Corgi OM44710 Trent Barton ‘The Villager’ Dart SLF/Pointer

Of the 54 Plaxton-bodied Dennis Darts in the trent barton fleet, 6 are branded in villager livery to work on the V1, V2 and V3 routes between Derby and Burton upon Trent. They are based at the company’s Meadow Road depot in Derby. The brand took its name from the villages served along the way, such as Findern, Willington, Repton, Etwall, Hilton, Tutbury and Stretton. It is very popular within these local communities who dubbed it ‘the sheep bus’ after its original livery. The unofficial soubriquet stuck so well that trent barton insisted on retaining the sheep imagery as a touch of humour when the new brand identity was commissioned from Ray Stenning this year. There are even sheep transfers on the ticket machines! The villager Darts have been given a major makeover inside and out – including a change of interior seating layout to give more generous ‘2 + 1’ seating in the front section, rather than four seats across the bus. Destination 1 – V3 Burton via Willington, Repton. Destination 2 – V1 Derby via Tutbury, Etwall.