Original (1972) Benkei

Okay, let's have a look at what I got in this lot:

The star is obviously the original Benkei-go and two coaches. Benkei came with one of these coaches in the 1972 Benkei Set.

The locomotive needs a pair of the narrow black tyres, and the tender battery cover, but otherwise it's in pretty good condition; the motor and gearbox run nicely now that I've serviced them.



Since I also got all the track pieces from the Benkei Set, including two sets of the old-style (1972-75) U-turn rail, I guess this is where it came from.

 

Fully working front switch & solid rods D51 that could have come from a number of releases between 1970 and 1976, plus two wagons.



The first version of the 4-way 'Tentetsuki' Points, 1972, and a complete set of the 1973-75 Slope Curve Rail, plus three extra spare bits.

 

A nice grey 'Large Tunnel' and a solitary 'Large Bridge Rail' aka 'original slope rail', plus an assortment of small parts including signals with acetate lenses (probably from the Benkei Set), a pair of Telegraph Poles - a rarity in their own right that are colloquially known as 'Fly Swatters' in Japanese, and three Double-Track Bridge Girders.  Also a heap of rails of various kinds including a few with textured surfaces.

   

And a bit of a scrap-yard of incomplete trains:

Top row: 1970-76 Limited Express (trailing car only), and 1968-? Electric Super Express Hikari (engine shell and trailing car only).
2nd row: 1971-74 Rapid-service Train (revised mould, middle & trailing cars only).
3rd row: 1974-82 Panorama Limited Express (working engine missing its shell, & trailing car only).
Bottom row: 1974-76 Sleeper Limited Express (working, just missing the shell of the leading car).



Unbelievably, this lot was on ebay UK. Here's the picture that illustrated it. My offer was accepted.



I reached out to the seller (it's what you say these days - it means 'asked'), but all she could tell me is that it came out of her father-in-law's attic and that he was rather fond of attending live auctions, car-boots, and so on.