Welcome to The Clyde Turbine Steamer Foundation's TS Queen Mary Website
The ship which lent its name
to the iconic Cunard ocean liner - and during that period was the original Queen
Mary II
Queen Mary passing under Tower Bridge en route to a new life on 9th November 2009. Photo copyright of and kindly supplied by John May.
Remembering
the last Clyde Turbine Steamer and popular restaurant in London and following
her in her forthcoming role as a hotel in La Rochelle.
Scroll down or click on the
image above to enter the website
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QUEEN MARY LEFT LONDON ON NOVEMBER
9th, 2009 |
LATEST NEWS
Click
here to go to the main index page for photos of the tow through London on 9th
November 2009
Would you be able and
willing to help us by contributing any pictures of Queen Mary for use on this website?
If so, please
e-mail Gordon Stewart
at the Foundation
11th Nov : Queen Mary is at Tilbury Dock
Check the Port of London Authority website regularly
to verify her position : Ships
in port Expected
Departures The PLA
updates the lists frequently
I have heard unofficially and this is in no
way certain information, that she may be in Tilbury for about a month
The tow to La Rochelle will be in the hands of Capital Marine. Click
here for a news item on their website.
Capital
Marine is the parent company of Capital Boats who acted as sales agents in the
purchase.
The new owner in La Rochelle is still looking for one or more
investors to take an equity stake in Queen Mary. Are you interested in joining him either as
an active or sleeping partner ? If so, the webmaster can
put you in touch. Please
e-mail Gordon Stewart
at the Foundation on this link.
ONCE SHE ARRIVES IN LA ROCHELLE ........
After arrival
in La Rochelle, she will begin a 17-month long conversion into a floating hotel to be moored
at the French resort's yacht marina.
According to reports, she will have three suites, 24 four-star rooms and 18 three-star rooms. There
will also be a restaurant, bar and fitness centre.
The new owner is M. Samuel
Boudon, Managing Director of Naval Force 3, a shipyard in la Rochelle dedicated
to the construction of luxury yachts as a private venture. It is expected that
the refit will be undertaken by sister companies of NF3 located in La Rochelle,
all part of the Pole Refit group. One company, the Atlantic Refit Centre, can
handle yachts of up to 150 metres in length, almost double the size of Queen
Mary.
News
item on PoleRefit website
The initial prospectus issued by the new owners, including the
planned capital constitution of the new company to be formed to run her
can
be seen on this link
What
the prospectus says is that M Boudon has been monitoring Queen Mary's status
for quite some time and when the opportunity to buy her arose, he stepped in.
This, along with the illustration of Queen Mary, gives the webmaster confidence that
the new owner is a genuine supporter of the ship and that his plans do involve
maintaining her traditional lines, possibly returning her appearance closer
to the original, and doing a high quality job on her conversion.
We should
be grateful that M.Boudon has stepped in to save Queen Mary for what would appear
to be a bright future in an attractive location.
SPECIFICATIONS AND HISTORY
Built for
Williamson-Buchanan Steamers Ltd for their Clyde services from Bridge
Wharf, Glasgow
Twin funnels exhausing a Scotch-type boiler were painted in
Williamson-Buchanan colours, white with black tops
Normal weekday schedule
was to leave Glasgow at 10:00 hrs for Dunoon and Rothesay, with a range of onward
non-landing cruises
Saturdays saw her leave Glasgow at 13:45 for Dunoon,
Rothesay and the Kyles of Bute
Renamed Queen Mary II in 1935 to allow her name to be used for the
new Cunard liner
Williamson-Buchanan (1935) Ltd established in October 1935
as her owners became a subsidiary of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co.
Only
took the yellow and black funnel colours of the CSP in December 1939 and was
finally registered as owned by that company in 1943
Remained on the Clyde throughout the Second World War generally between Gourock
and Dunoon sporting a range of (mostly grey) camouflage liveries.
Enclosed
wheelhouse fitted in 1948
Mainmast fitted in 1954 to meet new safety regulations - and new cafeteria facilities
installed in the same year
Converted to an oil burning Yarrow water-tube boiler in early 1957 when one large elliptical funnel
replaced her two funnels
Radar installed in 1960.
Masts shortened in 1969
so that she could sail under the new Kingston Bridge on which a new motorway
ran through Glasgow
After the 1969 season, Glasgow sailings were withdrawn
and she sailed out of Gourock
Refitted in 1971 and undertook sailings as
far as Campbeltown, in succession to the withdrawn Duchess of Hamilton
Her original name was restored in 1976 after Cunard's Queen Mary was removed
from the register.
In her later years, sailings to and from Glasgow were
restored
Withdrawn in 1977 after local government tourist development grants were withdrawn
and given to support the paddle steamer Waverley.
Her final cruise was an
evening "Showboat" cruise from Largs to Rothesay and through the Kyles
of Bute on September 12th 1977.
Laid-up at East India harbour, Greenock.
Sold to Glasgow District Council in June 1978, but plans to retain her as a museum
on the Clyde came to nothing.
Sold for use as a restaurant on the Clyde.
Sold to Euroyachts Ltd and then
in 1981 to Tesright Ltd and moved to King George V Dock,
London and later to Tilbury.
Turbines removed - two donated to the Science
Museum, London and one retained on the vessel (one now at the Scottish maritime
Museum, Irvine)
Damaged by fire during refitting. Laid up.
Sold to brewers Bass-Charrington (Toby Restaurants Division) in 1987 : this
company is now part of Mitchells & Butlers plc.
Refitted
at the Crescent Shipyard, Chatham with new funnels, masts, companionways and
bulkheads. Warren Smith Architects involved in the design work.
Moved on
July 29th 1988 to the
Embankment in central London under tow by Warrior, Triton and Sir Aubrey of
Warrior Towage Ltd.
In her new position, she replaced her former Clyde fleetmate PS Caledonia,
which was lost to fire at her Embankment berth in 1980
Soon after arrival
her white and black funnels aquired two red bands soararated by a white band
with a thin black line around the centre of the white band.
Received a major refurbishment in 1997 at Chatham at a reported cost of GBP
2.5 million and reappeared with buff funnels with black tops.
In 2005 her
upper works were painted light blue,herventilators being buff to match the funnel
In February 2006 the blue was overpainted with brilliant white. White funnels with black tops were restored, now
featuring a "QM" inscription
Closed for business in January 2009
and sold in April 2009 by Mitchells & Butlers plc, successors to the Bass
Retail Leisure organisation
Sold to Mr Samuel Boudon for use as a floating
hotel at La Rochelle.
Left London under tow on 9th November 2009 initially
for Tilbury Dock and should
reopen
for business in France in 2011
HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPH ARCHIVE
: QUEEN MARY FROM 1933 UNTIL THE PRESENT DAY
More historical information
and links to external information sources and photographs
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Click here to go to the Queen Mary photograph collection and links to other relevant material |
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Many people may remember Queen Mary like this, with one funnel after her re-boilering in early 1957. Joe Dalrymple kindly supplied this photo of her at Dunoon in 1962 |
THE HISTORICAL CASE FOR HER PRESERVATION IS
COMPELLING
The importance and uniqueness of ships can often be overstated
and it is wrong to make too many claims to fame for any ships, but in the 21st
century we are now seeing quite a few "last ofs" and Queen Mary
can claim one of these as well as a strong direct link to a fleet-mate which
really was a "first of" of her type worldwide
- Direct link (ownership, construction yard, general design principles,
service history) to the world's first ever steam turbine powered passenger ship
(King Edward of 1901)
- The last surviving turbine powered coastal cruising
excursion steamer on the UK's National Register of Historic Vessels (NRHV) and
the last of her class worldwide
- With her steam turbines still in preservation,
she is one of the last few remaining non-military turbine ships of any type
still in existence anywhere as this once-dominant form of propulsion now disappears
from the marine engineering scene
Her importance
to the social history of Glasgow and the Firth of Clyde should not be underestimated.
She followed her predecessors by being primarily based in the centre of Glasgow
and ferrying many hundreds of thousands of its citizens to the Clyde resorts
for day trips and for their annual holidays. Going "doon the watter"
was one of the timeless aspects of industrial Glasgow's life - a rare chance
to escape the city for the fresh air and beautiful scenery of the Firth - in
a ship built along the banks of the Clyde alongside some of the world's most
important vessels of their day.
She has, of course, the popular
acclaim of being the "original" Queen Mary and holding the name that
the Cunard line wished for its new ocean liner, the largest in the world for
many years. The generosity of her owners saw the name go to the Cunarder which
still lies in Long Beach, California, to this day, whilst the Clyde steamer
became "Queen Mary II" for most of its working life and sported a
gifted portrait of the monarch in her forward saloon in appreciation.
THE FOUNDATION WILL DO WHAT IT CAN TO PROMOTE THE SUCCESS OF QUEEN MARY IN HER NEW ROLE AS A HOTEL AND MAINTAIN INTEREST IN HER AMONGST ENTHUSIASTS IN THE U.K.
The Clyde Turbine Steamer Foundation
is dedicated to ensuring the long-term survival of Queen Mary in a suitable
role. Having failed in an earlier attempt to find an organisation willing to
establish her as a floating maritime museum in the Glasgow area, despite raising
significant finance to enable her purchase and delivery, it will now seek to ensure that
she is successful in her new role as a hotel.
Whilst she still exists, is
taken good care of and not altered significantly externally, there is always
hope for her future.
We hope to continue to provide information about
her when she is in La Rochelle and to receive photographs for this website and
our archive.
If you would like to invest in the La Rochelle project as
a business venture, I can put you in touch with the new owner.
She should become a high quality boutique hotel in one of France's most popular
resorts.
If there is ever any risk to Queen Mary in future, would you
be willing and able to step in? The webmaster would still like to be aware of anyone who
shares his interest in Queen Mary, so that an informal circulation list for
matters of interest can be maintained. If it is important to you that Queen
Mary is never threatened with the scrapyard please
e-mail Gordon Stewart
at the Foundation on this link.
DO YOU WANT TO SEE QUEEN MARY SAIL AGAIN IN THE U.K. EXCURSION TRADE ?
That is now most unlikely, but there is a growing belief that there is scope for the introduction of a major excursion ship to sail in conjunction with Waverley and Balmoral. It would likely need some revenue support and active involvement of enthusiasts, but if operated alongside these other classic excursion vessels, it could benefit from and provide for economies of scale and sharing of costs. Her ownership and operation would need to be in the hands of a professional organisation. With the old Queen Mary gone, why not dust down the original plans and build a new vessel incorporating the highest modern standards and best materials yet recreate one of the finest coastal cruising vessels ever operated. It would surely be more cost effective than restoring the old vessel. The cost ? Maybe GBP 8 to 10 million. A fantastic legacy for a sympathetic corporation, successful entrpreneur or even a winner of a weekly game of chance which is now creating a number of individuals with real wealth..........
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A new Queen Mary, most likely seen on her trials in 1933, in a post card view kindly supplied by Gillon Ferguson. Was there ever a finer coastal excursion steamer ? |
GO OR RETURN TO THESE SECTIONS OF THE CLYDE TURBINE STEAMER FOUNDATION WEBSITE
FOR MORE ABOUT CLYDE STEAMERS IN GENERAL AND PADDLE STEAMERS PAST AND PRESENT ......
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The Paddle Steamer Caledonia
(left) was built by the same yard as Queen Mary, but one year later.
She sailed on the Clyde alongside the turbine steamer until late
1969 and was Queen Mary's predecessor at Waterloo Bridge in London
until lost to fire in 1980. Although best known at this time for
building turbine steamers, Wm Denny also built the hull and engines
of the iconic
US stern-wheeled paddle steamer Delta Queen seven years before construction
of Queen Mary, plus many other paddlers for river and estuarine
service in Britain and abroad. |
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THE LAST SURVIVING CLYDE STEAMER |
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Please note that this is an unofficial website, not connected in any way with past or present owners of the Queen Mary. The Clyde Turbine Steamer Foundation aims to retain the memory of her long career and to have cordial relations with the owners in order to help promote her in her current role.
THE WEBMASTER
Gordon Stewart at the Foundation can be contacted on this link
Tramscape
and Gordon Stewart.
All photographs displayed are with the permission of the acknowledged photographer
but are not to be copied for re-use for any other website or publication without
the specific authorisation of the photographer. You are welcome to use the text
from this website as a research source and basis for your own work but it should
not be copied and republished elsewhere verbatim or only slightly altered.
All
material on these websites : tramways.awardspace.com, paddlesteamers.awardspace.com,
steamships.awardspace.com, turbinesteamers.awardspace.com, paddlesteamers.freehostia.com
and turbinesteamers.freehostia.com are
Tramscape and Gordon Stewart or the individual photographer where acknowledged.
Photos not otherwised attributed are by Gordon Stewart
