Blue Plastic Tracks

This is a pictorial of Tomy's Powerful Gordon (PG). I did this pictorial because there seems to be not enough information out there on these cool little trains. I will describe the differences I see in these PGs as compared to a newer version of Plarail Gordon.

Please note, I’m not an expert in this hobby, you guys are. So there may be some graveling and mashing of teeth on my part for incorrect information that I may present. I hope not too much, although I do have a great dental plan.



I display two Powerful Gordons in the beginning of this pictorial just for comparison sake.












Note the chromed weights in the cab windows.














At the front of the under carriage it reads on line one "© Gulland (Thomas)", and on line two "Limited 2001". At the rear of the carriage it reads on line one "TOMY®" , on line two "1995 TOMY", and on the last line "Made in Thailand"










The following series of photos are of one PG broken down.

Note that there are 11 weights inside this Train. From front to rear: 1) large weight inside the smoke box, 1) larger weight just behind the smoke box, 2) front axle weights, 3) inside the motor compartment, and 4) chromed weights inside the cab. Tomy chromed them because they can be seen from the outside through the train's cab windows. All these weights have a combined weight of 80-81g.






Now lets look at the weights that are associated with the train's top or cover.






Removing the smoke box reveals its weight inside.






A close-up of this area, note the numbering in the castings. The smoke box weight has the number (1) cast into it and weighs 16-17g and the larger main body weight has the number (2) and weighs 30-31g. The main body weight wraps around the plastic post that is utilized to attach the footplate to the cover. Also note their unique design, of the hand full of Gordons I own, none of them have these two unique weights.






Here's the best shot I could come up with to show you how the smoke box weight fits inside the smoke box.






Now the cab weights.

There are four chromed cab weights ( two on each side ), and they weigh 3g, .157 dia. and 1.177" long each. If you are shopping on ebay/Yahoo and run across someone advertising one for sale as an original Powerful Gordon, this would be my first place to check. If you look into the cab window, and you see these chromed weights, you are headed in the right direction.







Here's the top cover weights from a different angle.






Under Carriage and Motor:

Here you see the under carriage and motor arrangement. Note the blue smudge on the bell end of the motor. Both PGs have this blue smudge, I'm thinking that the smudge indicates that this motor is the high performance motor that they installed in the PGs. Note that there's no heat shrink wire protections around the coupler. Also note the four screws in the fore ground. These are the screws that bind the carriage, footplate and cover together. Notice the first screw from the left, it's larger and is used to bind the footplate with the cover.






Carriage without motor:






Front Axle Weights:

Here you see the two axles weights, located just above the front axle and their specs are 5.22g, .234" dia and .934" long.






Motor Compartment:

Here you see the difference between a PG and a newer version. At the top right hand corner of the motor compartment, there are three weights. Most all Gordons have the one in the center, and none of my other Gordons have the other two. The first one from the left, is the same as the chromed cab weights, just not chromed, and cut a little shorter. It weighs in at 2.34g and is .946'' long. Be careful with this weight when assembling and disassembling the train, as this weight is not held in any way at all inside the motor and can fall out while trying to assemble the train, falling to the floor and never seen again. The middle weight is identical to the two front axle weights. The third weight is the same as the second weight, but has been cut short. It comes in at 3.64g and .232" long. Now note the shelf that this last weight sits on. All Plarail Gordons still have this shelve inside the motor compartment.






Side by Side Weight Comparison:

Powerful Gordon: 83g
New Plarail Gordon: 28g






Okay Powerful Gordon is back together again, and I hope this answers any questions you might have, or if created more, please don't hesitate to ask. If you are looking to acquirer a Powerful Gordon Tribute, please go to www.customthomas.com/product/powerful-gordon PGM

This is fantastic and probably the most interesting and detailed comparison on the Internet of how to tell the differences between the real Limited Edition Powerful Gordon and a normal one. No doubt collectors will be checking their PG's immediately. Your suggestion of looking through the cab windows for chromed weights to quickly tell if its an original PG or not is very helpful. As is the blue smudge on the motor to tell that its a powerful original motor. Very detailed description. Holy cow there are a lot of weights. I had no idea any Tomy train had that many.

This post and pictorial will prove to be a valuable resource for collectors everywhere and thank you for going through the time and effort to help the entire world wide community. And also thank you for coming here to tell your story and to prove to us that you are indeed a good guy. My hat is off to you sir!

lol I have over 20 Gordons in stock .... better get checking just in case

Whaaat?...Toot, You have over 20 original Powerful Gordons in stock?

(02-09-2015, 03:48 PM)Super Wrote: [ -> ]Whaaat?...Toot, You have over 20 original Powerful Gordons in stock?

now i didn't say that did I . I will have to check all my stock to see if I have any.

Oh...wow, you had me there. So this pictorial has already helped someone. Couldn't you just tell from the face of your 20?

Maybe He looks a bit like me with that permanent frown .

Thank you Super for walking through the steps on how to post, the use of photobucket, and so on. Thank you also for your positive response of my first post. PGM

PGM, thanks for the detailed description of PG. If I ever get the funds to purchase one, I know where and how to tell its real. You have helped a lot of people now and in the future