With the Seaton Tramway now running daily until the end of October the winter closure period probably already seems a long way away but its now been confirmed that all their planned maintenance has been completed which will allow the tramway to be safe and operational for many years to come.
No trams ran on the tramway from 3rd January to mid-February 2023 but that didn’t mean things were quiet as that is when the majority of the maintenance took place. This included major work on three of the bridges on the route – Bobsworth Bridge, Tye Lane North and East Devon Bridge.
Some of the original railway infrastructure is still used as part of the current tramway, including some of the beams and girders that make up Bobsworth Bridge. External contractors were brought in to complete this project which took eight weeks and included blasting the current beams, installing new bridge girders and applying a new coating to the complete bridge. It cost £200,000 to complete with work being completed ahead of schedule.
Elsewhere there was track alignment north of Colyford between Tye Lane North and East Devon Bridge. This meant that the track no longer ran directly into the previous Tye Lane loop layout and so work was required to reconnect the loop back to the track and giving a slightly new look to this loop for regular visitors.
On the trams and volunteers worked hard on restoring and painting the seating of no. 12 which saw each chair and seat carefully removed, sanded, primed and repainted. 10 is also out of service undergoing a full service with new wheelsets being awaited, these are due to go back under the tram during April allowing it to return to service. In its absence 11 has been used extensively throughout March (330 miles travelled according to the Seaton Tramway newsletter). Another tram which is currently out of use is 2 which is undergoing a repaint.
- The Seaton Tramway now runs every day until Sunday 29th October. Check their website at https://www.tram.co.uk/calendar for details of the service running each day.