fall inside a hole

2-Speed Nozomi (1992)

First written February 27, 2024

The Nozomi (のぞみ meaning "Wish" or "Hope") service is the fastest service that runs on the Tokaido and San'yō Shinkansen lines and was introduced in 1992 alongside the new 300 series Shinkansens that ran the service. By the end of the 90s 300 series trains had begun to replace the older 100 and 0 series trains on the slower services as well. In 1992 Tomy released the 2-Speed Nozomi (2スピードのぞみ) in sixth generation packaging with, as the name suggests, a two-speed new power gearbox.

I have a 2-Speed Nozomi dating from 1994 from the Overpass Nozomi set, the first set to feature the regular 2-Speed Nozomi. This set first came out in 1993 during the sixth generation box era. This Nozomi's gearbox has the later light blue power switch and gears seen on Thailand two-speed gearboxes in the 90s, although earlier Nozomis would have had the white power switch that was in use in 1992.

This was the first real Plarail Shinkansen to come with grey wheels instead of the iconic red or yellow (the Super Hikari previously used grey wheels, but was never commercialized as a real Shinansen) and although the chassis originates in the 1970s the molding and detailing pretty nicely match the real trains - around this time was arguably when Plarail started to shift to more realistic looking trains, with the Plarail 400 series 2-Speed Tsubasa, 500 series, E series, and 700 series trains all releasing looking very much like their real-world counterparts and the range expanded to include many other new commuter trains, and older engines like the EF65 in Blue Train were used in new colors in packs like Car Train and Cassiopeia.

Personally, I much prefer the look of the earlier Shinkansens. I don't dislike the 300 series' styling as much as I do the later "duckbill" Shinkansens, but I kind of prefer the 1990 "Super Hikari" prototype styling.

2-Speed Nozomi (1994)

In 1994 the 2-Speed Nozomi was rereleased in the new seventh generation box. The example shown here is a 1997 box printing as signified by the ST-7 number on the rear. The back of the box says of the Nozomi, approximately: "A prototype car appeared in 1990, and a mass-produced car appeared in 1992. In order to run faster than the Hikari, the body height of the car was lowered to reduce air resistance." The battery installation instructions show a 100 series Shinkansen instead of a 300 series - it is a little funny that they seemingly never made a 300 series battery graphic, although the 100 series diagram is correct other than the shape of the power car.

My Nozomi was packaged with an additional strip of plastic which was bent up from being jammed in the box - I can only figure this was behind the train and made it easier to slide it out of the box?

The power car in this later Nozomi dates to January 1998. Other than some minor changes like white and blue power switch variations 2-Speed Nozomis were pretty much unchanged from their introduction in 1992 to their discontinuation in 2002 when the 2-Speed Nozomi was replaced with the updated S-03 300 Series Shinkansen. They were all produced in Thailand with the same construction methods. The 2-Speed Nozomi was a popular choice for sets in the early and mid 1990s as it was the newest and fastest Shinkansen service. During its heyday, Doll Play and radio control versions of the 300 series Shinkansen were also produced as well as the oversized Super Express Nozomi "station" playset. In the late 1990s, a two-speed Nozomi was included in the Tomica World 7404 U.S. Patrol Set.