This beautiful, large tram was built in 1902 for London United Tramways. Number 159 is a double bogie, double deck open top W Type Tram built by GF Milnes. London United Tramways, abbreviated to LUT, started services in 1901 in West London with a fleet of similar trams. When built it was very luxurious, especially compared to the normal wooden floor and wooden seated trams, with the lower enclosed deck having carpets, curtains and padded seats, and i'm not aware of any surviving Trams from the Edwardian era having anywhere near as much luxury for the passengers. Another unique feature is the stairs to the upper deck - rather than a constant curve as on other Edwardian Trams, 159 has a straight staircase, a platform where you turn 180 degrees and then up another straight staircase to the top deck. Restoration of Tram 159 was completed in July 2012, but unfortunately a problem with the Tram meant it was not running during the Edwardian Weekend and I am unfortunately yet to see it in action or get the chance to ride it, but hope to soon
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