A tram which has often featured in our archive photo series is the Seaton Tramways no. 7, a tram which has been stored at the back of Riverside Depot for many years but has recently been pushed out into the open air – albeit very briefly!
7 last operated in passenger service in 2007 when it was withdrawn requiring an overhaul which was started but with other projects taking priority this work was stopped with the tram remaining at the rear of Riverside Depot, only viewable during behind the scenes tours. However, earlier this week a reorganisation of the depot was required which meant that 7 needed to be moved. Unable to operate under its own power the tram was pushed out of the depot by hand – the first time that it had actually moved in 10 years. 7, still with various items stored within the lower saloon and on the upper deck, was moved to the edge of the (admittedly rather small) depot yard before it was then moved back into its new storage position.
It remains the plan that 7 will eventually be returned to the tracks but funding is not yet in place and no timescale has been committed. Whenever it may be it will be a welcome return and we can only hope that it will be used in service once again!