Just Who are the Thomas Manufactuers

(02-27-2025, 12:45 AM)Powerful Gordon Mike Wrote: Ok...  for me, this is getting twisted.  So let me simplify my question:

In 1992, who was the manufacturer of the plastic battery Thomas line in:

UK - ?
US - ?
Japan - ?

In 1992...

UK - TOMY with the TOMY Trains range
US - TOMY with the TOMY Trains range
Japan - TOMY with the Plarail range

Hope it helps.

Hmm, even I am getting twisted! lol, time to mention @DuckGWR!!

(02-26-2025, 06:59 PM)DalaGStanator Wrote: Plarail is the name of TOMY's (main) toy train system as a whole, not a manufacturer. Oddly, it seems TOMY never actually used it outside East Asia; not even on non-Thomas releases.

   

Um it appears they kinda did.

Ok... I feel better. I thought it was just me. I thought this subject was clearly understood by everyone and I just missed the bus to Thomasland.

So, is there a super hero out there that can push through all the murky information of who are the manufactuers of the Thomas battery operated plastic toy line, when did they produce them and in which country. If you can do this, I can see maybe a Nobel prize, a book deal, and even a movie deal in your future.

I started to read again and oh dear, I feel kinda lost now. Maybe my way to explain wasn't the best, and I understand, my english is not perfect.
Hopefully, someone is an expert in this topic and will answer the question.

(02-27-2025, 04:39 PM)MrKirby48 Wrote: I started to read again and oh dear, I feel kinda lost now. Maybe my way to explain wasn't the best, and I understand, my english is not perfect.
Hopefully, someone is an expert in this topic and will answer the question.

You are not alone, when it comes to this subject. 😁

hmm, from what I understand.. Company who was in charge in the US and Mexico?? TOMY, Started as TomyTrain in 1992 and ended in 1997 for Motor Road and Rail to start. TOMY's Thomas line was bought by HiT Circa 2005/2006, hence why Steam Thomas has 2 Variants, HiT was and is still in charge of the motorized line, its just that Mattel bought them and changed the "face" of HiT. hence why you can still find the HiT logo in places.
For the European, African, Middle East, Chinese, Certain places in Taiwan, and Australian side of things, Tomica World/TOMY was in charge from 1997 to 2009 when Mattel bought Thomas. so technically HiT also owns Thomas there
For Japan and certain places in Taiwan, Plarail IS the one still in charge of the Thomas line (1992--) Mattel doesn't really bother with merch there since TOMY is always in charge

What adds to the problem is that a lot of people, including on this forum, misuse and interchange the names of the toy ranges and companies.

The Tomica World and Thomas Motor Road and Rail ranges often get referred to as the Tomy range even though Tomy has produced many other Thomas & Friends toys. I think this stems from how the US Thomas Motorized Road and Rail range doesn't have a logo and clear branding on the packaging compared to Europe. The Tomy Trains range with the dark blue tracks did have a number of different names in the 80s and 90s, but that range is so old now that there shouldn't be much confusion with that. Granted, while Motor Road and Rail is typically talked about because it has more products (although the Capsule Plarail and Tomica ranges are quite big), I don't think I'm the only one who enjoyed other Tomy Thomas toys such as the Push 'n' Go engines and Thomas Big Loader when I was younger. I think the typical response to that is that Motor Road and Rail is too long to say (but you can abbreviate it like Tomy do?) and "you know what I mean". It's even funnier when you consider that Tomy have also sold the Take Along and Wooden Railway ranges at one point. 

"Tomy/TrackMaster" makes even less sense of a term when Tomy released HiT Toy Company's Thomas TrackMaster range in Europe. I've seen people not understand why the Tomy logo appears with TrackMaster on the boxes. Combining the production years of the Thomas range as 1992-2007 also ignores the differences between the ranges across each territory.

Another thing is that people often use the names of toy ranges as if they are a company. "I wish TrackMaster would make..." "Plarail is releasing a Picture Book Thomas." Plarail is not a company and does not make anything. Takara Tomy makes and is releasing Plarail toys. Fisher-Price made TrackMaster.

I may not have answered your question yet but it's worth noting that it can get confusing and inconsistent for newcomers due to things like these. Plus it can be hard to find the information.

You're right, it's kinda bothers me when they refer Plarail as a company, when it's Takara TOMY who produces the range.

(02-28-2025, 10:28 PM)jdogman Wrote: What adds to the problem is that a lot of people, including on this forum, misuse and interchange the names of the toy ranges and companies.

The Tomica World and Thomas Motor Road and Rail ranges often get referred to as the Tomy range even though Tomy has produced many other Thomas & Friends toys. I think this stems from how the US Thomas Motorized Road and Rail range doesn't have a logo and clear branding on the packaging compared to Europe. The Tomy Trains range with the dark blue tracks did have a number of different names in the 80s and 90s, but that range is so old now that there shouldn't be much confusion with that. Granted, while Motor Road and Rail is typically talked about because it has more products (although the Capsule Plarail and Tomica ranges are quite big), I don't think I'm the only one who enjoyed other Tomy Thomas toys such as the Push 'n' Go engines and Thomas Big Loader when I was younger. I think the typical response to that is that Motor Road and Rail is too long to say (but you can abbreviate it like Tomy do?) and "you know what I mean". It's even funnier when you consider that Tomy have also sold the Take Along and Wooden Railway ranges at one point. 

"Tomy/TrackMaster" makes even less sense of a term when Tomy released HiT Toy Company's Thomas TrackMaster range in Europe. I've seen people not understand why the Tomy logo appears with TrackMaster on the boxes. Combining the production years of the Thomas range as 1992-2007 also ignores the differences between the ranges across each territory.

Another thing is that people often use the names of toy ranges as if they are a company. "I wish TrackMaster would make..." "Plarail is releasing a Picture Book Thomas." Plarail is not a company and does not make anything. Takara Tomy makes and is releasing Plarail toys. Fisher-Price made TrackMaster.

I may not have answered your question yet but it's worth noting that it can get confusing and inconsistent for newcomers due to things like these. Plus it can be hard to find the information.

Wow!!!  Great essay and I think we are getting there, but we aren't there yet.  I see this question on the same lines as, "what is the true map of Sodor".  Can we arrive at an answer as to who made what, when and where.  But I really do like the effort you put into your position, great work!!! 😁