Finally

[Super]

After 28 days for EMS Mail the Sakura Tram has arrived. Now I am going to dismantle it for some upgrades (IMO). I am very interested in getting inside the new chassis/motor system to see how it works. Stay tuned.

Nice one, will be keen to see what you find

Hooray! Yours is in the car barn too! Congratulations, Super! You are going to dismantle it for upgrades right away? You are going to slow it down a bit, I suppose... Mine is just fine after a few days on the same battery, now it has proper speed...

I found this on Youtube, Sakura Tram upgraded with the "E5 Series Hayabusa Control Set". It runs nice:



Regardless, I like my Sakura Tram the way it is. It's a beautiful Plarail train!

In the video the guy was using a rc control device.  Is that Mr . motorman 2nd generation?

Edit:  After doing some digging, the controller turns out to be

E5 `Hayabusa` Control Set (Plarail)

[Super]

Watching that video assures me that the Old New Chassis system is swapable with the New New Chassis system. Will be great in many years for repairing these trains with easy options for replacing entire chassis. Unlike now that has so many different chassis and motor gear boxes.

do all the new trains use the same new chassis system?

[Super]

Good question Leyland. I think a lot of them are but its still a mixture of old, new old and new new. There are even some that are still 'C' battery style. Maybe one can assume that any new type of train (one not seen before) will be the new/new type chassis and some re-issued updated Shinkansen types will while other re- released trains will keep the same drive chassis.

There is a C battery style AA battery chassis for the older Shinkansen. It looks almost like a C, but the battery placement is slightly lower down to fit a single AA battery.