Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre

Coordinates: 52°53′5.00″N 1°8′55.00″W / 52.88472°N 1.14861°W / 52.88472; -1.14861

The Ruddington Fields site viewed from the footbridge.

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 miles (16 km).

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)

Two locomotives pulling passenger trains on the miniature railway (Note the Crazy Frog picture on the window of the miniature British Rail Class 35)

Miniature railway

The centre is home to a miniature railway, run by the Nottingham Society of Model and Experimental Engineers,^[1] which works on the operating days. The line is one mile (1.6 km) 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

D375 ASG and R649 JFE on display in between duties

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.

Gallery

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  RSH Ugly 0-6-0ST 56 propelling a train through Gotham Moor

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  Vehicles inside No. 3 building. Vehicles shown in this photo (from left to right) are 1410, C178 AWW, VUT 493X and A130 BRB. MAN 833 and the Redone Tractor are just visible at the back

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  D7629, 56097, 47292, 20154, Churchill and 47765 outside the running shed

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  51138 from the three car 116/117 DMU set

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  (from left to right) 866 HAL, OTV 161, JVO 230, FBC 56T, D544 REM and PFN 865 inside the road transport depot

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  PFN 865 and GSU 841 on display together

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  Open Wagon 411453 and Tank Wagon 40352

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  BR Lowmac 230964

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  63 approaches Barnstone Tunnel during the 2011 post-Christmas running event

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  Visiting LBSCR Terrier 662 'Martello' approaches Bridge 300 during her short stay in May 2011

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  J72 69023 appears to be handling a 300 tonne load towards Bridge 300 during the 2011 Santa Specials. In reality class 47 47292 at the rear was doing most of the work

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre

• GC Railway Nottingham Website
• The English Electric Preservation Group Website who own 08220, D8007, 20154, 37009, E6016
• The GCRN Website
• The GCR Rolling Stock Trust website, owners of six-wheelers 373 and 946, Barnum carriages 228,664,666 and 695, Suburbans 799 and 555 and Clerestory 1663
• The Western Class 46 Group The owners of class 46 46010

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Rushcliffe Halt		British Railways Great Central Main Line		Ruddington
	Heritage railways
Rushcliffe Halt		Great Central Heritage Railway		Ruddington