Major Donation to Seaton Tramway
15th October, 2016
On Friday September 23rd at the iconic Riverside Depot, lifelong friend of Seaton Tramway Mrs Lyn Shears pledged, over several instalments, a donation to the charity totalling £1 million pounds. The generous donation was made in memory of her late husband Trevor Shears who had a long standing involvement with the Tramway stretching back to 1977, first as a volunteer, then as a director from 1991 and Chairman from 2005 until his death in 2014.
“Trevor had a lifelong passion for transport, having worked in the bus industry for most of his career, and loved being involved at Seaton Tramway for its mixture of heritage transport and outstanding scenery and wildlife,” said Lyn, adding: “Trevor worked hard to help the Tramway fulfil its potential, and at the time of his death his greatest wish was to see a new, modernised terminus built at Seaton, which would enhance the Tramway and secure its future for decades to come.”
The Tramway runs mostly on the route of the former railway branch line which closed in 1966. Seaton Tramway was established in 1970, but with Seaton’s railway station already redeveloped it was necessary to find a new route into the town and the town centre terminus was established in 1975.
A permanent terminus building opened in 1995 but in recent years, with the establishment of the new Tesco store and Seaton Jurassic Centre, the time has come to build a new terminus in order to complete the transformation of the Underfleet area and to ensure the Tramway provides all the facilities expected from a top visitor attraction.
The new terminus will be a modern, state of the art building, along with high-level interpretation of the Tramway’s route and history as part of “A Journey In Time” which will see passengers arrive at the brand new modern terminus in Seaton, and then be transported back in time over the three-mile route to Colyton where the old Victorian station reflects the heyday of the railway.
“Trevor was determined to make this project happen and I’m proud to make this donation in his memory in order to make it a reality,” reflected Lyn. “The new terminus building will provide a high-quality, undercover facility for visitors along with educational and interpretation features which will give people more insight into the history of the Tramway and ecology of the Axe Valley than ever before.”
We are currently looking for sponsors and donors who can help build on Lyn’s tremendous gift and who share in our vision for taking this unique and very special heritage tramway forward. Now more than 60% towards our fundraising target, we need your help in getting there.
Seaton Tramway is a registered charity number 1164157 and can claim gift aid on all qualifying donations.
If you’d like to get involved as a sponsor or donor then please get in touch by visiting www.tram.co.uk, or by phoning 01297 20375 to receive a special fundraising and donor information pack.