Tonight on Sunday ` what in Hell's going on? Wow. What an awesome, awesome ride this is going to be. Buying into the pizza dream. The agreement has been one-sided, and we've been bashed with it. Tonight, a cautionary tale. Why did you never say to Warren Powell, 'Pull your head in?' The devil in the detail. Ooh, I'd like to get hold of him. Ooh, I'd like to get hold of him. SOBS: That son of a bitch. (SOBS) A clash of heads. Ooh, look at that. A clash of heads. Ooh, look at that. You can see there's a heavy gash. Scary new research ` head knocks, concussion. I lost my` my teeth and broke my nose and stuff. This is horrible. And a love affair... WHISTLE BLOWS ...with a steam train. You always drive steam engines with the soles of your boots and the back of your pants. TRAIN CHUGS www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. Hell started so well. A small pizza business, on-line ordering, quick delivery and tasty food ` a Kiwi concept that quickly grew. And the tasteless marketing campaigns that offended parents and Christians alike just helped fire up Hell's cult following. But some of Hell's own franchisees ` the people who run the stores ` are finding the devil is in the detail. Some have been threatened with termination of their franchisees. Others have actually been closed down. John Hudson with the story from Hell. SCREAMING It seemed like such a fantastic opportunity to own our own business,... A Hell pizza business. ...to make something of ourselves; to make our mark on the world. But for Natasha Fernandez and Benji Thorn, it all went so terribly wrong. It was Hell, and now it's gone back to the Christians again. Today their Hell is a St Vincent de Paul Opportunity Shop. It's gotten some salvation now. But there's no salvation for Natasha and Benji. Their lives have become a living hell. SOBS: Every single day. (SNIFFS) And they aren't the only franchisees to lose the faith. < Started out well? < Started out well? Yeah, it started out awesome. But last year, Paul Hinton's Hell franchise in Pukekohe was terminated. The agreement has been very one-sided, and we've been bashed with it, really. Paul, Natasha and Benji aren't the first people to invest in a franchise only to lose the lot. But over the past year we've seen a pattern emerge ` former franchisees complaining they've been bullied out of business by the people who run Hell. Sunday knows of eight former Hell franchisees who've been terminated, or threatened with termination. The worst event for a franchisee is termination, cos they then lose the right to sell the business and they lose the goodwill, so they're left with nothing. Franchising lawyer Stewart Germann believes the Hell contract is unfair. You've read the contract from Hell. You've read the contract from Hell. I have, yes. Would you advise any of your clients to sign that? Would you advise any of your clients to sign that? No. That's because he believes the Hell contract is one-sided. You can have franchisees who make a genuine effort, and franchisors are in a powerful position. So they actually breach a franchisee and then terminate, and it comes back to whether that termination is lawful or unlawful. But many would-be franchisees either don't take legal advice, or, like Benji and Natasha, use lawyers without specialist knowledge. And Mum was like, 'Are you sure? You know, this is my house we're talking about.' Natasha believed so much in Hell, she convinced her parents ` mother Merlin and her father Greg ` to use their home as security for her investment. I was like, 'Yeah, Mum. These guys are friends of Benji's. He knows them really well.' Benji's friends, Callum Davies and Stuart McMullin ` Wellington mates who 16 years ago started Hell Pizzas. Benji had worked for them. And I just couldn't get over the` the... the sense of fun that these people had. And Benji wasn't the only investor to get excited about Hell. I joined the company because of the name. When Warren Powell became a director and shareholder, the business took off. And for a time, it seemed everyone wanted a slice of Hell. People want mystique; they want theatre. They want to say, 'Hey, we're young, we're fresh. You know, we're cool.' 2006 was the year Natasha and Benji took the plunge ` a new business together; a new life together; a church wedding the following year. It was like, 'Wow, what an awesome, awesome ride this is going to be.' And to start with, how did things go? It went great. It went great. < It was good. It went great. < It was good. It was really good. Natasha and Benji, like all Hell franchisees, signed a contract with Hell. Yet a slice of Hell comes at a price ` $300,000+ for the franchise. $35,000 for signing the agreement. And then there's the training fee, the launch fee, the purchasing system, and that's just to start. On-going franchise and marketing fees are 10% of sales. And having paid all that money, Hell can terminate the contract if it believes its standards have been breached. So, looking at the Hell contract, what's missing? What would you like to see in it? Well, there's a really good clause in it, John, on, um, the franchisee having to act loyally and faithfully towards Hell. I looked for the good faith clause so that Hell must act loyally and faithfully towards the franchisee. But it's not there. Benji and Natasha believe good faith was missing when Hell terminated their contract. They said we had breached their terms of operations... by keeping the store really really dirty, which I found funny because, being eight months pregnant, I was here the night before on my hands and knees scrubbing the floors. This was no laughing matter. They were dealing with the terminator from hell ` Warren Powell ` and he wanted them out. I got an email, pretty much within the day, saying, 'Start with breach proceedings to terminate the franchise.' Why? Well, Natasha believes she'd become unpopular by objecting to one of Hell's controversial campaigns ` dropping condoms in letterboxes to launch a new pizza. Hell says this wasn't an issue. And then there was a disagreement over a phone bill a staff member had run up while working at Hell's headquarters. And then I was told to take the money out of his wages with or without his approval. And I said, 'Well, that doesn't work either, cos that's illegal. I'm not doing that.' Hell directors Callum Davies and Stuart McMullin are based here in what was the old police barracks in Wellington. They've known about this Sunday programme for months now. We've emailed them. We've spoken to them on the phone asking for them to come on camera and give their side of the story. But they've declined. However, they do say that they received dozens of complaints from the public about Natasha and Benji's business before they breached them and terminated the agreement. But they way they were terminated is disturbing. < I'm going to tell you something pretty shocking. After the break, Natasha and Benji learn how Hell planned their termination. Oh, I'd like to get hold of them. Oh, I'd like to get hold of them. SOBS: That son of a bitch. (SOBS) ENGINE IGNITES, REVS In the days before the recession, Hell was hot. FLAMES ROAR The lads from Hell were into fancy dress and fast cars. That's how they met former racing car driver Paul Hinton. Would you call them good friends? At that stage? Uh, at that stage I would say so, yeah. That's how I felt. Soon Paul was also lusting after a slice of Hell. And they said, 'Go into a shop. Spend a weekend in there. See if you like it.' So I did. Loved it. You got an agreement. You got an agreement. Yep. You sent it to your lawyer. You sent it to your lawyer. Yep. You sent it to your lawyer. Yep. What did he say? He said it was very protective of the franchisor and warned us, um, of that. But, you know, at the time you're all kind of excited, and you want the shop, at that stage. And at first it seemed like a deal made in heaven. We had queues out the door for the first few nights, and it was just insanity. In 2007 Paul was Hell's Rookie of the Year. He became so passionate about the brand, he had the logo tattooed on the back of his neck. It was that cool, to me. But soon after buying in, Paul's new mates told him they were selling Hell. 15 million bucks is a lot of money. > 15 million bucks is a lot of money. > Yeah. Flush with cash from the sale in NZ, Callum Davies and Stuart McMullin took Hell to London. It was tough going. My name's Warren Powell. Warren Powell tried his hand at reality TV. The pressures of running your own small business destroy families. The show bombed. But none of that really mattered because when the recession hit, the trio bought Hell back. We were all thankful that they were back, but, yeah, unfortunately the` some cracks started appearing pretty early. Suddenly, the party was over, and the clean-up began. Franchisees considered to be underperforming were subjected to threats of termination. At least half a dozen sold up, suffering huge losses. When they came back, there was no fun. It was, uh,... NATASHA: ... our way or the highway. > 'Our way' for Benji and Natasha meant random $100 payments to customers for late deliveries. Because head office said you would? Because head office said you would? BOTH: Yeah. And that was something that was happening to everyone, once they came back. It was` It was` It was ruthless. > It was` It was ruthless. > ...ruthless. I've never been bullied in my life before. But I know what it means now. Di Hinton had lent her son much of the money to buy his franchise. But now he was accused of breaching the Hell agreement. So, where do you think they overstepped the mark? So, where do you think they overstepped the mark? Um, at breach one. (CHUCKLES WRYLY) A breach is when Hell decides you're breaking its rules. And, uh, then it just got ridiculous. Paul says he fell out with Hell over this caravan. He built it to expand Hell's business to events. And later Hell bought it off him for $60,000. And suddenly there's an issue over the caravan. And that festers? And suddenly there's an issue over the caravan. And that festers? < Yeah. Hell claimed Paul's use of this caravan had breached the franchise agreement. Paul denies this. And then this email about 'you need to get out, cos we're not gonna renew you'. Not going to renew Paul's franchise agreement. So Paul put his Hell business on the market. You found a buyer? You found a buyer? Yep. The deal went unconditional bar Hell's sign-off. Um, and then we hit a snag right there. Hell refused to approve Paul's buyer. Barring me paying some extra money. Barring me paying some extra money. So, they came to you and said what? The initial deal was 'we want $60K that we paid for the caravan back, and we'll let the sale go through.' So in theory you should have paid them...? So in theory you should have paid them...? Maybe about $30-odd K. A $30,000 transfer fee. But Warren Powell demanded more ` much more. It peaked out at` The last one was $110,000, plus $5000 a day for every day we thought about it. And there were time limits on the reply... to take the deal. And that was to allow the sale to be approved and for the, basically, the breaches to go away. Then the attacks got personal. Offering to cut my tattoo off, with a chainsaw. There was emails going on about how much of a disappointment I must be to Mum having me, all that` (STUTTERS) Just ridiculous. When you read some of the emails, they're just terrible. And they're rude, you know. And they're` They're bullying. The emails were coming from hospitality whiz Warren Powell. KNOCKS ON DOOR We wanted to get Warren Powell's side of the story. We visited his home in Auckland. We emailed him, and we phoned him. But no response. Why did you close? Why did you close? We had our phones and our website cut by head office. And then, um, 7.30 that night, head office stole our pizza boxes... for that night. So basically forced us to close. Paul Hinton's Hell may have gone, but there's still a Hell franchise in Pukekohe. Why did you never say to Warren Powell, 'Pull your head in, buddy?' Fear. Fear. Fear? > Fear. Fear? > Yeah. Totally fear. Back in Khandallah, Benji and Natasha also faced an email onslaught from Hell. This time, about standards. I think their standards are termed in such a way that they can change them at the drop of a hat. Natasha claims she did her utmost to run a clean shop. I made one of my staff members mop the same area of floor three times. Did you feel that they wanted you out of there at any cost? Is that the feeling you have? < Yes. < Yes. When we got the third breach? Yeah, definitely. After three alleged breaches, they were terminated ` a terrifying ordeal. Natasha was about to give birth, and she was shopping here at The Baby Factory with Benji when they were served documents by one of Hell's henchmen. It was a breach and trespass notices ` one for Benji, one for me. How did you feel when you realised what those documents were? I jumped back in the car. I wouldn't stop crying. But the trespass notice didn't come from their landlord. It came from Hell. The lease agreement was between the landlord and our company that owned Hell Khandallah. At no point were the franchisors actually part of this lease agreement. Why did you stop your business? Why did you stop your business? Well, as far as we were concerned, we thought they were legal. We couldn't go there. We couldn't collect our personal things. There were` money in the till. There was banking in the safe. Natasha and Benji had been served a trespass notice. The locks on their store had been changed. But why? Well, Sunday has received information suggesting this was a well-planned operation. This email is from Hell co-owner Callum Davies to the man who served the trespass order. Subject: Khandallah. READS: Love your work. I think we need another name, though. How about "Operation Abortion"? Callum Davies called it Operation Abortion. Ooh, I'd like to get hold of him. Ooh, I'd like to get hold of him. SOBS: That son of a bitch. The notices couldn't have come at a worse time. Because you did have problems with that pregnancy, didn't you? I went into hospital two weeks later for an emergency Caesarean, because the little one was distressed. She didn't have any fluid around her in the end. SAD MUSIC There's still a Hell in Khandallah, across the road from what was Natasha and Benji's store. We were shut down. We were shut down. How would Hell have gained by doing that? They took it from us and sold it to someone else. Natasha, Benji, Paul dispute the legality of their Hell terminations, but say they no longer have enough money to take their dispute to court. And it isn't just about money. It's cost Benji and me our marriage. < Why? < Why? The stress, I think. It was just too much. Aren't you better off together? Aren't you better off together? (SIGHS) I think there was just too much friction in the end. > You know, we've got a bank balance of -$300,000,... you know. If we work hard for the next 25 years, we can get our bank balance up to zero. What sound does a doggy make? But it gets even worse. They still owe Inland Revenue more than $100,000 in overdue taxes. Franchising is a people business, and if you don't feel comfortable with the people, and you can't trust them, don't go ahead. What's your advice to people who want to start a pizza shop? What's your advice to people who want to start a pizza shop? (LAUGHS) Don't buy a franchise. Hell declined to be interviewed. However, it says the termination of the Khandallah store came after audits revealed serious breaches of food safety, hygiene and cleanliness. Removal of phone and internet service is standard termination practice. And pizza boxes were removed only after trading continued. The company says the increasing termination fees were based on the franchise agreement. Hell says the 'chainsaw' comment was 'tongue-in-cheek' and the 'abortion' comment referred to poor business practices. Warren Powell is no longer involved in the local Hell business. Hell is not a member of the Franchise Association, which has a code of practice and ethics. Well, next ` a few knocks to the head? No problem. Or is it? There's no doubt that Pritchard got him flush in the head with his shoulder. Ohh! Ohh! And oh my goodness. Ooh. Ooh. Head clash. Ooh. Head clash. A serious head clash. I don't think he realised that he was knocked out. So, this is an important story for anyone pulling on football boots this winter. Head knocks may be part and parcel of rugby and league, but there's growing evidence that footballers from primary schoolers to professionals are suffering long-term brain damage from the cumulative effect of their injuries. One prominent neurosurgeon's so concerned, particularly about school kids, that he moots three strikes ` three significant concussions ` and you are out. Here's Quinton McDermott. PULSATING ROCK MUSIC In rugby union, as in rugby league and Australian Rules football, bone-crunching hits are an occupational hazard. MUSIC INTENSIFIES Getting back into the fray following a heavy knock is the mark of every courageous player,... MUSIC FADES ...and Steve Devine is no exception. Early on in my career, I guess, it was just 'play on', and you're fighting for a spot on the team and for your team to do well, so... it was just 'get on with it'. MEN CHANT HAKA In his first Test for the All Blacks against England at Twickenham in 2002, Steve Devine started well. Devine is waiting. And he's got it. But later in the first half, he sustained two big head knocks. So, we have a scrum now. They just do a eight-to-six run around the corner, and I go in to tackle six. And just collect his hip, just there. And then I go down, um, hold my head. Um, they whip it out to Wilkinson who snaps a field goal. Um, I think at that stage, now, I'm trying to stand up and I'm dizzy and... I-I just can't quite, um, make it to my feet. And then you sustained a second knock. And then you sustained a second knock. Yeah, I take another head` I get a knee to the head, and it opens me up. So I go to the changing rooms to get some stitches. In the following year came another horrible head knock. In the Super 12 semi-final against the Brumbies, he began with a flourish,... Devine! Steve Devine slides across, and there is the first try. ...but ended the game on a stretcher, following a sickening collision with a teammate, Justin Collins. It wasn't till... jeepers, maybe 15, 20 minutes after the hit that I, sorta, started to come to. If that was bad, there was even worse to come. After further hits in 2005, Steve Devine was knocked out three times in four weeks during the 2006 Super Rugby competition. Suddenly, his symptoms became deadly serious. You know, I was a dead man walking, really. I had nothing. I was just getting around the field. In his final season, 2007, Steve Devine was knocked out two more times. The second hit would prove to be his last. It knocked me out. I lost my front teeth and broke my nose, and stuff. And that was it. I didn't really recover from that one. < So what were the next few days and weeks like? Um, they were just basically a headache. I had a migraine for... well, for two and a half years, really. Yeah, horrible photo. I'm clearly not very well, and... Steve Devine's symptoms took a terrible toll. < It must have been tough for you, and your family, as well. < It must have been tough for you, and your family, as well. Oh,... yeah. Um... I... I` My second boy was born just after. And, uh,... they, um,... This is horrible. (SIGHS) All right. Sorry. Um,... I basically, um` Um, in the Birthcare, they had a La-Z-Boy. They pretty much had to wake me up for the birth. And then, uh, he was born, and, um, I went back to bed. (CHUCKLES WRYLY) You ready? Kick-off. Brad Thorn, kick-off, ready? Go a big one. Ready? Nice, mate. Nice. For two and a half years, dogged by headaches and fatigue, Steve Devine was unable to play a real part in his young sons' lives. Oh, that's a knock-on. Only after his doctors had tried an array of drugs did he finally find some relief through regular injections of Botox ` designed to dull the nerves in his head and neck. Oh, perfect. I went from, at that stage ` two and a half years, I was probably three migraines a week ` to` to none for... for, I think, it was about 10 weeks or so I didn't have a headache. And, um, I... I could live again. I was... I was back, you know. It was` It was brilliant. < You got your life back again. < You got your life back again. Yeah. But, you know, they` It` Botox wears off, so, you know, now I` I feel myself slipping back into that fatigue and getting some migraines, and so I just, um, go back and get a bit more, and a week later I'm good again. All right, mate. Rugby World Cup final. OK. THWACK! Oh, great nudge, mate. That's over. Good kick, buddy. For Steve Devine, it's too late to turn back the clock. But in America, cutting-edge research is taking place which may help save the lives of younger footballers in Australia and around the world. I know that this is a retired NFL player who` who, uh, lived to be in his 80s. At the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts, a brain bank has been set up, where Dr McKee studies the brains of former athletes, including hockey players, boxers and footballers. Tremendous atrophy here. Such small structures. Almost no, uh, white matter of the temporal lobe. Really quite amazing. Most of the former athletes whose brains were donated have been found to be suffering from CTE ` chronic traumatic encephalopathy ` almost certainly a by-product of repeated head knocks. CTE is this progressive neurodegeneration, meaning that the longer you survive with this disease, the worse it's going to get. But it's a very slow disease, and it appears in all cases to be associated with repetitive, but what we'd call mild, traumatic brain injuries. So the kind of injury that you get, uh, from playing football, or boxing, or hockey. This is a disease of ageing. The problem is that this disease of CTE seems to start showing its symptoms many years earlier than other disease of ageing, like Alzheimer's disease. And so we start seeing the symptoms in one's 30s or 40s, as opposed to 50s, 60s, 70s. And so we're now seeing those, um, initial bigger, stronger players growing up and starting to show the symptoms. After the break ` knocked out, or knock-on effect? What's worse? That's around 25 G of force. CRASH! That's about the same as running a car into a brick wall. SMASH! And they do that 1000 to 1500 times a year. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEPING INCREASES Could I have a price check on TENA bladder weakness liners, register 7? Well, it's just a slight weakening of the pelvic muscles. It's no big deal. One in three women have it, so one of them probably has it. I'm fine with it. Do you have a loyalty card? It's no big deal with TENA. So, important question ` how dangerous are multiple concussions in younger players? Is there a time when parents should say 'enough'? And do you have to be knocked out on the football field to suffer long-term brain damage? HEAVY ROCK MUSIC CRASH! CRASH! Chris Nowinski is a former footballer and professional wrestler who's had his own fair share of knocks. I played defensive tackle at Harvard University. And I've had my share of dings and bell ringers. But I had a great time doing it. It's now nine years since my last concussion. I still can't exercise at 100% without getting a headache. I would say probably closer to 10 or 10.30. Chris Nowinski's mentor is Bob Cantu ` widely regarded in Boston as the godfather of sports concussion research. Concussion is violent shaking of the brain. And the brain, in every instance that the head is hit` there are two different accelerations that happen. One is a straight-line acceleration. We call it linear, or translational. And it stretches the neuron ` the brain cell. It stretches its connection ` the axon. And then the other's a rotational force ` the spinning of the head. That not only stretches, but it twists. And it's a greater tension, or strain, on the nerve tissue. And essentially what's happening is you're stretching and straining the nerve cell and the nerve fibres themselves. TENSE MUSIC Bob Cantu, Anne McKee, Bob Stern and Chris Nowinski stand at the forefront of current research into the connection between head injuries and CTE. They're studying not just the long-term effects of concussions, but also the damage which can be caused by multiple subconcussive hits. Subconcussive hits, they believe, can also lead to CTE. These are injuries where the accelerations are not at a level to produce symptoms that we recognise as concussion symptoms. But subconcussive blows can cumulatively lead to damage to the brain. The subconcussive hits in football ` you can think of a lineman in American football. Where they're lined up for every play, every game, every practice. And they hit their heads against each other. CRASH! That's around 25 G of force. CRASH! That's about the same as running a car into a brick wall. SMASH! And they do that 1000 to 1500 times a year. It's called subconcussive because they're not going complaining and having all these symptoms. It's just part of what they do every day. But the brain is moving around inside the skull. And it's taking something. And that's what we're concerned about. This research is both alarming and controversial. Not everyone in Australia is convinced that subconcussive hits cause CTE. It needs far more fleshing out than what has been said. It's a speculation at the moment. But I don't say that in a negative sense. I just say that we are speculating about it. There is no clear evidence. But the Boston doctors are convinced they're on the right track. In America, even tiny kids are taught to give their all in a game of football. Go! Go! Ooh! Gosh. (CRYING) Worryingly, Dr McKee and her colleagues are now finding early signs of CTE in the brains of young footballers who've died ` not all of whom sustained a diagnosed concussion. So this is the surface of the brain. We found it in a 17-year-old footballer; an 18-year-old. We found it pretty extensive in a 21-year-old. So it's helped people realise that it's not just a pro-athlete problem; that you're more vulnerable when you're young, anyway. And so we're clearly giving this disease to children who don't understand what they're even getting into. The challenge now is to find ways of preventing long-term brain injury in football and to halt the onset of CTE in sportsmen before it's too late. In a new and ground-breaking project in Boston, 100 former NFL players are being studied using the latest imaging techniques. What we hope to get out of studying living former NFL players is to understand a criteria so we can diagnose this disease with confidence in living people. The question now being tackled by sports administrators is how relevant are these findings to the head injuries sustained by footballers here in Australia? I think that we need to be pretty careful how we interpret the Boston stuff. Because their game is completely different, you know. The aim of their game is to actually crash into each other with their heads. So potentially players are playing concussed, you know. We` We don't have any such thing in our game, and we take any head contact very seriously. CHEERING In the NRL, players are big enough to know the risks. But when kids play footy, parents have to decide what's safe and what isn't. I just tackled a kid, and he wasn't too happy about that and grabbed my head and smashed it on the ground. One. One. Yeah. We got a phone call and told that Zach had been injured, and they thought he could be concussed. Another five minutes went by. We're on our way to the hospital. He doesn't know his name. He can't tell us, you know, what happened. He's really out of it. I was really dizzy. I remember in the car going like this. I was, like... I just couldn't keep my mouth, like, shut, pretty much. I just had this face about me. It was` That's what my mate told me. But it was pretty weird. Just a few weeks later he was concussed again. The doctor said, 'No, really, if it was my child, I'd be sitting him out for the rest of the season.' I looked at Zach. Zach was shattered. I took the doctor's advice, and we sat Zach out for the remainder of the season. So based on that we're comfortable that he's had enough time to recover, and he's ready to go this season. SPECTATORS CALL OUT If he gets another knock, what will happen then? Three strikes you're out. Yeah, one more head knock and he's, uh, hanging up the boots. DRAMATIC MUSIC With every week that passes, there are more head knocks, more concussions and more players left wondering whether the damage caused will be permanent. And as our children grow up to be bigger, stronger and faster than their parents, the test will be whether the game can be made safer for them, while retaining the raw excitement of a body-contact sport. DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES We play in the backyard all the time, and my oldest who's 7, he loves his rugby. (CHANTS HAKA) I don't blame rugby for what happened to me. It was good to me, and I hope they have, um, the joy that I got out of it. MUSIC SUBSIDES Puts a bit of a spin on that Saturday sports, doesn't it? It's understood headgear might help, but, of course, it doesn't stop the brain moving inside the skull, which causes concussion. All right, in a moment ` the magic of AB778. TRAIN CHUGS TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS CHUGGING CONTINUES Now the romance of the steam train. Things weren't looking good for the Kingston Flyer, though. Her owners had gone into receivership, and the rust and rot set in. But she's been saved by a fortuitous encounter on Trade Me. Megan Martin and the Kingston Flyer. TRAIN HISSES Dawn. TRAIN HISSES A lady yawns and stretches. I know every nut and bolt, and they're like a lady in a way. They test you to your limit, and always comes through in the end. WHEELS GRIND And none comes through like this lady. WHISTLE BLOWS 778's been singing for 90 years. She's the Kingston Flyer. It does become emotional. It's like anything else; it becomes something you get quite attached to. For over 40 years, Russell Glendinning has stoked her into work each day. I like steam engines. I like old trains. I like fixing them. I like to keep them going, and that's the challenge, and that's why I like doing it, cos every day I can come back and drive a train. She's thirsty ` 15,000 litres every time she runs,... All steam engines are called females because they're so fickle. ...and 4� tons of the finest Southland coal. AB class 778 ` one of two steam engines and carriages, better known as the Kingston Flyer. Can you tell me about these huge wheels in there and how they work? The wheel's the inside part, and this white part's actually the tyre. So the tyre actually is bolted to the wheel, and when they wear down after about 150,000 miles, you just cut this old tyre off and put a new one on. You wouldn't get too many punctures in that tyre. > (LAUGHS) No, but they do wear, and as they wear, they get less and less grip on them, because you get this ridge on them. And this one's getting that way now, but it'll do another 100,000. This massive turntable, like a huge lazy Susan, spins the locomotive back in the direction she came from, by hand. How heavy is this engine, Russell? How heavy is this engine, Russell? Oh, this thing weighs 86 ton. And just two of you pushing the turntable? Well, two men usually, but we can do it with one woman. Well, two men usually, but we can do it with one woman. You reckon? OK. Yeah, have a go. Yeah, have a go. I reckon, uh... There you are. Oh... There you are. Oh... Oh, you've got to put a wee bit... There you are. Oh... Oh, you've got to put a wee bit... Feel that! You do have to put a wee bit of effort into it, don't you? Oooooh. You all right? You all right? Yeah, not bad. Do you want me to give you a hand? Do you want me to give you a hand? It's incredibly well balanced. It's all yours, girl. It's all yours, girl. Thank you, I'll take it from here. Not bad when it was built in... put in in 1906. Like any good master, Russell has an apprentice ` 23-year-old George King. 'Train Boy' to his mates. WHISTLE TOOTS How's that? Train Boy's obsession began at 13. He was a qualified steam loco driver at just 18 ` the youngest Kiwi ever to do so. < So, how do you actually make the thing go? Which controls do you use? Well, this over here is your forwards and reverse, so you put that right forwards, and this here's the regulator, so basically the throttle, so the more you pull it out, the faster you go. And down here is the brake control. < How big is this firebox, and what sort of temperature do you get to? Uh, the firebox has a grate area of about 6ft x 4ft, um, and temperature, with a good coal, about 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. < Last question, of course. Everyone loves a train whistle. < Last question, of course. Everyone loves a train whistle. Yes. < Can I give it a go? < Can I give it a go? Sure, give it a pull. WHISTLE BLOWS (LAUGHS) That's so satisfying. WHISTLE BLOWS TWICE Kingston Flyer harks back to 1878. The name's drawn from the original rail route from Kingston to Invercargill, Gore and Dunedin. But roads improved and steam was pushed out by diesel. The Kingston Flyer became a tourist venture between Lumsden and Kingston. WHISTLE BLOWS That was 40 odd years back, and, yes, Russell Glendinning was the driver. When the Kingston Flyer originally started in Lumsden, they asked if I would take over and run the train, and I said I'd be delighted. I didn't think we'd be here for all this time now, 41 years after. Yes, I'm still here. (LAUGHS) How does she tell you what's going on? Well, steam engine... You get attuned to what would be a normal beat, or a normal sound. And you're very attuned to anything that's different. So if you hear a squeak, or a knock, or a bang, or an off-beat in the exhaust, you know something's wrong, You trace it and fix it. Three years ago, it all went wrong. The Flyer went into receivership. The train fell silent. It was quite sad, really, cos we worked up to the last day. The owner at the time just came into the workshop and said, 'Sorry, boys, she's all over. Lock the gates up and go home.' The two engines and the carriages were abandoned to the southern skies. The spiders took over and the rot set in. Every two or three weeks I'd come in here and make sure everything was all right, and to check them over. Gave them a bit of a polish-up now and again. I couldn't bear to see them the way they were. You can hear those... the valves... the steam valves going, and it's like they're living beings. Yeah. Enter David Bryce ` farmer, vineyard owner, entrepreneur. In March last year, I had suffered a stroke. I had to relearn to walk, to talk, to swallow, eat food. In my recovery stage, I was just on the computer one day and saw the Kingston Flyer for sale on Trade Me. A grown-up boy's train set on Trade Me. And it was built in 1908. Listed price? $3 million. David Bryce, who'd never even owned a train set, decided to buy the real thing sight unseen. And I thought, 'Wow, this is neat.' So I phoned up, and within a week I'd made an offer. Are you going to tell us how much you paid for it? No. It doesn't matter how much I paid for it. It's the fact that we've secured the ownership of it for NZ. Yeah. He had a train, now he needed a driver. That was a no-brainer. I came round to the workshop, and Russell was sitting in his chair beside the pot-bellied stove. It was like he was asleep listening to a stereo. But all he was listening to was 778 ticking away outside, ready to go. WHISTLE BLOWS After years of neglect, the track was overgrown with tinder-dry bush, and on the train's first run... When we looked behind us, we could see smoke in the distance at Kingston. So we headed back, and sure enough there was a fire. < That you had started? A fire that we'd started. And so my first train ride and first fire. We put the fire out, and then we looked in front of us and there was another fire we left up the tracks. The Flyer was back in business. When we were getting ready for our first operation, the community got together with their buckets and cleaning cloths and came down and cleaned all the carriages. If you'd like to board the train now, we'll begin our journey. David recently held a special outing for a group of foreign tourism operators. They wanted the full Flyer experience,... COWBOYS YAHOO ...including a hold-up. COWBOYS SHOUT DEMANDS Argh! They were giving rather than taking. There's a Crunchie connection here. # Have a Crunchie, a hokey-pokey bar... # The ad was filmed on the Kingston Flyer. 16,000 guests rode the Flyer last year. METAL CLANGS This is really the only tourist or attraction in the area. Kingston and the Kingston Flyer go together, I suppose, is the best way to say it. Mm. For over 100 years, the Flyer has been the object of mystery, romance and awe. Russell might call her fickle, but he wouldn't have her any other way. < You have retired a few times from this. < You have retired a few times from this. Five. Five times. (LAUGHS) Yeah, well, you know, you've gotta do something with your life, and I've been lucky too, cos I've had some good blokes to work with. And young George here, he's a real good fellow to work with, and he's going to take over from me, and then I will retire. < I don't actually believe you. < I don't actually believe you. Come back in a year's time and maybe I will be. TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS TRAIN RUMBLES Aww, that made me feel strangely emotional. That is our show for tonight. We would love you to check us out on Facebook, tvnz.co.nz.