fall inside a hole

Fan Club Exclusive Plarail 40th Anniversary Album (1999)

First written January 25, 2025
Expanded September 2025

In 1999 as part of their celebration of the 40th anniversary of Plarail Tomy released a Plarail Fan Club-exclusive five-train pack as the Fan Club Exclusive Plarail 40th Anniversary Album (ファンクラブ限定プラレール 40thアニバーサリーアルバム).

This pack was advertised around 2001 as a limited edition of 1000, but there were actually 3000 produced, with more than 1000 sold in 1999 alone... It was available only to Plarail Fan Club members for 7500 yen, and was still available into the early 2000s. Five trains, all of them exclusive variations... Tomy really released a lot of 40th anniversary products.

I have purchased two of these large box sets. One has a lower serial number and in unused and sealed in nice condition with the original brown paper wrapping. The other has a low 1000s number and came with its original Tomy shipping box and related paperwork, and was also still sealed, but the box was not in great condition, so I decided to open it.

The packing slip shows that it was purchased in August 1999, almost exactly 26 years before the time this passage was written, so more than 1000 were sold in 1999 alone... I edited out the original information, but the purchasers address and phone number was printed in the upper left corner. A letter thanking the owner for purchasing Tomica brand goods and hoping for their continued support is included - is there a Plarail version of this letter? Was it used with any special Tomica releases? This one looks like a photocopy...

An Autumn 1999 JE East pamphlet was also included.

The upper inner box flap shows a timeline of some different Plarail releases. The mentioned events are:

A note at the bottom right mentions that not all vehicles shown in the chronology are currently on sale.

The serial numbers on my two sets.

The trains inside are all nice in their own way - the first two trains are then-modern reproductions of the period color variations of the original Plarail Plastic Train and Electric Plastic Train.

The back of the box says of the Plastic Train: The "Plastic Train" that appeared in 1959 (Showa 34) can be said to be the origin of Plarail, and was a five-car train. Although it was not called Plarail at that time, the specifications of the rail parts and the connection play have been inherited by Today's Plarail vehicles. The "Plastic Train" differed greatly from today's Plarail in that it was rolled by hand rather than by motor power. Furthermore, this Plastic Train was an original design that was not modeled after an actual vehicles. There was also a color variation in which the train was red. Production ended in 1969 (Showa 44).

As noted, the original train was not motorized, but this then-modern reproduction is. The black van is permanently attached and holds the C battery that powers the train. Two of the old style of freight cars built on the short freight car chassis, an open van and a tanker, are coupled to the train, although the original individual release included the locomotive, van, tanker, open wagon, and log car as a five-car set.

The red variant of the locomotive mentioned on the box was reproduced in the general-sale 40th Anniversary Plarail Limited Edition pack. The train is actually based on the Mickey Poppo-style chassis and gearbox, and where the chassis clips into the cab piece can be seen through the stickers containing the side windows.

Like the rest of the pack, it was produced in July 1999, but it and the Electric Plastic Train both have half-stamped, half-printed production stickers. Evidently, it was decided to print the year half of the stickers first and stamp the month when the time came... I have only seen this elsewhere on the 1998 Plarail Fan Club Chin Chin Tram Old Setagaya Line Type tram.

Of the Electric Plastic Train, it says: The "Electric Plastic Train" released in 1961 (Showa 36) was a three-car train, including the first motor-powered vehicle in the series, and ran on a single C battery. The three-car train system which runs on C batteries has been passed down to current Plarail vehicles. Like the "Plastic train," this "Electric Plastic train" is also a vehicle with an original design. There was also a black color variation of the train. Production ended in 1966 (Showa 41).

The train is packaged with a tanker, open wagon, and a log car with logs. The original individual release as well as set releases of the Electric Plastic Train would have included the tanker and open car, with the log car having been included with the Plastic Train above - the trains are shown like this on the box.

Like the Plastic Train, the black version of the Electric Plastic Train mentioned was included in the general-sale pack.

Here are the three types of throwback freight car - tanker, open wagon, and log car with logs. Two tanker and open wagons are included in the pack. The alternate blue variations of these cars are in the 40th Anniversary Plarail Limited Edition Set.

The Plastic Train predated the adoption of the standard three-car release and originally included a box car (attached to the locomotive in these reissues), log car with logs, and tanker and open wagon. The Electric Plastic Train was an early three-car release and included a tanker and open wagon.

The D-51 is a new-power representation of the discontinued D51 Express Train, of which the box says: A total of 1,115 D-51 steam locomotives were manufactured between 1936 (Showa 11) and 1945 (Showa 20), making it one of Japan's most representative steam locomotives. It has four driving wheels and was designed to produce a lot of power. All were retired in 1975 (Showa 50), but in recent years, No. 498 was revived and can once again be seen running on the main line. No. 200 is also preserved in working order at the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum in Kyoto. The Plarail D-51 Express Train was introduced in 1971 (Showa 46) and production ended in 1980 (Showa 55).

This train sort of combines the Express Train passenger train with the lit D51 Locomotive with Light which came with freight cars. The locomotive has the light feature fitted - I am not sure if they did any of these new power D-51s without a light.

The D-51 is the standard new-power type with light, which first appeared around 1995. Like the other trains in the pack, this one was produced in July 1999.

This was the most recent and almost certainly the last time these old coach toolings, descended from the old New Electric Super Express Hikari intermediate car.

The 0 series Shinkansen is the Hikari with Light, which had been discontinued a few years earlier, but here it returns with the added silver roof details as seen on the West Hikari.

The West Hikari has red nose cones and grey wheels, but this Hikari with Light reproduction has red wheels like the original and yellow nose cones... I suppose you could get the ultimate Hikari with Lights by taking the power car from this train and the tail car from a West Hikari to make a silver-roof train with yellow illuminated front and rear red nose cones.

The box says: The Tokaido Shinkansen 10 series was manufactured for the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen in October 1964 (Showa 39) Since then, more have been produced, with around 2,300 cars manufactured. The unique front end was familiar as the face of the Shinkansen, but with the birth of new Shinkansen trains such as the 100 series, 300 series, and 500 series, the chances of seeing it have decreased. The Plarail was introduced in 1979 (Showa 54) and production ended in 1996 (Heisei 8).

I think because it is shining through a yellow nose cone instead of a red one, an additional yellow lens in added in front of the bulb. The only other of these older Shinkansens I have seen with a lens like this is the German Tomy Express 200 series Shinkansen.

The 500 series Shinkansen is a more accurately colored version than the regular release at the time was, with a more purpley roof and body compared to the blue roof and white body of the regular individual train.

The back of the box says of it: It was launched in January 1996 as a new Shinkansen train capable of running at a maximum speed of 300km per hour. Its body has a sharp, streamlined shape, like an airplane with the wings removed. In addition, it was manufactured as a new Shinkansen train for the 21st century, adopting a T-shaped pantograph. It is used for the "Nozomi" and connects Tokyo and Hakata in 4 hours and 49 minutes. The Plarail was introduced in 1996 (Heisei 8) and is currently on sale.

It was manufactured in July 1999, as the others were.

What a set... Plarail hasn't done another five-car pack to date.