Throughout most of the 20th century, trolleybuses have been quite utilitarian in their design and construction.  However, in the late 1950s, Skoda tried to change that with their new prototype T401 trolleybus.

The T401 was to replace the more basic T400 that had come before it.

The T401 had large panoramic windows with glazing that curved into the roof, pneumatically-operated doors fiberglass seats, a first for Prague's transport.

The T401 went into testing in Prague in 1958, and began full passenger service in 1960.

However, all of this new, costly styling, as well as its tri-axle arrangement, spelled the end of the T401 for mass-production, and it was Tatra's last trolleybus. Skoda then became the dominant trolleybus supplier in the Czech Republic, as well as much of Eastern Europe.

See and hear the story of the T401 trolleybus!