the JR class ed79 was a variant of the class ed75, designed for service in the seikan tunnel, connecting honshu and hokkaido........the class ed75 originated in the early 1960s, conceived to replace the variety of early electrics which the serviced the secondary routes......302 ed75s were built between 1963 and 1975 by hitachi, mitsubishi, and toshiba....in the mid 1980s, 44 ed75s were retrofitted for the seikan tunnel, which was opening in 1988, and renamed ed79s......several of these ed79s were dedicated to container freight service on the tsugaru-kaikyo line, which included traversal of the tunnel......these jrf ed79s were always utilized in tandem and could achieve 100 kph operating speeds.....the ed75s and ed79s proved so invaluable in their service assignments that class retirement only occurred circa 2015.....

Micro Ace is one of the dominant triumvirate of n scale manufactures in Japan - Kato and Tomix both being better known outside of Japan....Micro Ace clearly markets the broadest line of locomotives and freight cars among the 3 and arguably features the finest detail work on their products......

i acquired this set from a private party in japan.......in this tandem, both locomotives are motorized; they can operate in tandem or independently.....both locomotives attain n scaled operating speeds at the same point on the rheostat - 50% - perfect for tandem utilization... i believe prolonged operation may not only reduce that setting slightly but also reduce operating noise slightly as the set experienced infrequent utilization.....the head lamps are functional........