The Guy Arab Years

Introduction

If you had stood by the Town Hall in Chester on a weekday in the 1950s, 60s or 70s you would have seen a familiar scene: maroon (or more correctly Cherry Red) and cream double – deckers pulling onto the stands, conductors leaning on the platform, and the steady throb of a Gardner engine as passengers boarded.  This article tells the story of those buses – the Guy Arabs numbered 1 to 47 – in the order they arrived, but grouped so the story reads as the fleet developed in real life: through different phases, changing designs, and shifts in policy.

We begin in the years after the war, move through the 27 – foot MkIV era, step up to the 30 – foot ‘Big Guys’, continue with the Mk V developments, and finish with the Northern Counties batches – including the very last new Guy Arab ever built for service in the UK.  Over three decades these buses carried everyday Chester life: the growth of the Blacon estate, busy school journeys that filled both decks, a depot that was always short of space, and a city centre that changed shape around them.

For young enthusiasts in the late 1970s and early 80s, the Guys were something special.  Their survival into that decade was helped, unexpectedly, by that great rival Crosville…  At Wrexham depot, union objections to one-man-operation meant Bristol Lodekkas stayed in service longer, and this slowed the move to one-man working on the Chester to Wrexham route.  Matt Davies speculates that the delay in Crosville adopting one-man-operation in Wrexham (and Chester) also bought time for the Chester ‘management’ to delay replacing their own half-cab fleet; thus making the city a real draw for enthusiasts in the early 1980s.

Post – war context and fleet policy

The years after the war left Chester with a mixed fleet: wartime Guys and Daimlers, newer Fodens, and a depot still based on tramway – era buildings that were never really big enough.  In 1951 the General Manager, E.  G.  Thomas, died suddenly while still in post.  He was succeeded by W.  Astin from Colchester – another former tramway undertaking with a liking for reliable, straightforward double – deckers.  Astin set Chester firmly on the path of standardising on the Guy Arab.  At the same time, passenger numbers were starting to fall slightly and traffic in the city centre was getting worse, with early plans for the completion of the ring road being discussed endlessly.

Most days needed around 45 buses in service, supported by a fleet of just over 50.  Space was so tight that every corner of the depot site – including the former manager’s garden – had to be used for parking.

A major change came in May 1955 with the appointment of Harold Hooley.  His approach was practical rather than ambitious: extend the planned life of each bus to around eighteen years and limit new purchases to about three a year to keep costs under control.  Hooley stayed in charge until 1974 and oversaw the livery changes of 1973–74 and the delivery of the first rear – engined buses for one-man operation.  He was followed by W. David Clarke in 1974, who took on an ageing fleet, shortages of spares and a national shortage of new buses caused by Leyland moving production of the Fleetline from Coventry to Leyland.

Livery development – 1947, 1953 and 1957

During this period Chester’s ‘Arabs’ appeared in three main liveries.  The late – 1940s style was maroon with cream lining, and many buses had cream or aluminium – coloured roofs.  In 1953, under Astin, the city crest was moved higher up the bodywork away from the worst of the road dirt, and maroon roofs became standard.  Then in 1957 the style changed more noticeably: ‘City of Chester Transport’ replaced ‘Chester Corporation’, the cream panel swept around the lower – deck windows and across the front and back, and the fleet took on a much brighter appearance. 

1953—Restarting the numbers at 1 (Nos. 1–3)

With the Coronation year approaching, Chester placed its first post – war order for Guy buses and made a fresh start by restarting the fleet numbers at one.  This was possible because the earlier vehicles that had held numbers 1–28 had all been withdrawn.  Nos. 1–3 (RFM 641–643) arrived in June and July 1953.  They were built on MkIV chassis with Massey bodies and brought back side destination indicators after the Fodens.  Their lowered radiator and neater front wings also showed the cleaner, better – proportioned look of the MkIV design.

No. 1 went on to become something of a celebrity.  It served for more than twenty years, then became a training bus from 1976, and later returned to passenger use – carrying on life performing vintage and zoo duties from 1983.  At some point it gained a Gardner 6LX engine in place of its original 6LW.  Today it is preserved at the North West Museum of Road Transport in St Helens.  Nos. 2 and 3 had quieter but reliable working lives and were withdrawn in the early 1970s.

1954–55—Three Park Royal – framed MkIVs, then the ‘New Look’

Early 1954 brought a striking trio: Nos. 4–6 (RFM 644–646).  They were still MkIVs but their bodies were built by Guy using Park Royal frames.  These had straight sides, four bays and a look that was reminiscent of London’s RTs.  It raises the interesting question of whether they can be considered ‘Guy – bodied Guys’.  They were delivered without light – coloured roofs and no upper cream band and later gained direction indicators.  No. 6 was the last new Chester bus to have an exposed radiator – a deliberate choice at a time when the enclosed ‘New Look’ front was becoming the norm.  Chester may have been influenced by mixed experience with the concealed-front Fodens.  No. 4 later became the first CCT vehicle to enter preservation.

From autumn 1954 into January 1955, the next batch arrived: Nos.  7–12 (UFM 858–863).  These were MkIVs with Massey bodies and the Birmingham-derived ‘New Look’ or ‘tin’ concealed radiator front.  They seated fifty six when new, with later batches gaining a few extra seats as layouts were refined.  Direction indicators were fitted to them around 1960–61.  Otherwise they remained much as delivered, working everyday jobs on routes to Saughall, Blacon, the Lache and the cross – city services to and from Huntingdon, Vicars Cross and Christleton.

Hooley’s 1955 intake—economy where it counted (Nos.  13–18)

The 1955 arrivals – Nos. 13–18, delivered between August and October, following the earlier delivery of Nos. 11–12 in January – show Harold Hooley’s influence clearly.  The smaller Gardner 5LW engine was chosen for the batch, and seating was increased within the same basic body size.  Depending on the individual vehicle, this meant 32 seats upstairs and 26 or 28 downstairs.  Performance on climbs such as Lower Bridge Street or Saughall Road to Cheney Road was modest, but with rising fuel costs and gradually falling passenger numbers, the compromise made sense.  No new buses arrived in 1956, and the next change came with the final 27 – footers in 1957.

1957—The last 27‑foot Arabs (Nos. 19–23)

Chester’s 1957 delivery brought the last of the 27‑foot double‑deckers and one of the biggest visual changes since the war.  Nos. 19–23 (713–717 CFM) were MkIVs with Massey bodies, but the first thing anyone noticed was the updated paint scheme.  The 1957 style carried the cream band around the lower‑deck windows and across both the front and rear.  The fleet name now read ‘City of Chester’ instead of ‘Chester Corporation’.  Three of the buses – Nos. 19, 21 and 23 – arrived in March, with No. 20 following in April and No. 22 in May.  They remained in service into the mid‑1970s.  No. 23, the last new rear‑entrance bus, stayed in use until the end of 1976, outlasting even one of the 1963 ‘Big Guys’.

1960–62—From caution to the ‘Big Guys’ (Nos.  24–30)

The law had allowed 30 ft by 8ft double deckers since 1956, but Chester held back for a few years.  The streets were narrow, the city centre was busy, and the depot was already short of space.  However, a demonstration run in 1960 with a Wolverhampton 30 footer finally convinced the Transport Committee.  Tenders were issued and Chester stayed with what it knew best: Guy chassis with Massey bodies.

Nos. 24–26, delivered in June and July 1961, were the first of these longer vehicles – quickly nicknamed the ‘Big Guys’.  They arrived with a distinctive Johannesburg – style front, a design originally created for large six-wheelers in South Africa.  They also introduced a forward entrance with an air operated sliding door and full air brakes.  The back panel carried a clear warning: ‘CAUTION – AIR BRAKES’.  Inside, the altered door layout even allowed for a small sideways – facing seat just behind the entrance.  With a capacity of 41 upstairs and 32 downstairs, the buses made good use of their extra length.  The staircase, indicators and side blinds were also sensibly repositioned for front door working.

The next group, Nos. 27–30, followed in June 1962.  They were similar but included ventilation improvements, the top deck front windows gained proper vents and the earlier compressor access panel on the offside front was tidied up based on experience.

1963—Mk V and a return to the ‘Birmingham Tin’ front (Nos. 31–34)

By late 1963 Guy had moved on to the Mk V chassis.  Chester’s next batch – Nos.  31–34 (4831–4834 FM) – switched back from the Johannesburg front to the more familiar Birmingham – style ‘tin’ front.  The Mk V chassis was nearly three inches lower than the MkIV.  Although not a full low height design, it improved the proportions and gave a little extra headroom inside.  Massey continued to supply the bodywork, and this combination looked particularly well balanced: a rounded dome, five bay body, and a stance that suited Chester’s streets.

This was also the moment when the new Blacon Avenue canal bridge opened.  It linked the estate directly to Parkgate Road and allowed recasting of the Blacon network with new route 2 and derivatives that used the new bridge, which these Mk Vs were well placed to handle.  No. 34 was withdrawn early, in December 1975, without ever receiving the 1973 or 1974 livery styles; the others lasted into the later 1970s.

Network expansion and Blacon

No story about Chester’s buses is complete without Blacon.  As the estate expanded in phases, terminus points shifted repeatedly – Stamford Road, Furne Road, Blacon Point Road, Western Avenue, Auckland Road – and a whole family of suffixes grew to keep track: 1A, 1B, 1D, 1E, 1F, 2C, 2E, 2F and more.  Before the 1963 bridge connected Blacon Avenue to Parkgate Road, buses had to run the long way around via Blacon Station and Saughall Road.  After the bridge opened, a more logical circular pattern developed.

By the mid 1970s, circular operation simplified many of these patterns, and in 1983 several were renumbered into a clearer 1/2/15 format.

School traffic was also a major factor at this time – with pupils travelling to City High, the Grammar School, the Catholic High and later Kings School – and photographs from the time show the Arabs earning their keep, fully loaded and doing exactly the job they were bought for.

1965–66—The late – Massey ‘arabesque’ (Nos.  35–41)

Four more 30 – foot Mk V/Massey buses arrived in July and August 1965 (Nos. 35–38), followed by three more in September 1966 (Nos. 39–41).  The 1965 arrivals had a slightly more upright front dome and window line, giving them a subtly more modern look while keeping the familiar Massey character.  In 1973, the ‘cream to roof’ livery experiment appeared on Nos. 39–41 (and No. 45); No. 40 carried this right up to its withdrawal in July 1981.  From 1974 a revised livery using a new fleet name device in the form of a roundel containing the City coat of Arms, gave the fleet a more settled appearance.   Apart from No. 1, which was always a unique case, No. 37 was the last of the fleet to retain the 1957 livery.  

The most unfortunate fate of this batch belonged to No. 38, which ended its days parked in a field beside the A90 near Perth.  One whole side was repainted in blue to advertise “eggs for sale,” and a later joyride incident caused extensive damage.  By 1990 the bus had been broken up, though its Gardner engine survived and is now fitted into one of the Lancashire United Guys, which resides at the Northwest Museum of Road Transport in St Helens.

1969 (March)—Northern Counties joins the story (Nos.  42–44)

With the Labour government elected in 1964 and again in 1966, national transport policy changed direction under Barbara Castle.  She oversaw a programme of nationalisation within the bus industry, leading to the 1968 Transport Act.  This created the new Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) that absorbed many former municipal undertakings.  The Act also introduced the bus grant scheme, in which central government covered part of the cost of new vehicles if they met certain standards.  These standards favoured rear engined double deckers, and demand for traditional front engined designs collapsed almost overnight.

For firms like Massey, this created a challenge: their body designs had been built around the conventional front engined chassis.  Facing uncertainty and the prospect of orders for new rear engined types, Massey decided to seek a buyer, and Northern Counties (NCME) took over the company in March 1967.

Against this backdrop, Chester’s next three Guy Arab Mk Vs – Nos. 42–44 (XFM 42–44G) arrived in March 1969 with NCME bodywork.  Inside, they broadly followed the familiar Massey layout, but outside they conformed to the NCME design.  They featured a single – piece cab windscreen, a lower – set side destination indicator (which left more room for longer adverts), a centred rear emergency door with the seating adjusted around the wheel arches and a less upright front than the last Massey batches.  They entered service in the 1957 livery and later took on the 1974 version.  Of the first three, No. 42 survives today in preservation.

To qualify for the 25% bus grant funding, new buses had to be capable of one man operation.  The NCME bodied Arabs were built with a small opening cab window into the saloon for this purpose.  Whether this technically qualified them is unclear, and in practice there is no record of any of them working in true one man operation mode.

1969 (October) – The final Arab deliveries (Nos. 45–47)

October 1969 marked the end of an era with the arrival of Nos. 45–47 (DFM 345–347H), the final Guy Arab Mk Vs supplied to Chester – and the last new Guy Arabs bought for normal UK municipal service.  Of these, No. 47 holds the distinction of being the final new Guy Arab ever built for service in the UK. 

They again entered service in the familiar 1957 paint scheme.  No. 45 later received the 1973 cream heavy livery.  Eventually all of this batch gained the 1974 version as livery policy continued to evolve.  Within a year of their arrival, Chester received its first rear engined Daimler Fleetlines, in December 1970.  From that point on, the traditional half cab Arabs increasingly worked alongside more modern designs until they were gradually withdrawn through the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The end of the front engined era

After October 1969 the days of the half cab bus were numbered.  Rising labour and fuel costs and falling passenger numbers (and revenue) pushed one person operation to the fore and the new Daimlers could facilitate this.  The Fleetlines could all be operated with a two person crew and frequently did when new.

The Arabs remained reliable workhorses, ‘high-capacity buses’ as W. David Clarke called them, for the busy Blacon and Lache routes.  Nevertheless, everyday practices were changing around them: front door boarding, radio communication, altered stands, and in 1981 the extension of pedestrianisation at The Cross, which sent buses via St John Street.

By the time No. 47 was finally withdrawn, the half cab Arab was already a museum piece in spirit, even if the occasional example still appeared in operation during peak times.

Preservation and Legacy

Chester was fortunate in how many of its Guy Arabs survived beyond their working lives, and each one has its own story. 

No. 1, the first of the post war sequence, lasted more than two decades in service before becoming a training bus in 1976.  It later returned to public use on vintage runs to the Zoo from 1983, and today it is conserved at the Northwest Museum of Road Transport in St Helens. 

No. 4 was the first CCT vehicle to enter preservation, originally bought by D. R.  Wooton and later owned by Dave Dennis.  It has worn both its 1953 and 1957 liveries during its preservation life and remains safely stored with other historic vehicles.

Among the later batches, No. 35, a classic mid – 1960s Mk V with Massey bodywork, has become a well known preservation favourite, restored to an exceptionally high standard by Matt Davies and Dave Dennis, it regularly appears at enthusiast events such as the Llangollen Railway’s Classic Transport weekend and more recently Chester BusFest.

No. 36 saw an unexpected extra spell in service when delays in new deliveries, caused by gearbox problems experienced with the Dennis Dominators, required its temporary return to the front line.  It survived withdrawal and was purchased by E. Dickenson; it now rests in dry storage somewhere in Staffordshire. 

No. 40 was also considered for preservation by a group of Birmingham based enthusiasts who visited the depot with serious intent.  Sadly, nothing came of the discussions and the bus was eventually scrapped.

The preservation story also includes No. 42, another E.  Dickenson purchase, which is displayed in its 1957 livery at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum.  And finally there is No. 47, the last new Guy Arab ever built for UK service.  After withdrawal it, too, received a meticulous restoration—again through the work of Matt Davies—and in the early 2000s it appeared at several events in Chester and beyond, gleaming in its revived condition.  It now resides at the Northwest Museum of Road Transport in St Helen’s, an outstanding museum that befits No. 47s importance as almost the UK’s last new half cab in service.

Together, these survivors ensure that the Guy Arab era remains more than just a set of photographs or memories.  They preserve the sound, the feel and the character of Chester’s buses: that Guy gearbox ‘whistle’, the smell, the view of the Eastgate Clock from the front upstairs window, and the atmosphere of a transport system that shaped everyday life for generations.

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1956–57 Interlude – Second‑hand Purchases (Nos. 56 & 57)

By the late 1950s Chester faced a practical problem: two Fodens with Davies bodies were no longer economical to repair, and the cost of new bodywork (£1,950 each) far outweighed the price of good second‑hand buses entering the market. Southampton Corporation, replacing vehicles at around ten years old, had several Guy Arab Mk IIs available, all with robust Park Royal bodywork. Two of these—Southampton Nos. 84 and 88 were purchased by Chester in 1959 for £750 each, becoming CCT Nos. 56 and 57. 

Guy Arab No. 56 (ex‑Southampton No. 84, DTR 907)

New in November 1946, No. 56 was a Guy Arab Mk II with a Gardner 6LW engine and Park Royal body. It arrived in October 1959 and was quickly repainted into the 1957 Chester livery, fitted with standard Chester destination displays front and rear. It entered service sequentially after the remaining Guy Arab IIs (46, 53–55) of the previous number series. No. 56 proved excellent value, lasting until October 1969 before being sold to Cubbins of Bolton for scrap in May 1970.

Guy Arab No. 57 (ex‑Southampton No. 88, DTR 911)

The second vehicle arrived earlier, in February 1959. It was renumbered No. 57 and repainted like No. 56. It remained in service until September 1968, giving Chester nearly a decade of use after its already long Southampton career. It was sold to Hartwood Finance of Barnsley in June 1969 for scrap.

Both buses were distinctive within the Chester fleet. Neither carried side destination indicators in Southampton; CCT fitted its own front and rear units. Both later gained turning indicators around 1960–61. Photographs show No. 57 especially tidy when newly in service, carrying wheel‑nut rings and a bright finish. By the mid‑1960s both buses were familiar performers on Huntingdon, Cliveden, Saltney and General Station services.

Though modest purchases, Nos. 56 and 57 filled a vital gap at a time of budget pressure, workshop constraints and the need to retire timber‑framed bodies that had aged poorly. They also marked the first time Chester bought used vehicles, something that would not be repeated until 1963, and then not again until the deregulation era of the 1990s.

Postscript

A sad omission from the preservation list of Chester’s Guys is a Johannesburg Front variant.   During the late 1980s and early 1990s Matt Davies and Dave Dennis scoured the country in search of Chester City Transport buses that had been sold on from the ‘dealers’.   In the days before email and the internet, this involved research by letter and phone and was grindingly slow.  Shear bloody mindedness (a recurring theme) resulted in Matt locating both Nos 28 and 29 at Rennie’s in Scotland.   A phone call was made by Matt, only to discover that they had been sent for scrap two weeks earlier.   The words, “If you had called two weeks earlier you could have had them” have rung in his ears ever since!