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Post-War Recovery (1946 – 1952

The end of war released large social and operational pressures into the transport system.  Even before hostilities ended, policy and leadership changes were underway.  In April 1945 the general manager Ellis was succeeded by Lee Wilkes, who moved on to Newport in June 1946; E.  G.  Thomas (from Merthyr) then took charge until May 1955, followed later by Harold Hooley. 

Passenger traffic surged by roughly forty percent in the immediate post‑war period as people returned to holidays and leisure with few private cars available.  Equipment and premises were worn: maintenance staff had been short and materials scarce, and the depot buildings—rooted in tramway‑era fabric—were chronically tight. 

Two post‑war orders placed in 1945 and 1946 shaped the initial recovery: each comprised four Daimler double‑deckers and two AEC single‑deckers.  Delivery delays were common, and although bodies were originally allocated to Metro‑Cammell/Weymann, the Daimler were ultimately fulfilled by Massey. 

The first Daimlers to arrive (Nos.  60 – 61, CVA6, May 1947) were the first double‑deckers delivered new in the maroon and cream style adopted by the Transport Committee in April 1946; Nos.  62 – 63 followed in July/August 1947 (CWD6 with Daimler engines).  These immediate post‑war Massey bodies closely echoed late pre‑war lines, with asymmetrical ‘D’‑shaped end windows and initial variants in dash and bonnet lining that were tidied in subsequent repaints. 

In April 1946, the Transport Committee formally adopted a new maroon and cream livery for all future deliveries, replacing the various, green-based schemes that had characterised pre‑war and wartime vehicles. This decision followed a demonstration of a Foden double‑deck chassis (HMB 935) whose colour scheme attracted favourable comment and came at a moment when Crosville’s fleet had begun to appear in the newly introduced Green associated with the Tilling Group. The Committee wished to ensure intending passengers could easily identify their vehicles from Crosville so adopted the maroon-based livery, which effectively exchanged their liveries, doubtless causing some confusion in the interim changeover period as each fleet was repainted’. The new colours were not really a modern interpretation as Crosville had been using what was actually LMS maroon since the early thirties. The pre-war Crosville bus could easily be confused with a post-war CCT bus, even down to the layout of colour bands.

Single‑deck needs were met by four AEC Regal I chassis with Massey forward‑entrance bodies.  The first pair (Nos.  64 – 65) arrived in June 1946 and as already explained these were the earliest deliveries to wear the maroon; the second pair (Nos.  68 – 69) followed in October 1947.  These buses retained compact destination equipment integrated above the driver’s window, adequate for regular duties to Curzon Park, Christleton and, via Blacon Hall Road under a low bridge, to Ludlow Road.  The rear design displayed a curved waistline with central emergency exit.  Over their long lives the single‑deckers took on school work and special duties alongside regular services. 

Further Daimlers (Nos.  66 – 67, August 1947, and Nos.  70 – 71, February 1948) completed the immediate double‑deck renewal.  The Daimler CD6 engine (on CWD6) offered smooth running with timing gears at the rear, while the AEC‑engined CVA6 versions matched post‑war body breadth and mudguard forms. 

The Corporation then turned to a distinctive tranche of double‑deckers: ten Fodens, delivered between 1948 and 1951 in three batches plus a supplementary vehicle.  No.  72 (November 1948) had been displayed at Earls Court and arrived with concealed radiator and divided platform window; Nos.  73 – 76 followed in March 1949; Nos.  77 – 78 arrived in November and December 1950; Nos.  79 – 80 came in February/March 1951 with Davies bodies; and No.  81 (December 1951) was supplied against a cancelled private order.  Foden chassis used Gardner 6LW engines and constant‑mesh gearboxes with a robust cruciform‑braced frame and power‑assisted hydraulic brakes; the heavy clutch was well known and the speedometer mounted in the steering wheel boss was a distinctive feature.  The bodies evolved from composite framing to rubber‑gasket glazing and, in the case of the Davies pair, construction that proved short‑lived at seven‑year recertification in 1959, prompting their replacement by good second‑hand Guys rather than full rebodying. 

Post‑war operations settled into familiar patterns.  Cross city workings continued to link Saltney with Vicar’s cross and Christleton (with renumbering from 26 to 6 in February 1953), and frequent short workings—such as ‘White Friars’ on Sundays when Cathedral stops were blocked—show a pragmatic approach to the historic centre.  Photographs record the Town Hall and Cathedral stands as favourite vantage points; public notices and football fixtures were a regular presence in saloon windows; and the undertaking continued to resource race‑day traffic, as evidenced by images of rebodied wartime Guys and austerity Daimlers outside the General station for race meetings.

By 1952 the fleet had largely emerged from the austerity period with a solid block of immediate post‑war Daimlers and single‑deck AECs, augmented by the distinctive Fodens and buttressed by re‑bodied wartime Guys. 

The Guy Arab IVs that followed (beyond the scope of this section) are foreshadowed by the Massey rebody style applied to wartime Arab II No.  46 and by references to vehicles in service on opposite sides of the street in mid‑1950s photographs.

Timeline (1946 – 1952)

  • 1945 — April: Ellis succeeded by Lee Wilkes as General Manager; June 1946 Wilkes moves to Newport; E.  G.  Thomas (from Merthyr) takes over (to May 1955).
  • 1946 — April: Transport Committee adopts maroon and cream livery.  June: AEC Regal I Nos.  64 – 65 (FFM 660 – 661) delivered with Massey forward‑entrance bodies.
  • 1947 — May: Daimler CVA6 Nos.  60 – 61 (HFM 170 – 171) delivered; first double‑deckers delivered new in maroon.  July – August: CWD6 Nos.  62 – 63 (HFM 172 – 173) delivered.  October: AEC Regal I Nos.  68 – 69 (HFM 176 – 177) delivered.  August: Daimlers Nos.  66 – 67 delivered (CWD6 and CVA6).
  • 1947 – December:  December; New service General Station to Curzon park and Earlesway via St Anne Street. Revised to operate as two separate services form Christleton to Curzon Park or general station via St Anne Street, and via Stocks lane replacing the old Red Bank service in April 1948.
  • 1948 — February: Daimlers Nos.  70 – 71 delivered (CVA6 and CWD6).  November: Foden No.  72 (JFM 745) delivered after display at Earls Court.
  • 1949 — March: Foden Nos.  73 – 76 (JFM 746 – 749) delivered.  Post‑war demand and depot constraints continue to shape allocations and parking practice.
  • 1950 — November/December: Foden Nos.  77 (MFM 556) and 78 (MFM 557) delivered.  Replacement programme restarts as older Leylands (e.g., 36 and 40) are withdrawn.
  • 1951 — February/March: Foden Nos.  79 – 80 (MFM 634 – 635) delivered with Davies bodies.  December: Foden No.  81 (OFM 33) delivered against cancelled private order.
  • 1952 — Rebodying: wartime Guys receive new bodies—No.  46 (Massey), Nos.  53 – 54 (Davies), No.  55 (Massey).  Race‑day images record these vehicles at the General station.

Closing Section

By the early 1950s Chester’s municipal bus undertaking had moved from wartime exigency to post‑war consolidation.  The tramway’s replacement in 1930 ushered in rapid inter‑war growth, a wartime fleet that was renewed even under constraint, and a post‑war programme that balanced new purchases with strategic rebodying.  Maroon and cream became the settled civic palette; destination and numbering practice matured; and route structures adjusted to the city’s changing shape and traffic—cross‑city workings, Sunday short turns and race‑day traffic all being regular features.