This view is thought to show civic dignitaries marking the closure of Ilkeston's electric tramway system by riding on the final tram. The system had opened in 1903, being the first such in Derbyshire, but had consistently lost money. In 1916 it was sold by Ilkeston Corporation to the Notts & Derby Tramways Company who operated the neighbouring tramway linking Nottingham, Eastwood, Heanor and Ripley. The Ilkeston system remained physically separate and by the early 1930s had become an anachronism, still running Edwardian style open top tramcars. The trams were replaced by trolleybuses which began operating in 1932; these gave way in turn to motor buses in 1953.