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Plarail EF-81

First written July 6, 2026

161 EF-81 electric locomotives were built between 1968 and 1992, with most being manufactured in their first decade of service and eight more being built between 1989 and 1992. They were developed to operate on 50 or 60 Hz AC power as well as the DC power used on different sections of Japan's railways. They were used on a variety of services with all units still in service circa 1999 and 44 still in operation in 2016 but with the continued discontinuation of Japanese passenger service all remaining units were withdrawn by 2025... most were scrapped after withdrawal, with only a few remaining as static displays.

The first Plarail EF-81s appeared using the EF-65 tooling in the 1990s, with several train pack releases including different colors and types.

Twilight Express (1991)

In 1991 the Twilight Express train pack featured an EF-81 recolored from the Plarail EF-65. More information is covered on the Twilight Express page. The Twilight Express also reappears periodically as a special release.

EF-81 Electric Locomotive (1997)

After the EF-58 was retired from the individual locomotive lineup in 1997 a new "Rainbow" livery EF-81 was released in an individual seventh generation box as EF-81電気機関車 EF-81 Electric Locomotive.

The box says of the EF-81: It was introduced in 1985 as a dedicated locomotive for the Super Express Rainbow (a special train for group tours). The distinctive feature is the EF81 logo written on the side of the locomotive. The Super Express Rainbow was a "joyful train" that ran from 1987 to 2001. The real EF-81 unit 95 was used for the service and painted in red with large diagonal white EF-81 text as depicted here. Two EF-65 units were also painted in a similar livery and the later EF-65 tooling appeared in this Rainbow livery in a few train packs. After the discontinuation of the service they remained in use on some sleeper trains as well as for freight and EF-81-95 remained in the Rainbow livery until it was scrapped with the other 15 remaining units in 2025.

This is a 1999 production example, and the box itself is also a 1999 print run as evidenced by the ST mark on the back. The chassis is the updated type with added front axlebox - I think this November 1999 production train is the oldest example I have of the EF-65 type chassis with the added axleboxes. This individual release was discontinued in 2002.

Car Train (1999 & 2000)

1999 saw the introduction of the Car Train, which included a silver EF-81. The 2000 Car Train had a pink EF-81.

Real Class

EF81s with updated high-detail toolings have appeared in Plarail's recent Real Class range. Like other trainsets, two different trains are made using the same tooling - the Twilight Express reappears as well as a Nihonkai Sleeper Express train.