If you're looking to get some Plarail steam locomotives that aren't Thomas characters, the current D51 and C61 are excellent. They are easy to find, reasonably priced, well balanced, powerful and generally run quite well. Oh, and they both have headlights (albeit a bit dim).
In real life, both are well-known Japanese locomotives. The D51 was a heavy freight engine in the 2-8-2 wheel configuration (US Mikado class) while the C61 was primarily a passenger engine with a 4-6-4 wheel configuration (US Hudson class). Both are closely related as the C61s were actually rebuilt from D51s because of the decrease in freight traffic and concurrent increase in passenger traffic on post-WW2 Japanese railways.
I should also mention that the Thomas character Hiro is part of the D51 class. The Plarail Hiro even shares some of his engineering with the current D51-200.
In real life, both are well-known Japanese locomotives. The D51 was a heavy freight engine in the 2-8-2 wheel configuration (US Mikado class) while the C61 was primarily a passenger engine with a 4-6-4 wheel configuration (US Hudson class). Both are closely related as the C61s were actually rebuilt from D51s because of the decrease in freight traffic and concurrent increase in passenger traffic on post-WW2 Japanese railways.
I should also mention that the Thomas character Hiro is part of the D51 class. The Plarail Hiro even shares some of his engineering with the current D51-200.
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