A bit of backstory: (Keep in mind that Salon Car is a JNR train, not JR train)
In 1982, Plarail sales were very strong. But the sales immediately fell short in 1983 to 1986. This period is called the Winter Era. However the Salon Car was manufactured around year 1984 in month 5, so it fell in the Winter Era. During this time, the conversion of real life JNR trains to JR trains were happening, so Plarail trains that were based on these JNR trains were immediately removed from the shelves at a very short time. Moreover, even more trains that were said to be Phantom Gems of Plarail since the beginning of production; like the Relay Shinkansen, Hankyu 6300 Commuter Express, Melody D51 and Melody Tohoku Joetsu Shinkansen were manufactured during this time. This caused the fear of the Salon Car's production to be short. When these Phantom Gems of Plarail were removed from shelves 1 year after their production, and the JR trains were introduced, this caused the manufacture of Salon Cars to be even shorter following the introduction of the new JR trains. The Salon Car was manufactured in 1984/5 until 1987/5. It was a relatively short lived Plarail where children had no interest in. At the time the Salon Car was discontinued, the real train was scrapped including all JNR trains (some converted to JR specifications like the L Limited Express), so it was nearly wiped from the memories of the children who saw it in the shops first hand.
Today, the Salon Car can be priced around 15000 yen on average, the highest was 50000 yen when it first exhibited in Yahoo Auctions in 2017.
When I was a young boy, I remember seeing the Hankyu 6300 Commuter Express box on the shelf and that was last one remaining. Someone else took it. When a school Plarail driving party happened, and I asked my classmates who are Plarail geeks after 4 years, no one remembered the existence of the Winter Era trains. I got a few adult collector friends during that time (all dead now), they faintly remembered the Salon Car and the Hankyu 6300. It was a fuzzy memory, but I'm glad that they still remembered how these stale products failed to attract children. It was quite a shock how fast it was forgotten. Now it is a different story, we have adult collectors in Yahoo Auctions who I don't even know wanting the Salon Car and the Winter Era Plarail.
A bit of update on the collection: I'm not at home due to a research trip, so I won't be reviewing the newer purchases anytime these 1-2 weeks. Some of the stuff are still reserved in the seller's storage. When I return, I will upload detailed photos and YouTube videos.
