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Tomy Thomas the Tank Engine Suspension Bridge (2005)

First written December 31, 2024

In 2005 the large multi-piece suspension bridge first developed for the 2004 Plarail/Plaroad crossover Giant Iron Bridge & Marine Liner Set was released individually in Europe and in a few exported Thomas-series sets. This is a pretty big bridge, four straight rails long with the top of the towers reaching above the level of three block girders.

7433 Suspension Bridge (2005)

In 2005 this green and cream bridge was released in Europe as part of the Motor Road & Rail range as the 7433 Suspension Bridge. The package includes the 15 pieces of the bridge as well as 10 straight rails and a pair of slope rails. The girder supports are made to support either road or rail.

The bridge is made up of fifteen parts - the green portion is made up of four end sides and two middle sides with a supporting deck for the middle of the bridge. The end pieces clip in onto the posts on top of the girders but the connections for the middle section are just small pegs that slot into the cutout in the taller risers - the track or road really helps keep the whole bridge together.

The risers are neat, and cross-compatible with standard girders. The tall portions are the same height as two girders stacked on top. A neat decorative piece fits on top of each pylon.

This bridge was included in a few different export sets, and if you end up with several of them you can combine them to be bigger. I always liked elevating the bridge even higher and putting a second layer on the bottom deck, which is something it was originally designed specifically to do.

In 2006 the new Toys R Us exclusive American Thomas Ultimate Set included the only North American Motorized Road & Rail release of this style of bridge. In addition to several other color variants in regular Plarail sets, this bridge was limitedly released in Japan when the 2006 Thomas Ultimate Set was imported and sold at Japanese Toys R Us stores for holiday 2006.

The Suspension Bridge appeared again in a massive Thomas export set, the 2008 Australian Mega Set, where its road-supporting abilities were leveraged. Around 2011 it appeared again in the Thomas and the Jet Engine Set in other Asian markets.