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third Christmas run. “I can’t take the credit for that idea, it was the girls in the office! The first year was spectacular and people came from around the country to see it. But we did get a mix of reactions with many saying it was more impressive on the outside than the inside so in 2019 we focussed more on the journey experience placing more things along the track for passengers to spot.” The project isn’t cheap. It costs £100,000 a year to run and John says the company doesn’t make a huge profit but it’s such a spectacle it’s worth it and it has now become a highlight of the South Devon Christmas calendar. Turning our attention to


the water, John says they are changing the way they market and use the historic paddle steamer The King- swear Castle, which was built here at Philip & Son’s boatyard in 1924. “We get 10 times more visitors on the train than the steamer even though there are over 100 working heritage railways in Britain but only one coal-fired paddle


“People can enjoy a nostalgic cruise with the sounds and smells of a


bygone era with a glass of prosecco in hand. More people need to experience it!”


steamer. It’s a beautiful vessel with polished wooden seats and shiny brass features. People can enjoy a nostalgic cruise with the sounds and smells of a bygone era with a glass of prosecco in hand. More people need to experience it!” Now the vessel will mainly do the one hour river trips at a reduced cost of £8.50. John believes the former price of £12.50 was putting families off. John, who lives in Totnes, says he loves standing on the platform catching snippets of conversations from customers. “Hearing positive feedback is a great feeling. We do a round robin experience so you can start in Kingswear and go by train to Paignton, then by bus to Totnes and then by boat back down to Dartmouth and I find it interesting that the children often say their best part was the bus! We do have a couple of open top buses which are a treat to ride on. My son says it’s his favourite thing to do!” In the height of the season the company has


140 workers on their books working as deck hands, sales assistants and engineers, but this reduces to 40 in the winter months. John says they pride themselves on employing all ages: “Our train guards are a broad spectrum - we have two that are in their 70s, they love their job and we love having them. We also have a couple in their 20s.” As well as all the other projects in 2020 John says he hopes to work a little closer with the Dartmouth community: “We know we bring in a great deal of tourism but we are mindful that we don’t want to be a company that just tips in vast quantities of people and leaves everyone else to deal with the chaos, so we are hoping to work more closely with businesses and attractions to see if there are better ways we can manage our numbers and operations.” They are also hoping to expand their Churston train repair yard which could mean hiring more engineers. As for John he says one thing he hasn’t yet mastered in the company is driving the steam train: “That will take a bit of practice but it is on my to do list!” he says cheerily.


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