A change for Seaton 9

This article has been updated since original publication

The trams which now operate on the Seaton Tramway – and when they ran in Eastbourne before the move along the coast – are no stranger to changing their looks. And its happened again with a subtle change for one of the “new” trams (are trams which were built over 20 years ago still considered new?!).

That tram is 9 – the first of the three trams built by Bolton Trams Ltd in 2002 – which has received some doors on the lower deck which means the former open section in the centre is now no longer open to the elements! When built all three of the trams had an open section in the centre of the lower deck whilst the ends of the deck were nice and enclosed. 9, 10 and 11 had been triplets in that regard (the difference between them was the liveries of course) but that has now changed with 9 being the first of the trams to look slightly different.

Of course, trams which operate on the Seaton Tramway have a long history of changing their appearance over the years. The most recent example of this has been the rebuild of 17 from a Crossbench to a fully enclosed saloon and renumbered 15 but its by now means the only tram to have seen significant changes. 12 is probably the most rebuilt of all trams having been a single decker and now a double decker which looks like a Feltham tram and not forgetting its first double deck style.

There have also been more subtle changes to other trams with 6 starting off with an open crossbench design on the lower deck, then receiving small saloons at each end before reverting to the fully open crossbench condition! 8 had a similar gestation with it having both fully crossbench lower deck and enclosed saloons in its operating life.

Announcing the news of the new look for 9 the Seaton Tramway have confirmed that the work was completed to allow a comfortable accessible journey for passengers whatever the weather. It took place in full at the tramway’s Riverside Depot with the new design having to include new emergency stop buttons as well as space for the portable ramp.

Lee Taylor, Engineering Manager at Seaton Tramway, said: “It was a privilege to lead this initiative, and I’m thrilled to see tram number 9 creating a new passenger experience on our lovely tramway. Seeing the project completed ahead of schedule, before the winter season, has been a great accomplishment.”