Land train

Land train to Loro Parque, Tenerife

A land train or road train is a vehicle for transporting groups of people short distances. They are often used at tourist attractions. The term is common in Europe but less well-known elsewhere.

It consists of a small tractor vehicle with either a petrol or electric motor engine, pulling a number of small, articulated carriages in the manner of a railroad train. Land trains do not run on rails, however, although they usually follow closely prescribed routes. Since there are no tracks, the driver of the tractor must manually steer the train. Land trains are often decorated to look like nineteenth century steam trains, and carry as many as twenty to thirty people. Typical uses are to carry visitors from a car park to an attraction, between two distant attractions, or along a scenic route.

Steering mechanism

When the land train turns, the tractor pulls the first car's front wheels into the turn. Cross links from the car's front wheels steer the rear wheels in the opposite direction, so that they follow the arc of the turn. A tow bar from the rear of the first car pulls the front wheels of the second car into the turn in the same way. With all the wheels following the same arc, the train moves as if it were on rails. Airport baggage trains use the same mechanism. If the rear wheels didn't steer, they would track toward the inside of the turning circle. The train could still turn, but less smoothly, and with a much greater turning radius.

See also

• Road train, a train of a tractor and several trailers for road goods transport, not employing special steering mechanism described above.
• Monorail

External links

• A land train in Switzerland Gruyères
• A land train at Évian-les-Bains
• The land train at Weymouth
• A land train manufacturer Deltrain