fall inside a hole

Doctor Yellow (1996)

First written September 6, 2023

Doctor Yellow is the name given to a series of line inspection trains that run on the Tokaido, Sanyo, and Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines. The name is derived from their functionality in diagnosing rail and other line conditions as well as their yellow color. Trains run at full line speed and because their schedule of operation is not published it is considered lucky to see one in operation. Three trains resembling the 0 series Shinkansens were built into 922-series Doctor Yellow trains including one of the 1000-series prototype trains.

The first Plarail Doctor Yellow was released in 1996 and is based on the new power Hikari with Light. Doctor Yellow uses the same molding as the new power 0 series in yellow instead of white with a darker blue chassis. It was first released in blue three-window 6th generation packaging and was discontinued around 2002. The roof of the Doctor Yellow is a nice silver with a black pantograph.

The light mechanism is the same as the new power Hikari with Light it is based on, with an additional contact strip in the chassis and a bulb molded into the front of the chassis. A sticker covers part of the battery terminal at the front of the chassis. All Doctor Yellows were manufactured in Thailand and use the slightly updated Thailand 0-series chassis. My example was produced in August 1996.

The construction of the intermediate and tails cars is similar to other 0 series trains from the time and still has molding remnants from the 1980s. A screwed-in bracket holds the loop coupling into the intermediate car and axles are still hammered on one side.

In 2002 after the original Doctor Yellow was discontinued a revised 922-series Doctor Yellow with some added details but without the nose light was released in 9th generation boxes as S-12 Doctor Yellow.