One of England’s few state-owned fleets not painted in a uniform red or green, this small East Midlands operation maintained a distinctive appearance and operating practices for over 20 years and lives on today as a division of the group that owns Trent Barton

Notts & Derby, part of the Wellglade group that owns Trent Barton, is the direct descendant of one of the more unusual operators from the 40-year era of state ownership.
It was originally part of the Balfour Beatty group, formed as the Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Tramways Company in 1903.
It began operating trams ten years later between Ripley and Nottingham and in 1916 took over Ilkeston Corporation’s route between Cotmanhay and Hallam Fields, south of Ilkeston. Trolleybuses replaced the trams in 1932/33 and the business was renamed Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Traction Company.