains were released with European and American English voice variations with a wider range of characters and accessories available in Japan.

Sets

In Japan two fairly large sets were released, both featuring Thomas. The smaller of the two Japanese sets was released in both Europe and North America, with a few other export variant sets including a cool winter holiday-themed set.

Year
Set name
Description
Photo
March 2 2000 Talking Thomas Set Initial large Japanese Talking Thomas set with Ffarquhar station, tunnel, and large track layout
July 20 2000 Talking Thomas Talking Harold and Station Set Even larger Japanese set with talking Harold station
2001  7409 Talk 'n' Action Magic Rail Set European Tomica World release of the Talking Thomas set with British English Thomas
2001 7409 Thomas Talk 'n Action Set American Talk 'n Action set based on the Plarail Talking Thomas Set with American accent Thomas
2002 7408J Talking Thomas and Harold Adventure Set European Talk 'n' Action version of the Thomas Adventure Set  
2002 4760 Talking Thomas Adventure Set American Talk 'n Action set based on the Thomas Adventure Set  
2003 Thomas Holiday Set American and Australian exclusive holiday themed set with several set-exclusive snowy accessories and a Talk 'n' Action Thomas

Trains

Thomas, Percy, and James were released in Japanese and two regional English variations while the rest of the characters were only released in Japan. Each individual train pack includes rolling stock and all six of the triggering track pieces.

Year
Engine
Description
Photo
March 2 (set)
October 19 (individual)
2000
Talking Thomas First Plarail talking Thomas, exported as the Talk 'n' Action series
July 20 2000 Talking Henry First Plarail talking Henry, with van and log car
July 20 2000 Talking Gordon First Plarail talking Gordon, with green express coach
July 20 2000 Talking James Plarail talking James, exported as Talk 'n' Action James  
October 19 2000 Talking Percy First talking Plarail Percy, exported as Talk 'n' Action Percy
April 19 2001 Talking Toby First and only Plarail talking Toby, with Henrietta and troublesome truck  
April 19 2001 Talking Diesel 10 First and only Plarail talking Diesel 10, with Splatter and Dodge  

Accessories

In Japan two individual talking accessories were released, with the American Talk 'n' Action Percy also coming in a Motorized Road & Rail accessory set.

Year
Set name
Description
Photo
       
       
2002 Talking Percy Expansion Kit American accessory pack with Talk 'n Action Percy and elevation-focused track and accessories