Trams and tracks

The tramway backdrop under construction

A lot of work goes into Museum display presentation. Putting an item on display isn't just a matter of putting something in a display cabinet, it's also about providing a surrounding visual context.

So, for the new tram display, we didn't just build a shelf for the piece and set up an overhead wire and street supports, we also sourced a contemporary tram scene for background, and built a strip of proper tramway track set into a section of stone roadway that was hand-assembled from individual flagsstones.

This obviously takes more time than simply putting an item on a shelf with a label, but we think that the results are worth it.

New tram display



"Bristol Tramways" tram

A new tram model has just gone on display, in Arch Four.

It's a Bristol Electric tram. The model is one of a pair, Bristol Museum have the other one.

Oliver Cromwell is coming

Stand under construction

We put in the last newletter that the Oliver Cromwell steam engine had arrived (all six feet of it). For the uninitiated, this a big green Britannia Class 7, 4-6-2, one-twelfth-scale steam engine and tender.

Well, it's still not quite on display yet. An item this large (and this heavy) needs a special display stand, and it's taken a while to finalise the design and sort out a few minor issues (like making some replacement parts for the track). The plinth is now pretty much built and painted, and just really needs the frame and glassing, so hopefully it shouldn't take too much longer.