The London Transport Museum have recently launched a new interactive experience on their website which will allow you to explore Metropolitan Feltham 355 inside and out. The tram – housed at the Museum’s Acton Store – has long been “off bounds” so this new experience will allow everyone to see exactly what the tram looks like, along with some history of trams in London and other key information.
The 360-degree virtual tour will allow you to explore the tram from every angle – and there is no need to install special software as its viewable on your own device, whether that’s a smartphone, tablet, computer or even a Virtual Reality headset!
You will be able to navigate through the tram’s interior and exterior in stunning 3D whilst you can click on some objects to view related objects from the rest of the London Transport Museum’s online collection and also learn about the importance of 355 and its role in the transport heritage of London.
- Head to https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/transport/tour-tram-355 to view the virtual tour.
This is a great idea to give people a peek inside a vehicle that visitors can not access.
I recently read about an interesting anomaly of no. 355. The tram is preserved with non-matching trucks, one by EMB and one by English Electric, as Leeds City Transport swapped trucks around between the two batches of Felthams. This does mean one of its trucks is inaccurate for a tram presented in early 1930s livery.
I believe the brown leather (or fake leather?) seats downstairs are also incorrect for the period, as the Felthams had diamond-patterned moquette originally. I’m just mentioning these as interesting facts, not complaining by the way!
This car has a place in history as it was the one loaned by London Transport to Leeds for trials when Leeds was considering buying the Felthams. It became no. 501, the lowest-numbered of the class.