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Recently added - "A page on the Crosville Preserved and Surviving vehicles
Caernarfon
Crown Street, Caernarfon
from November 1925 until 1932
South Penrallt, Caernarfon
from January 1930 until 1932
Prince of Wales Garage, Bangor Road LL55 1AR
from December 1932 until June 1991 (after transfer to Crosville Wales and then Arriva Cymru)
Crosville began bus operations at Caernarfon in November 1925 upon the acquisition of the business of George E Richards who traded as Busy Bee Motors. The depot of Busy Bee was in Crown Street, Caernarfon and this was the first depot used by Crosville in the town. The depot was next door to the Empire Cinema now a Bingo Hall and the land is now occupied by a home improvements business.
After selling his Busy Bee business George Richards started a new business of U Need US (UNU) and a depot in South Penrallt, Caernarfon and Bridge Street in Llangefni had been established. This business was also purchased by Crosville (LMS Railway) in January 1930 and it is believed that the depot in South Penrallt was then used in addition to the one in Crown Street.
In 1932 Crosville built a new depot in Bangor Road and it was given the name of the Prince of Wales Garage. Allocation to the depot in 1947 was 44, in 1956 - 48, in 1965 - 42, in 1970 - 30 and in 1980 - 25.
The depot transferred to Crosville Wales in 1986 and in January 1991 it became an out-station of Bangor. The premises closed in June 1991 and it was subsequently demolished and became a supermarket.
Cardigan
Unknown location in Cardigan - possibly Angel Hotel and then the Railway Station yard
October 1925 till May 1937
(Angel Hotel) Map Link Street View Link
(Railway Station Yard) Map Link
In 1925 Crosville bought out two operators in Aberaeron, Messrs Hooker and D M Jenkins. A depot was then opened at Aberaeron with an out-station established for one vehicle at Cardigan. The location of the out-station is not known but it possible that it was the Angel Hotel in St. Mary's Street. This was shown in the timetables as the terminus for the Crosville service in the town. It was the custom for Crosville in early days to use town centre hotels especially where there were outbuildings such as old stables etc. In 1933 Crosville took over the service of Western Transport who had themselves operated some of the local bus service of the Great Western Railway including a route from Cardigan to Aberystwyth. This service was for a short period operated by the newly formed company Western Welsh before it transferred to Western Transport. It is likely that Western Transport would have used the Railway Station yard as their out-station in Cardigan and it is thought that Crosville took this over. In 1933 the Crosville timetables show that their terminus changed from the Angel Hotel to the Railway Station at this time. The Crosville timetable of June 1938 shows that the service from Cardigan to Aberaeron no longer required a vehicle based in Cardigan as they were using vehicles based at New Quay and Aberaeron.
The Angel Hotel, which is a Grade II listed building, has a very interesting history. This can be traced back to the 12th century when the premises was used as a hospice for lepers and the local sick and infirm. More details of this history can be found <<HERE>>.
The Railway Station closed to passengers in September 1962 and remained open to goods traffic until May 1963.
Carneddi
Carneddi Garage, Carneddi, Bethesda, Bangor LL57 3RY
around 1967
For a short period around 1967 a bus was out-stationed in the village of Carneddi which is near Bethesda. This was an out-station of Bangor. The land used was that of haulier William Edwards who had a yard at Carneddi Garage in the village of Carneddi. (He lived at 36 Cilfodan in Carneddi)
Cerrigydrudion
Council Yard, on A5, Cerrigydrudion
around 1981 and 1982
For a short period in about 1981 to 1982 a bus was out-stationed at Cerrigydrudion at the Council Yard. This was an out-station of the Denbigh depot.
Chester
Chester was the location of the Headquarters for Crosville and the story of the buildings used for this purpose is described at <<LINK>>. Below are details of the depots used.
Rear of Crane Bank, Chester
from 1911 until 1924
Tower Field, New Crane Street, Chester
from 1924 until April 1927
The Rink, Liverpool Road, Chester CH2 1AE
from April 1927 until April 2018 (after transfer to PMT, First and Stagecoach).
The premises of Crane Bank Chester was the first building purchased by the company and it was initially intended as the factory for the manufacture and construction of motor cars. When the company decided to run buses the rear of the premises was used as the depot. The premises still stands today and is Grade II listed. It is currently mainly flats but has some commercial units including a furniture gallery.
In April 1924 the company acquired premises across the road from Crane Bank at Tower Fields and this became the depot for Chester based buses up until 1927. After the depot was moved, in 1927, the Tower Fields premises became the erecting shop until this provision was moved to the Sealand Road Works. The premises became a depot for M.A.N.W.E.B., the local electricity supplier. It has since been demolished and the site is now used for housing.
By 1927 it was decided to acquire a new site for the Chester depot and the premises formally used as an old skating rink in Liverpool Road was opened in April of that year. This site became known as the 'Rink'. By 1947 the allocation at this depot was 78, in 1956 - 84, in 1965 - 87 and in 1971 - 81. The premises was extensively modernised in 1975.
In February 1990 the depot, vehicles and services passed to PMT Limited. For a while the new company used Crosville on its logo. However the business in June 1995 became part of the First Group and the depot continued to be used as the main base in Chester. In November 2012 the depot and services were transferred to Stagecoach. The 'Rink' continued to be used as a depot until April 2018 when Stagecoach moved their operations to the village of Waverton on the outskirts of Chester. The 'Rink' was demolished and the new buildings erected on the site are used for student accommodation.
Congleton
Cattle Market, Macclesfield Road, Congleton
from March 1980 until November 1989 (Crosville) the used by Bee-Line Buzz (C-Line) till November 1994
From January 1972 Crosville shared a depot with PMT in Biddulph. This was closed in March 1980 and the Crosville allocation of vehicles moved to Congleton to premises at the rear of the Cattle Market in Macclesfield Road. Congleton was an out-station of Macclesfield. The only building used at the depot was a Portakabin and one former bus SLP153 (DFM153H) was used as a static store. Also vehicles were filled from a mobile 'Bowser' fuel filler. (see photos).
The depot passed to Beeline Buzz Company Limited trading as C-Line in November 1989 and closed in November 1994.
Corwen
Garage, Station Forecourt, Corwen
from May 1933 until 1934
London Road LL21 OBU
from 1934 until April 1998 (after transfer to Crosville Wales)
The first main provider of bus services around Corwen was the Great Western Railway (G.W.R.). In July 1930 the bus services of G.W.R. and that of the Wrexham based Western Transport were merged to form a new company, Western Transport, that traded under the name Western 'Red'. In 1933 the operations of Western 'Red' were completely taken over by Crosville and all premises and vehicles were transferred to Crosville.
At the time of the Crosville take-over buses were kept at a garage at the Railway Station forecourt and it was immediately decided that a new depot had to be established. The new depot opened during 1934 and was located on the London Road. The allocation in 1947 was 8, in 1956 - 10, 1959 - 8, 1961 - 8, 1965 - 14, 1967 - 14, 1970 - 13, 1979 - 12 and in 1986 - 7.
This depot was transferred to Crosville Wales in 1986. In 1989 the depot became an out-station of Wrexham. Because of the long term industrial dispute at Wrexham in October 1990 it became an outstation of Oswestry. When Oswestry transferred to Midland Red in December 1991 Corwen then became an out-station of Rhyl. In 1998 it transferred to Arriva Cymru. A year later in 1999 it finally closed.
The building in London Road still remains and houses a car related business.
Crew Green
Unknown location on the B4393 Crew Green, Shrewsbury
from 1 November 1963 until 1967
An unknown location in the village of Crew Green was used as an out-station of Oswestry for a short period in the 1960s. The village is located on the border between Wales and England.
Crewe
Furnival Street, Crewe
from October 1915 for short period
Queen Street, Crewe
from April 1925 until June 1960
Bus Station and Depot, Delamere Street, Crewe CW1 2JA
from June 1960 until February 2006 (following transfer to Midland Red North then Arriva - see below)
One of the first Crosville depots away from their headquarters was in Nantwich about 5 miles from Crewe. The company then extended their operations into Crewe when in January 1915 they purchased the business of John Gregory of Furnival Street, Crewe. Later that year, in October, they also purchased the business of Ward Brothers (Crewe) Limited who at the time of the takeover had a fleet of five buses but only two transferred. There are indications that John Gregory may have worked for Crosville after selling out to the company and therefore his premises at Furnival Street may have been used for a short period to keep the buses transferred.
The work at Crewe was enhanced in 1925 when the company purchased the operator Jim Gibson and a new depot for Crosville was then established in Queen Street. This depot involved two buildings on both sides of Queen Street. The allocation at Crewe in 1947 was 54, in 1956 - 59, in 1959 - 56.
In collaboration with Crewe Corporation a new bus station and depot for Crosville was built in 1960 at Delamere Street. It was formally opened on 21st June 1960. In 1961 the official allocation was shown as 72 vehicles but this figure also included some 16 vehicles at Nantwich which in 1962 transferred to Crewe when the Nantwich depot closed. In 1965 the allocation was shown as 73 and and in 1970 it was 64.
The depot and services around Crewe were transferred to Midland Red (North) Limited on 25th November 1989 and later Arriva became the firm operating the depot.
The depot was closed in February 2006 and in 2022 demolishing the former depot commenced with a view to providing a new bus station and multi-storey car park.
Criccieth
High Street, Criccieth, LL52 0BU
from October 1927 until May 1976
The Criccieth depot was located on the High Street and there was a separate small enquiry office on the forecourt to the depot. This was only open during the summer season. The official allocation in 1956 and 1959 is shown as 2 buses. It was an out-station of Pwllheli.
The depot closed in 1976.
The buildings of both the enquiry office and the depot still exist. The former depot is now retail premises.
Denbigh
Lenten Pool, Off Smithfield Road LL16 3LH
from May 1930 until September 1990 (after transfer to Crosville Wales)
In May 1930 Crosville took over the services and depots of Brookes Brothers Motors Limited (White Rose Motor Services). This involved the transfer of the depot at Lenten Pool that had been established by White Rose since 1925. The allocation to the depot in 1947 was 21, in 1956 - 26, 1959 - 25, 1965 - 28 and in 1970 - 17. The depot initially was not capable of accommodating double deck vehicles but alterations were carried out in 1948 to enable deckers to enter the garage.
The depot was transferred to Crosville Wales in 1986. It was closed in September 1990. Currently the building still stands but is empty. It has been used as a retail market and as a bargain goods retail outlet.
Crosville Wales and subsequently Arriva did keep vehicles in Denbigh as an outstation of Rhyl. These were at various locations around Denbigh including outside the old depot, at the old Railway Station and at a unit within the Denbigh Industrial Estate.
Dolgellau
Arran Road, Dolgellau. LL40 1LA
from April 1934 and still used as a depot by Lloyds Coaches of Machynlleth
The main provider of bus service in Dolgellau during the 1920s was the Great Western Railway. From July 1930 these services were operated by Transport 'Red' the name given to Western Transport that had merged with G.W.R. In May 1933 Crosville took over Transport 'Red'. A new depot was built in Arran Road, Dolgellau and it was opened in April 1934. In 1947 the allocation was 5, in 1956 - 9, in 1959 - 7, in 1965 - 11 and in 1970 it was 14.
The depot was transferred to Crosville Wales in 1986. It was closed for a brief period in October1988 after the loss of some services but it re-opened shortly afterwards after a couple of weeks when new work was found.
It transferred to Arriva Cymru in 1998 and was reduced to an out-station of Aberystwyth until all Arriva bus operations in the South Cambria area finished in December 2013.
After the depot was closed it stayed empty for a period until Lloyds Coaches of Machynlleth opened it as one of their depots in 2016.
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