Seaton Tramway Celebrate its 50th Anniversary this August

14th August, 2020

Join Seaton Tramway for their 50th Anniversary Celebrations as they see all 13 of their operational trams in service.

Come along to Seaton Tramway on 28th August to see all 13 trams in action throughout the day. Trams old and new will be traveling between Seaton and Colyton all day. Heritage trams 14, 16 & 19 that ran on the streets of London, Bournemouth & Exeter respectively will be enjoying the 6-mile round trip. Scale replica trams like our Blackpool Boat tram No 4 and our London Metropolitan car 2 will also be making their way through the Axe Valley.

The entire fleet of trams will be in operation across the day of 28th August as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary. Seaton Tramway has made its home in Seaton for 50 years, starting with the acquisition of the closed railway line in 1969. The first tram, No 8, departed Riverside Depot on 28th August 1970. Only going as far as Bobsworth Bridge, its name coming from the cost of a trip. 1 Shilling.
Seaton Tramway would see the track extend all the way to Colyton over the following 10 years, with its first passenger service arriving in Colyton in 1980. Tram No 8 will make that trip once again on 28th August and will be a perfect opportunity for photos up and down the line to capture history in the making.

Through the years the tramway extended toward Seaton’s Harbour Road, made extensions to its Depot and Colyton Station, and eventually saw the construction of its new £3 million station at Seaton. Currently the tramway is seeing the delivery of its ‘Travels Through Heritage and the Axe Valley’ project which will see the construction of 2 new stops along the 3-mile line. The Riverside Depot and new Wetlands Halt will soon be open to passengers in 2021. It also sees the creation of a new Learning and Activity department, opening the tramway for further learning, in particular working closely with local schools and colleges in STEM subject areas and in partnership with Seaton Jurassic and Seaton Wetlands. Starting with the new ‘Activity Station’ containing online resources perfect for those still learning from home during the pandemic.

In June, Seaton Tramway held their very first ‘Tramathon Live’ in which went live for a week on Facebook showing viewers behind the scenes and ending the week going live for a full 24 hours as they operated a continual journey non-stop between their Seaton & Colyton Stations. All to raise money to help secure the future of the tramway. The appeal has since raised over £31,000.

“The pandemic and resulting lockdown has created unprecedented and difficult times across the industries the tramway shares, with Heritage Railways and Tourism & leisure. Railways & Tramways like ours survive because of the amazing support we get from our visitors and passengers through donations and ticket sales. In a time where people our rightly self-isolating, charities’ futures can be put at risk. But we saw amazing support through our online Tramathon and thank each and every person who donated, big or small. It was great to see so many people engaging across the world, from London to America to Australia” – Josh Castree, Marketing Manager, Seaton Tramway

Seaton Tramway is now open daily from 10am, running trams every 20 minutes. They have received the Visit England ‘We’re Good To Go’ Mark and the AA Covid Safety Mark for the installation of new Health & Safety procedure, keeping staff and visitors safe during their visit. Their full list of new procedures can be found on their website www.tram.co.uk. You can also find out more about the anniversary line up.

The full celebrations for its 50th year will now be held in 2021 and will include shows from Brotherhood of Man & Edwin Starr Band.