Alan Payling meets an operator who is literally going round in circles while doing very nicely indeed, thank you very much, by looking after your passengers
I know, it’s a pain sometimes. You’re on your way to the Eden Project say, having just left your hotel in Babbacombe and you’re looking forward to a nice clear run. Just as you come round the clock tower roundabout at Torquay harbour, the local land train pulls out in front of you. Oh, joy. Your day has got off to a nice slow start as you then have to chug all the way along Torquay’s seafront to the Grand Hotel in the wake of the land train before it turns round to come back into town. Then you can get going.[wlm_nonmember][…]
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I know: I live in Torquay so I’ve followed the local land train on many occasions. If you haven’t travelled in the wake of the land train in Torquay, no doubt you have joined the stately procession behind one somewhere else in Europe as they are now a common sight pulling out into the traffic wherever there are lots of people who aren’t in much of a hurry – apart from you of course.
The next time you’re having a day off in Torquay, have a look at who’s sitting on the land train, you might see some faces you recognise. Who? Your passengers, that’s who. While you may sometimes have thought the land train was a bit of a nuisance, for your passengers on their free day, it’s a godsend helping them to see a lot more of Torquay and enabling them to get from one part of town to another in a convenient, inexpensive manner. For the passengers not familiar with Torquay, not only do they see the sights of the resort, the land train’s circular route round the town will bring them safely back to where they started. Passengers can also take advantage of the new route that a second land train operates to the picturesque Cockington Village. For the slightly immobile and easily confused, it gets them out and about on their free day and reduces the risk of losing passengers.
In other words, don’t mock it – well, not too much anyway. In a place like Torquay, the land train serves as a very useful part of the public transport provision, because after all, that is what a land train is, a public service vehicle; well, sort of, as we will see. If you still think there’s a Mickey Mouse element to this part of the industry, you will have something in common with the owner. He will freely admit that the land train owes a lot to the spirit of the fairground people he used to mix with in his home town of Weymouth, than it ever will to the Stagecoach buses he shares road space with.
Chris Griffin
The person that operators from throughout the UK have to thank for taking good care of their passengers while they have a day off in resort is Chris Griffin. He has been running the land train in Torquay for 10 years now having previously spent 15 years running one in Paignton. He also operated one in Weymouth for one season until the local council took over the operation.
Chris has long experience in transport and business dating back to 1954 when he was age 11 lugging luggage on a sack truck from Weymouth coach park to the local guest houses for £1/10s – on a good day. Then his father purchased a refreshment kiosk in Weymouth’s coach park in 1957 at which stage he helped his father with the catering and also cleaned out coaches in the evenings. Some of the companies he recalls working for were Black & White Coaches, Wems Coaches, Wessex Coaches and Silver Star. There were up to 300 coaches a day visiting Weymouth in the peak season so Chris and his father did very nicely.
Chris then worked as a holiday photographer at his own kiosk taking photos for holidaymakers followed by a spell making and selling shirts. This lead to a business running dress shops in Weymouth until he bought and operated a mobile 3D cinema. Other ventures such as a maze were considered and abandoned until a friend offered him the land train in Weymouth. This appealed to Chris as it offered a simpler life and unlike manufacturing shirts, where he had to wait to be paid, his customers now paid upfront. The holiday trade also appealed to Chris as on the quiet he’s a bit of a showman, having appeared on Irish television as an Elvis Presley impersonator.
Locals in Torquay will also recall seeing their very own ‘Elvis’ appearing in the town’s pubs.
After one season in Weymouth with the land train there, Chris saw an ad from Torquay council inviting tenders to operate a land train on Paignton sea front. Chris won the tender and operated a 10-year-old German Choo Choo land train with a VW Golf diesel engine for the next 15 seasons. It was a very short season from June to September though. Chris does not have very good memories of the Choo Choo brand as it gave him lots of mechanical problems, or as Chris bluntly put it; “Lots of grief.”
At the time, there had been another land train operated in Torquay by Norman Squires of Duchy Travel of Newton Abbot. In 2006 Chris bought the land train part of the business from Duchy. Chris took over the existing land train made by Gentrac at Chandlers Ford. Like the Choo Choo, the Gentrac had mechanical issues, particularly when Chris tried to drive up hills. Torquay has a lot of hills. In 2009 though, Chris bought his first brand new land train direct from the manufacturer, Dotto Trains of Castelfranco in Italy. This model, a Muson River, Chris described as: “The Rolls Royce of land trains.” Henceforward, Chris’s mechanical problems were a thing of the past other than for servicing or minor issues. Chris said of his considerable investment: “I would rather worry about paying for the land train than have the worry of it breaking down.” So would most of the people who drive round Torquay, as it happens.
In terms of cost, at the time, the Dotto, with the engine and three carriages, cost Chris £210,000. This has a tail lift fitted on the last carriage for disabled passengers and in total has a capacity of 54 seated passengers. Chris recently invested in a further new Dotto land train, another Muson River. Costs have increased with the new model he has just taken delivery of costing him £118,000 for the engine and two new carriages costing a further £78,000. Brexit cost Chris dear as he got caught by the fall of the pound adding an additional £10,000 to the cost. Chris has now extended his operation so that in addition to the traditional route that he plies round Torquay, the new land train is operating a route from the harbour to the ever popular Cockington Village situated between Torquay and Paignton. This is a destination that is not accessible by coach so the new service will help coach passengers visit this tranquil spot.
Operations
In terms of operating the land train in compliance with the requirements of the Ministry of Transport’s Vehicle Certification Agency, Chris has a Vehicle Special Order (VSO). The first port of call to obtain a VSO is for Chris to get approval for his plans from the local authority and police. Importantly, the planned route has to be a sightseeing tour for tourists. Chris does not have to comply rigidly with a timetable, but will try to for the sake of his passengers, but his routes are strictly controlled by the local council and the police. This has the effect of limiting the opportunities for private hire as it would mean going off-route, but when he’s working seven days a week in season, that is not something Chris would relish. Also, Chris can only operate in daylight. In conjunction with the council, Chris provides permanent bus stop infrastructure and information/timetable A-boards where people can board the land train at 10 locations.
Once Chris has approval to operate locally, he can formally apply for the VSO which does throw up some differences to the normal conditions that apply to an ordinary operator’s licence. For example, the VSO does not require anyone associated with the business to hold a transport manager’s CPC. However, Chris does have to hold a category D licence. If you drive a coach with a trailer, you will need a category D+E, but drive a land train with three trailers and all you need is a category D. Also, Chris does not have to hold a drivers’ CPC and unlike an operators licence, there is no financial standing requirement.
In terms of maintenance, there is no requirement for a rigid six weekly check. The terms of the VSO requires an initial report from an engineer that the vehicle is roadworthy. In particular, the engineer’s report must confirm that the braking systems on the land train’s engine and carriages conform to a detailed specification that will form part of the VSO. There also has to be a declaration from Chris that he will keep the land train in a fit and roadworthy condition at all times. Additionally, a schedule of maintenance is required. The land train only does some 35 miles a day, so every three months the vehicle is serviced at Barton Garage, located at the old Wallace Arnold depot in Torquay where areas like the brakes are checked and steering is looked at to maintain a safe, reliable vehicle. To date, the current Dotto has not let him down while on the road.
Other operating conditions include the requirement for guard rails between the three trailers and a buzzer system that can be used by passengers in case of an emergency. Chris also has to employ an attendant to advise the driver when it is safe to move off and that there is no-one between the trailers via a buzzer. Of course, the attendant also earns his keep by collecting fares in addition to his safety duties.
Once he finally gets going, the speed limit for the land train is imposed by the VSO. So it won’t matter how late you are: Chris will not go any faster.
Lastly, inspections can be carried out by DVSA and they or the police can pursue enforcement proceedings were any infringements discovered. This could result in use of the vehicle being prohibited, the VSO being revoked and prosecution. Once all the paperwork is in place, then Chris will be granted a VSO for a year.
Other aspects
In terms of other aspects of his operation, Chris’s new vehicle has an Iveco 6 litre engine with a maximum speed of 16mph using some £30 worth of diesel a day. With a seven day operation in summer, Chris does have difficulties getting drivers. He thinks this is in part because of the seasonal nature of the job and because they need a category D licence. Chris has hit lucky this year due to the retirement of Mike Simmons who was with Devon General and Stagecoach for over 40 years. He retired as the controller at Stagecoach in Torquay and has reported some double takes from Stagecoach drivers who get a little impatient with the land train! Employing an attendant is not so much of a problem with Chris having two on the books at present.
Driving the land train is challenging with manoeuvrability not being a problem – just so long as you’re going forwards. The land train has a turning circle of only some 40’ which makes it ideal for spinning round on the harbour in a space that most coaches would struggle with.
As for reversing, well, just forget that, don’t even think about it. Chris thinks that the best he would do in reverse is about five feet before the carriages went every which way. Pulling out into traffic can be an issue as people don’t want to end up behind the land train so helpful coach drivers are very welcome.
Is it boring going round and round all day? Fortunately, as mentioned above, Chris is bit of a showman so he brings all the fun of the fair to the job interacting with his passengers who are, after all, on holiday. Not your usual passengers you might say, particularly as the kids all want their picture taken in the cab.
At the end of the day, there is the usual cleaning, fuelling and parking up to be done. Parking being of course a big issue, as per the insurance, the vehicle can’t be left outside. You can imagine what a child magnet the land train would be if it was parked outside. So the land train is currently put to bed in the old Wallace Arnold garage in Barton where the shed allows Chris to drive in one end and drive out the other – until the following day.
The next time you eventually manage to pass Chris’ land trains in Torquay – it might be a while so be patient – don’t forget that he will probably have helped your passengers make the most of their visit to Torquay, and you, grumbling behind the wheel while you wait to get past, didn’t even realise it. So, give him a wave, then Chris will know you recognise what a great service he provides for your coach passengers. In fact, you could ensure that your passengers know all about the land train so they can make the best of their holiday in Torquay, particularly now that they can get to Cockington Village easily.
In that respect, given that your passengers are at the seaside, the land train fits into the traditional atmosphere of a seaside resort where people go to have some fun. So, when your passengers get on Chris’ land train, just like the rides at the fairground, they may be going round in circles but, they will have some fun. That includes coach drivers who can travel free on their days off.
Website www.torquaylandtrain.co.uk
Telephone 07980 269 352[/wlm_ismember]
