Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre



The Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre is a heritage centre based at Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, the terminus of the northern section of the Great Central Railway (GCRN). The site includes locomotive and rolling stock workshops (accessible to the public), as well as cafeteria and shops. Also on-site is a miniature railway operated by the Nottingham Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (NSMEE). The site also has a Model Railway club and building housing local historic buses. Leaving Ruddington Fields station, the railway links Ruddington with East Leake and Loughborough. The Ruddington-Loughborough railway comprises 10 mi.

Road transport collection

 * Operational vehicles
 * Leyland Atlantean Nottingham City Transport ARC 666T "Andrew Pickering" built in 1978 (numerous experimental features made this vehicle unique amongst NCT's Atlanteans,)
 * AEC Regent III Nottingham City Transport OTV 161 built in 1954.


 * Vehicles undergoing light work
 * Routemaster RCL London Transport CUV 218C built in 1965. (Notable for being the first RCL Routemaster to be built)
 * Leyland Atlantean open-top ex Northern General and Trent ORC 545P built in 1976. (Was also registered MPT 299P and YRC 194 before receiving its present registration)
 * Leyland PD1 Barton Transport JVO 230 built in 1948.
 * Vehicles undergoing overhaul or restoration
 * Barton Transport AEC Reliance/Plaxton Panorama coach 866 HAL built in 1960. (Undergoing restoration)
 * Leyland PD1 ex Leicester and Barton DJF 349 built in 1947. (Undergoing restoration)


 * Stored vehicles
 * Leyland Lion LT5 South Notts VO 8846 built in 1933. (Stored awaiting a major restoration)
 * Leyland National Mk.1 Trent Buses KVO 429P built in 1975.
 * Leyland Royal Tiger/Duple Roadmaster South Notts MAL 310 built in 1951. (Stored awaiting restoration)



Miniature railway
The centre is home to a miniature railway, run by the Nottingham Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, which works on the operating days. The line is long and has two running lines, both going through different tunnels. They usually have a miniature railway gala and a miniature traction engine rally during the year.

Model railway
The centre also has three model railway layouts in a portacabin next to the miniature railway. There are two OO gauge layouts; the first is a Thomas the Tank Engine layout and the second is a model of the old Ruddington Station. The third feature, an O gauge layout is a model of a station with a goods and locomotive shed with a Church, woodworking centre and a factory. There is usually a model railway gala each year.

Visitor centre
The visitor centre contains displays about the centre's railway locomotives and vehicles in the road transport collection, the history of freight trains, locomotives and historic bus operators in Nottingham. There are plans to shortly put up displays on the centre's previous life as the Ruddington MOD Depot.