fall inside a hole

Plarail 40th Anniversary Edition (1999)

First written March 16, 2025

In 1999 as part of their celebration of the 40th anniversary of Plarail Tomy released an EF58 locomotive with updated versions of the mid 1980s Family Travel Salon Car observation cars as the Plarail 40th Anniversary Edition (プラレール40周年号).

This special pack was first sold on September 25th and 26th on board a special 40th anniversary of Plarail excursion train with grey couplings and later as the Plarail Day limited release for 1999 with white couplings as shown here. The back of the box says of the train Plarail 40th Anniversary Edition. The perfect collector's edition! A Plarail version of the "Plarail 40th Anniversary Edition." The train ran for two days on September 25th and 26th, 1999, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Plarail. The passenger cars were reserved for groups, and the interiors were decorated with lots of Plarail trains. About the model vehicle: The electric locomotive is the EF-58-61, a special locomotive used to pull Imperial Trains and the like.

Actually, the real 40th anniversary Plarail train was hauled by a white EF60, and a "garage kit" of the locomotive was released at the Tokyo Character Show 2000 held in July 2000. This kit had a resin body that shrinks over time, and comes unassembled with a sticker sheet to apply. Details about assembling one of these EF60 locomotives can be seen in the Plarail Museum Special Exhibition section.

The EF-58 uses the standard tooling in Grape Color No. 2 brown with nice silvery pantographs and yellow wheels. As the box mentions, this is meant to depict EF-58-61, built to pull the Imperial Train and maintained in immaculate condition with a silver trim stripe down the side of its body. This Plarail Day example was produced in September 1999 - I don't know if the available-earlier grey coupling type was produced at the same time or slightly earlier. The bent-back battery contact is a sign that this train has never been run before, as they came this way from the factory and get bent forward when a battery is inserted.

The two passenger cars are nicely detailed with crests and lining as well as details on the front and the roof.

They are, of course, based on the 1980s Family Travel Salon Car, with the tooling gaining axleboxes. The original cars had translucent removable roofs, but these new cars have grey screwed-in roofs. There is also no tail mark on the new rear car.

Removing the roofs reveals the surviving interior of the cars, and Family Dolls can sit inside like the original.

You can leave the Family Dolls inside if you want, and even screw them shut inside... A neat release that revived an old Winter Era tooling.