OUR STORY
2006 - 2010
Our little group was founded in 2006 by a group of bus enthusiasts who aimed to restore and preserve Leyland Nationals National Mk2s 4681 / UPT681V & 4700 / FTN700W. The group was based out of Salters Gate at Taw Law, the site of a former World War site. Although UPT681V still exists today, unfortunately FTN700W was sold later on.
2010 - 2015
As the group started to develop and become known the group purchased Leyland National 4710 / FTN710W. She was restored over a 13 week period and debuted at the first Bus Rally of 2013.
2015 - 2020
With the withdrawal of the first Low Floor Buses to Go Northern in 1997 the group purchased Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown 4855 / R855 PRG. With the unannounced launch of 4855 in 2015 the group attracted the interest of Nick Larkin and appeared in Bus and Coach Magazine.
With the group been the first in the North East with the low floor buses the group expanded and purchased Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renown 4898 / V988 ETN. Alongside this the group had now started looking for a larger building to store the group collection.
In late 2019 the group had now found a new home and started the long task of moving sheds. The former Tram Works in Philadelphia once housed the electricity of the trams for Sunderland. This allowed the group to start to develop their dream and mission to open a transport museum in the North East of England.
With the move in progress the news of Go North East withdrawing the Scania L94UB/Wright Eclipse Solar the group decided to purchase 5217 / NK54 NVN. The NNRG collection has always been dedicated to Chris Moyes the founder of Go Ahead Group, and NK54 NVN was blessed at Durham Cathedral after Chris Moyes passing. It then carried his name until withdrawal.
2020 - Present Day
Becoming a charity was the highlight of 2020, allowing us to develop the dream of opening a transport museum in the North East of England. Once again the group appeared in a huge feature of Bus and coach Magazine announcing the charity status, new building and the dream of the group.
In 2021 the group were donated Volvo Olympian FVK 3814/S814. This is part of the NNRG collection and will be restored and painted into a new livery over the next 5 years.
Our Dreams
The Northern National Restoration Group have many dreams. Below is our aims, mission and goals.
● Preserve the transport Heritage of the North East
● Preserve and restore our former Sunderland Tramworks depot
● Open and Develop a educational center to help people develop skills.
● Open a bus and transport museum
● Support local people through developing skills and knowledge