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Plarail Day Sleeper Express (2001)

First written September 6, 2025

The 2001 Plarail Day limited release was a reproduction of the old 583 series Sleeper Express trains, originally released in Plarail form in the old-power era between 1976 and 1982.

Like the 2000 Asagiri, the Sleeper Express is a three-car train. This was the last Plarail Day train to come in a windowless box.

The Sleeper Express was a classic Plarail train that had already been discontinued by the early 1980s and was sought after even in the infancy of online auctions and Plarail collecting. The train has silver roof paint and nice stickers, including Hatsukari headmark stickers at either end.

Actually, this reissue was somewhat disappointingly received, and hardcore fans felt that the look departed too far from the original type. Even though the first few Plarail Day releases had been modern reimaginings of old Plarail trains, they were also trains that had odd and old gearbox arrangements which had to be changed to work for new power anyway. This train is descended from the original toolings, and converting the train to new power could have been done in a very easy fashion as had been done with the regular range in 1987.

I don't necessarily mind the silver roofs, and even in the late 1980s the new power version of trains often gained painted roofs, but I do like the train more with blue chassis and the classic colorful red Plarail wheels. The power car tooling was updated with the then-new squared-off Tomy logo.

These trains were manufactured in September 2001 before the October release.

This tooling was also used in a few variations for the "USA" Sleeper Express in 2003, versions of the Sleeper Express reissue which were manufactured for American export to be used as employee gifts. Many of these trains were actually re-imported to Japan and sold in limited quantities not long after, and this version is the type that many collectors seek out as it is more similar to the original Sleeper Express trains, lacking the silver roof and returning to a blue chassis.

The 583 tooling was last used in the 2006 Tsubame Special Set three-car train pack, the latest time the Sleeper Express has been represented in Plarail form.