Tomix - 3159 - Container, 12 Foot - Japan Oil Transportation

Model Information: Tomy started producing 12 foot containers in N Scale in the early 2000s. These models variously represent different versions of the Japan Rail Freight 12 foot domestic shipping container. Some of these models represent smoothside prototypes such as the 19B while others represent the corrugated versions such as the C20 series. Note that these models have no bottom/underframe so be careful how you display them.

Road Name History: Conveying energy to homes and industries. We will continue to meet the diverse needs of our time through rail transport and truck transport.

We deliver not only fuel oil, but also cargo such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other high-pressure gases, chemical products, and perishable foods safely and reliably to the places they need to go. We consistently and economically carry the energy for people’s lives and jobs. For a long time, JOT Group has steadily fulfilled a role that society simply can’t do without. We are approaching a new era in which we must consider changes in the state of the Japanese economy in addition to reducing the environmental impact of all areas of industry. In order to be the distribution partner that our customers choose heading into the future, JOT Group will continue to seek new distribution possibilities with a customer-centric philosophy, making optimal use of rail transport and truck transport to meet the diverse needs demanded by future generations.

Brand/Importer Information: Tomix is a brand of Takara Tomy, a large Japanese conglomerate of companies that makes toys and games for the international marketplace. The Tomix brand (along with the Tomytec brand) are both managed by the Tomytec subsidiary/division of Takara Tomy. Prior to 1976 Tomy produced model trains using the "Tomy" brand name of the products. In 1976, they launched the new brand "Tomix" to segregate their model trains from their childrens toy lines.

Generally it can be difficult to understand why Tomytec releases some items using the Tomix brand and others using the Tomytec brand. There are some generalizations we have observed. Thomas the Tank Engine falls under Tomix, as do the JNR steam engines as well as bullet trains (Shinkansen) and track cleaning cars. Maybe another curator can step in and elaborate on this section.

Manufacturer Information: Largely a Japanese manufacturer of children's toys and baby products, Takara Tomy has established a number of different subsidiary companies, with sales offices and factories located in various locations around the world. The firm is the product of a 2006 merger-of-equals between Tomy and Takara.

Takara Tomy produces N Scale model trains under their Tomytec division (we use the term loosely because it is actually a more complex relationship) using two different brand names "Tomytec" and "Tomix". Technically speaking these are not brands in the Western sense but rather they more closely resemble subsidiaries -of-subsidiaries, and where they fit in the corporate org chart may be the matter for a Master's thesis, but for our purposes we can think of them as simply two different brands with one manufacturer. In the past (prior to 1976) some model train products were branded simply "Tomy". To further confuse things, since 2000, outside of Japan, the company goes by the simple name, "Tomy" for their international subsidiaries.

If you consider both brand names as a single company, then the Tomytec/Tomix product line is the largest of its kind in Japan; with Kato following in second place (as of 2017). While Takara Tomy products are popular around the world, the firm's focus on children's toys has limited the international acceptance and distribution of its Tomytec model railroad products. Furthermore, unlike Kato, their focus tends to be heavily skewed towards Japanes prototypes.