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Suburban Train (Blue Line) (1988)

First written August 27, 2024
Reformatted and expanded October 2026

In 1988 a new new-power subway train representing the 415 series 1500 class trains on the Joban line using the body shells from the original Commuter Train but with a different front and rear insert piece also used on the 211-series Tokaido trains. The real life 415-1500 series trains had front ends resembling the 211 series and were left with their stainless steel bodies showing with a deep blue stripe signifying the Joban line.

Japanese production (1988-~1990)

On March 10th, 1988 the Suburban Train (Blue Line) was released in sixth generation packaging as 近郊電車(ブルーライン).

These earlier examples were produced in Japan and have plating that gives them a very shiny appearance. The battery contacts are all brass and the gearbox is the single-speed new power type with greyish-blue switch. This one is in very nice condition - the plating scratches and if a battery is left inside to leak it often eats it all away, leaving a translucent cream plastic shell.

The Japanese production Blue Line train also appeared in two Plaroad crossover sets.

Thailand production (~1990-~1996)

In the early 1990s many Plarail toolings were moved to Tomy's new Thailand manufacturing plant and one of the changes in production between the two factories was dropping the shiny plating from commuter trains like this one.

The later Blue Line trains remained in sixth generation boxes even after the onset of the seventh generation packaging style in 1994, going out of print around 1996.

This seems to be an earlier 1990s example with the old style of couplings, although it does not have its production sticker intact. The front window piece is clipped into place - one of the clips is broken on my example. Actually, you can see that the silvery body is still some kind of spray or application over a lighter-colored body, not the plastic mix itself, and Tomy did do some full-body metallic trains in both silver and gold up to at least the 2010s, so it seems like this train and others like the Subway Train could have kept their nice reflective bodies...