From Mombasa to Nairobi with Leyland's Land Train
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The Leyland Land Train is me of the many foreign manufacturers' kits assembled in Kenya by the local work force. Bill Brock dug out his pith helmet and Look one of these vehicles for a three-hundred mile ride through the bush IT IS just over twelve months now since Land Train, manufactured at the old Guy plant in Wolverhampton, first became available in Kenya. Leyland exports this model in kit form to developing countries where it is assembled by the local work force.
In Kenya, Land Train competes alongside bonneted and forward control models from Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat and Mac in the maximum 42.65 tonne class, as I was to see when I drove the 530 km (330 mile) Uhuru Highway, joining Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean, to the capital Nairobi, situated some 1500m (5000ft) above sea level.
Haji Ahmed Sheikh Ali, a Nairobibased haulier, has a fleet of 29 vehicles which includes five of the first 25 Land Trains to be built at Leyland Kenya's assembly plant at Thika. A great deal of his business is lone for oil companies. Although the Japanese-built pipeline linking the countries' two largest conurbations has been operative for several years, large quantities of oil are still shipped by road from the refinery at Mombasa to Nairobi and onward into the neighbouring states of Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Hasa Hauliers' Mombasa branch manager, Ali Mazrui, arranged for the vehicle to pick me up at mid-clay after the documentation for the load had been completed at the refinery. As promised, on the stroke of twelve, Francis Chepkwony appeared from around the corner driving the 30.28 Land Train tractive unit with a Fruehauf tri-axle dropside-bodied semi-trailer in tow.
It was loaded to capacity with 1800 20-litre I4.4 gall plastic containers full of kerosine. Powered by a Leyland TL 12 turbocharged 12.47 litre diesel engine rated at 210kW(282bhp), the vehicle carried twin fuel tanks and an extra trailermounted tank giving a total capacity of 1500 litre (330 gall, or, put another way, just short of 1.5 tons of derv.
Local regulations permit this type of outfit to operate at maximum weight but without, it seems, any restriction on overall length. I was told it was the company's intention to increase the trailer length at some time to accommodate an extra 200 containers, instead of running, as here, at 39 tonnes gross.
As in many commonwealth countries, the speed limit for commercial vehicles is set at an unrealistically low level and as I was soon to find out, only in the towns did the large majority of traffic comply to the official maximum speed of 50km/h (30mph).
On the outskirts of Mombasa we negotiated a number of police checks. Nothing is allowed to pass by without their approval, which they ensure by laying vehicle traps consisting of metal plates with six— inch spikes protruding upwards.
Night movements for cvs are banned, partly in order to reduce the high mortality rate to car occupants but primarily to cut down on smuggling.
Daylight hours change only slightly because Kenya stradles the equator and cvs are allowed to operate from 6.45am through to 6 45pm without any other restriction on drivers' hours.
Once free of the busy streets of the port we followed the narrow two lane highway inland and began to climb steadily. It was the longest hillclimb I have encountered or ever expect to encounter.
The African driver took the wheel over the first leg and confided that he was new to the vehicle and that it was the first time he had driven it with a load. Coming from driving an aging 680 Fiat, he found the constant mesh Fuller RTO 9509 B Roadranger gearchange a lot quicker than he had been used to, but after an initial crunch or two soon got into the swing of things. After about 30km (19 miles) we came to Mariakani and the first of two weighbridge control points on route. These have been installed under the direction of the IMF who saw it as the only sure way to prevent the total breakdown of Kenya's road system.
The drivers of illegally overweight vehicles receive almost instant justice. Their vehicles are impounded and they have to stay with them during the three to four days it takes to get the court to pay the fine. After weighing individual axles we passed through unhindered.
Bush bordered the road on either side but we saw very little wild life, the exception being a small herd of elephants and several herds of goat and cattle. There were hostelries every twenty miles or so and we made several stops to quench our thirst with refreshing fizzy drinks.
The higher we climbed, the cooler the temperature became, so by the time we made it to our overnight stop, at Hunters Lodge, some 160km (100 miles) from my final destination, the climate had moderated from the steaming 105F of the coast to what you would expect on a warm English summer evening.
Setting off soon after daybreak the next morning, it was not long before the highest peak on the African continent, Kilimanjaro, could be seen rising to 5895m (19340ft) on our left hand side. It used to be in Kenya but came to Tanzania when the border was changed.
Now at the wheel myself, I quickly became aware how narrow the road actually was. There was only just enough room for two cvs to pass each other.
The previous day we had encountered the contra flow of competitors and support vehicles in the Kenya Safari Rally intermingled with Easter holiday traffic on its way to the coast. Such peak traffic conditions are light by European standards and it was possible to travel long distances without seeing another vehicle.
A familiar face at the wheel is easily
recognised, and such was the case as we reached ihe summit of a gradient midway along a switchback section of the road. Bob Crossely saw us first, and pulled into the side of the road for a chat. Bob, an ex-Leyland man, is now marketing manager for the Cooper Motor Corporation, the biggest commercial vehicle dealership in Kenya, taking all of the production from the Thika plant. It was through CMC that I had arranged to drive the Land Train.
Earlier that week I had visited CMC's Nairobi premises and the assembly plant 40km (25 miles) away at Thika. When Land Train was first produced both 4x2 and 6x4 were put on line but since then the tri-axled 30-28 priced at £46,000 has proved almost without exception to be the most popular model, Hasa Hauliers claims that it has not experienced any problems with its five vehicles. The one I drove, lovyever, having just a little more *hen 20,000km on the clock, was ■ howing evidence of a hub seal 'allure, an old problem which seems :o be nagging on with the Leyland 13 :onne hub reduction axle.
Pre-production performance and andurance testing involved eight /ehictes covering over 250,000 miles, md a 4x2 example of the range ::.overed a further 100,000km in the (enyan environment. The high sulphur content in the local fuel was a Norry, but with increased oil changes :about every 5000 miles) and regular attention to intake filters, there have peen no problems in service.
All parts are boxed in the UK and Jelivered by boat and train at the railhead within the 58-acre complex at Thika. Alongside Land Rovers, Range Rovers, Boxers, Land Trains and Guy Victory bus chassis, Leyland Kenya assemble a selection of Susukis, Volkswagens, Canters and Mitsubishis. Could this be a preview of things to come, I wonder?
Licenses are required for all imported goods and local content is encouraged wherever possible, but with newly introduced models, this can take a little time to implement. Once established, however, assemblers are expected to incorporate such proprietary items as locally made Chloride batteries, Firestone tyres, and suspension parts, glass and trim made in Kenya.
British Leyland holds the major 145 per centl share of the assembly company and is partnered by the Kenyan Government with a 35 per cent holding and CMC with 20 per cent.
Inspections are carried out at every stage of the assembly and any fault is corrected before moving to the next stage. Length of production runs are often determined by the contents of the boxed parts, and up to seven individual marks may be in production at any one time.
Inevitably, with Japanese models as well as the British and German ones, the contents of the boxes occasionally fall short of what is needed to build completed vehicles. This can create problems for all replacement parts are imported directly by the dealer, After final inspection by the factory, CMC carries out an acceptance inspection of its own before the vehicles are moved into a holding compound on the site.
While producing some standard body options for cv chassis, most of CMC's psv chassis are bodied by Nonak Body Builders. Proprietor Nirmal Rooper claimed to be the biggest builder in the luxury coach market but conceded that there were others who built more standard bus bodies.
Situated in the heart of Nairobi's industrial area, Nonak claims to build about 30 of both categories each year; all on straight chassis and mostly Leyland. Each is designed in house, and constructed using riveted aluminium panels over a welded tophat section framework.
Luxury specification includes air conditioning, aircraft-type seating and full trim with seating accommodation for 44 persons; the standard bus seats up to 67. Few parts are bought in as most, including aluminium window frames, are made up on site.
• Painting to individual colour schemes is also done on the premises, and in a climate where it only rains for about one month a year rust is not a problem.
Land Train covers eight basic models with gross weights ranging from 19 to 65 tonnes. In Kenya the 6x4 tractive unit replaces the Super Hippo. Though a bonneted vehicle, the cab is derived from Leylands "g" cab used on such models as Clydsdale and Reever, and is trimmed to European standards.
The ladder-type chassis frame is based on a design used first for the Scamrnell Contractor and is said to be able to withstand load factors 20 per cent in excess of those nominally quoted on the vehicle plate, Built and exported to countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria as well as Kenya, the overall design gives ease of access to all of the major components. The all-steel bonnet hinges off the cab, side panels are easily lifted clear, and both air cleaners are mounted on the wings.
With the cab positioned behind the engine, the floor pan is flat across its full width. Twin-shaped passenger seats and an air-suspended driver seat are covered in brush nylon material. Both proved to be comfortable throughout the journey.
The centre console of the facia carries two eyeball fresh-air vents and there are two more at floor level, which with the side window lowered was just about adequate in this climate. Air conditioning has been introduced as optional equipment but, as standard, the large heater is claimed to be able to maintain cab temperature at 28 degrees C at an external temperature of — 5 degrees C.
Set towards the middle of the 4.27m (14ftl wheelbase, the driving position was insulated against the worst aspects of ride caused by poor road conditions, and the suspension rode the potholes without much effect on the steering.
We had another unscheduled stop before arriving at the second weighbridge. This time it was customs police, and they fined the driver on the spot because his load documents were incomplete.
As in the UK, vehicles travel on the left-hand side of the road, but where there are two lanes flowing in the same direction they use the smoothest part of the road. Overtaking takes place on the left or right, wherever there is room.
On arrival at Hassa's yard in Nairobi I was told that the vehicle would be serviced before Francis continued on his way for two more days to deriver the cargo in Kampala. With his old vehicle it would have been a six-day trip for, up country, the roads become steeper and less well maintained.
The turbocharged engine at this altitude was not noticeably down on power. Over the first part of the journey, the Land Train had averaged 65 lit/100km (4.3mpg) while climbing almost continuously for 330 miles.
A brief look at the vehicle before I left made me shudder when I saw that one of the Michelin tyres had a good foot of tread missing. Thankfully, the steel chords below had stood up to the pummelling.