Welcome to The Clyde Turbine Steamer Foundation's TS Queen Mary Website
The last Clyde Turbine Steamer, a direct link to the world's first ever turbine powered passenger ship and the last of her class in the world.

Queen Mary as most will now remember her : as a floating pub and restaurant moored at Waterloo Bridge, London from 1988 to 2009
Queen Mary is laid-up at Tilbury but has now been sold to a private UK based buyer (September 2011)
Scroll down for the leading source of Queen Mary news, information and photographs on the internet

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION: It is an internet resource for learning about Clyde passenger turbine steamers, other turbines used in coastal excursion services in the UK and bringing news about the world's last few remaining passenger ships using this type of engineering technology. It is researched and maintained by Gordon Stewart who also presents the paddlesteamers.info* database, a leading source of paddle steamer (including Clyde steamer) information on the internet.

It also aims to make this site the main source of information about TS Queen Mary on the internet and a focal point for those interested in the past, present and future of the ship, maintaining awareness and campaigning when necessary to ensure the survival of the ship.

Queen Mary is a popular ship - but we need to know exactly how popular. The more people who are recognised to be supporters of the ship, the more chance there is of gaining even more support, relevant resources and credibility for any future project regarding her future. You are invited to let the webmaster know of your interest, to share your perspective on the future of Queen Mary and sign up for the webmaster's periodic news updates (see below for more information about the Foundation's Queen Mary awareness objectives and how to contact the webmaster).

The Foundation maintains contact with the owner of Queen Mary and will give moral support and advice, if appropriate and requested, to help ensure the survival of the ship, the preservation of her historical appearance and where possible, the restoration of her historical internal arrangement.

* IMPORTANT NOTICE
paddlesteamers.info is the new name for the Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape database. If you use this database please note that is is now located at a new website address. Therefore, please click here to go to the new address and create amended bookmarks if required

LATEST NEWS

Queen Mary has been sold to a private buyer in the UK in September 2011. Further details are to remain confidential at this stage.

Highly-respected UK magazine Ships Monthly briefly reported in their news pages in the December 2011 edition that there were plans for Queen Mary to be moored as an attraction at the pier in Southend. The source was not attributed. This is not an imminent prospect. In August 2011 prior to the failed auction of Queen Mary, a proposal was made by a Southend borough councillor to buy and moor the ship at the end of the pier as an attraction as an alternative to stalled plans for a multi-million pound redevelopment of the pier end facilities and the idea was reported in the local south Essex press at the time. This proposal has gathered some interest from local politicians, but of course, the sale to the current owner was concluded before the Southend proposal could be developed. Such local authority projects have a long gestation period and whilst supporters of the proposal will continue to see the ship as an attractive focal point for reinvigorating the pier for leisure and tourism, the ship is no longer available for purchase. To what extent the proposal remains live and to what extent Southend council progress it remains to be seen.

Where is Queen Mary ?
Check the Port of London Authority website regularly to verify her position : Ships in port   Expected Departures  (The PLA updates the lists frequently)

A QUEEN AMONGST EXCURSION SHIPS ......

Queen Mary is one the finest excursion steamers ever built and was one of a fleet of turbines which brought a unique brand of speed, smoothness, quietness and, in her case, a new level of comfort to day trips on Scotland's beautiful Firth of Clyde.

She has a remarkable historical pedigree which links her directly with TS King Edward, the world's first passenger turbine ship and is the last ship of her type anywhere in the world. (see section "The Historical Case for Saving Queen Mary is Compelling" below)

Whilst she made her name carrying holidaymakers and excursionists from Glasgow to the resorts on the Clyde, she gained wider acclaim as the original Queen Mary, the name wanted by Cunard for their ocean liner due for delivery in 1934. A deal was done and for most of her working life she sailed as "Queen Mary II" until she was able to assume her original name when the liner was removed from the register. (click here for more about her links with Cunard's RMS Queen Mary)

SPECIFICATIONS

HISTORY

SERVICE
Built for Williamson-Buchanan Steamers Ltd for their Clyde services from Bridge Wharf, Glasgow
Keel laid : 9th December 1932
Launched : 30th March 1933, naming ceremony conducted by Lady Colquhoun
Trials : 15th May 1933, achieving 19.696 knots
Entered service : 20th May 1933
Understood to have cost GBP 61,805 and 16/9d - equating to approximately GBP 3 million in currency terms of 2010.
Twin funnels exhausing a Scotch-type boiler were painted in Williamson-Buchanan colours, white with black tops
Unusually for a Clyde Steamer, first class accommodation was at the forward end of the vessel (lounge on promeande deck, restaurant on main deck)
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.
Presented with a portrait of HRH Queen Mary which hung in the forward lounge by the Cunard company in appreciation
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.
Wartime duties involved ferry work between Gourock and Dunoon and tendering military and troop-transporting ships including RMS Queen Mary
Enclosed wheelhouse fitted in 1948 
First and third class areas were abolished in 1950 and all accommodation became available to all passengers   
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 and Inveraray, in succession to the withdrawn turbine 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.
Earlier that day she had sailed light from Gourock to Largs then took a public cruise via Rothesay and Dunoon into Loch Long then back light from Largs to Gourock
Laid-up at East India harbour, Greenock
.
PRESERVATION
Sold to Glasgow District Council in June 1978 for GBP 30,000
Plans to develop her as a maritime museum on the Clyde collapsed as budgets were cut by a new incoming government.
Sold to Euroyachts Ltd for use as a floating restaurant at Anderston Quay, Glasgow, for GBP 17,000
In 1981, after eight months with Euroyachts she was sold to Chinese restaurant company Tesright Ltd for GBP 40,000 and moved to King George V Dock, London
Damaged by fire during refitting. Laid up.
Sold to brewers Bass-Charrington (Toby Restaurants Division) in 1987 to replace her former Clyde fleetmate PS Caledonia, which was lost to fire in 1980.
Refitted at the Crescent Shipyard, Chatham with new funnels, masts, companionways and bulkheads. The total cost was estimated at GBP 2 million
Warren Smith Architects involved in the design work.
Moved from Chatham Historic Dockyard on July 29th 1988 under tow by Warrior (skippered by Ron Livett), Triton and Sir Aubrey of Warrior Towage Ltd.
Moored alongside the Embankment on the north bank of the Thames immidiately upstream from Waterloo Bridge with her bows pointing upstream
She was understood to have been the largest vessel to have reached this far upstream
Soon after arrival her white and black funnels aquired two red bands separated 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, her ventilators 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
The issue was forced by a requirement for her berth for an extended riverbus pier development at Savoy Pier
Sold to a private consortium headed by Mr Samuel Boudon with plans to convert her for use as a floating hotel at La Rochelle, France.
Left London under tow on 9th November 2009 for Tilbury Dock by the tug Aicirtron (again skippered by Ron Livett) assisted by Horton and Unico
The La Rochelle project was cancelled and the ship remained laid-up at Tilbury.
Sold to a UK-based private buyer in September 2011

STEAM TURBINES
Turbines removed - two donated to the Science Museum, London and one retained on the vessel and originally displayed in the lower deck cocktail bar with a propellor directly attached.
Note :
One turbine remains with the Science Museum and his held at their large item storage facility at Wroughton, Wilts and can only be seen by appointment.
One is now at the Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine and has been stored outside but is due (in 2010) to be taken inside for restoration and display.
The webmaster is unclear about the current location of the third turbine which had not been on display aboard for many years.
The new owners have indicated to me that to their knowledge it is not aboard, although there are other indications it might remain concealed in a storage area.
Can anyone confirm ?

FURTHER INFORMATION  

Click here for more information, historical records and links to external internet sources
More about Queen Mary's connection with the famous Cunard - White Star Ocean Liner Queen Mary

For more about Queen Mary's owners and the Clyde in the 1930s when she was introduced, click on these links

Williamson-Buchanan Steamers Ltd : Queen Mary's first owners
Caledonian Steam Packet Company : the operators she is most commonly associated with
Caledonian-MacBrayne : who took control for the final years of her operational life
Clyde Steamers of the 1930s : A review of the decade and its new ships by Gordon Stewart

PHOTOGRAPH ARCHIVE : QUEEN MARY FROM 1933 UNTIL THE PRESENT DAY

The Foundation has a substantial and growing collection of photos of Queen Mary showing her at different stages of her long career : click here, then click on the historical period link to go to a particular phase of the ship's career. Then click on individual photos to enlarge if your cursor indicates a link, or follow any links to photographers' donated collections where indicated
If you have any of your own photos which you would be prepared to have posted on this website, the webmaster would be delighted to hear from you : Click here

THE HISTORICAL CASE FOR PRESERVING QUEEN MARY 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.
    (Queen Mary was a direct derivative of the pioneering King Edward of 1901 and sailed alongside the older vessel until 1951)

- The last passenger-only turbine steamer in operation which undertook an "excursion" programme rather than providing a short-sea "ferry" service

- The only ship of her class which was on the UK's National Register of Historic Vessels (NRHV) and the last of her class worldwide

- One of the few remaining examples of a passenger ship of any class built with steam turbines

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 in one of the yards along the banks of the Clyde whose output made Glasgow famous worldwide.

She has, of course, the curiousity value of being the "original" Queen Mary and holding the name that the Cunard line wished for its new ocean liner, which went on to become one of the world's most famous ships. The grudging agreement of her owners saw the name go to the Clydebank-built liner which is now preserved in Long Beach, California, whilst the Clyde steamer became the first "Queen Mary II"  (strictly speaking, slightly different to Queen Mary 2) until recovering her original name in 1976.
On display in her forward saloon was a portrait of HRH Queen Mary, wife of HRH King George V, gifted by the Cunard company in appreciation (click here to see photo). In addition, a brass plaque was presented which recorded the details of the event (click here to see photo kindly contributed by Andrew King).

THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE HER FOR THE NATION WAS NOT TAKEN

The debate about what should be saved for posterity and what should not is a very "political" debate, especially so if any public financing is going to be required. Buildings, even many in ruins, are preserved in large numbers. Ships, despite the interest of many, very much less so, and appear not to have the same call on the public purse. Military vesels and cruise liners tend to have big followings, but cargo vessels very little. The larger the ship the more expensive it is to "save", but if it has a particularly large following, it may be cost effective due to its revenue earning potential. Queen Mary falls somewhere between all these - popular with the many who sailed on her but probably little known outside this group, yet small enough to be "saved" at relatively small cost with the possibility of being fully utilised for revenue-generating purposes.

Her importance and value was recognised by Glasgow District Council back in 1977 and she was purchased for use as a museum ship after her withdrawal from service. (see press reports in the Glasgow Herald on this link). The then Director of Museums, Trevor Walden, told the Glasgow Herald, "We would benefit enormously from such a facility and the ship would bring new interest and life to the quay. It could provide accommodation for exhibitions and possibly space to develop an art rental service. It might also provide catering facilities". The council was aware of the additional uses the space aboard could be used for and clearly saw her as a major attraction for their riverside redevelopments. However funding was withdrawn after a change of national government and the ship was sold for commercial use and much of the historical fabric ripped out including turbines (for preservation) and boiler.

When it became clear in early 2009 that Queen Mary was not going to be transferred from one public house owner to another and she was closed for business whilst offered for sale through a shipbroker, there were some efforts to draw attention to her plight. Jim Tildesley, Director of the Scottish Maritime Museum, which owns a collection of historical vessels and also the Experimental Tank at Denny's Dumbarton yard was reported as telling the Dumbarton Reporter Newspaper in March 2009 : “In a sense, the selling of the Queen Mary was inevitable since our understanding was that she wasn’t particularly viable. This is the trouble with historic ships in the UK — as a whole there is probably too many of them. Although she is on sale for hundreds of thousands of pounds, I believe she would require millions of pounds worth of restoration work. Most of her interior has been stripped bare, leaving pretty much a shell of the steamer. In terms of the fleet of Denny-built ships, she was a minor one. When she was built she had a life expectancy of thirty to thirty-five years, which means that after that point she had to be built again — the costs associated with bringing her home would be astronomical.”  Effectively, the museum had no interest in stepping in to save Queen Mary for the nation.

In the Foundation's view this was as much to do with the museum's preoccupation with risk as exemplified by the clipper "City of Adelaide" which had been gifted to them in poor condition and was continuing to deteriorate with little hope of being saved. The Queen Mary, by contrast, was in a good condition, having months earlier been in regular use for bar, restaurant and function use. Structurally, a fair-weather tow was, and remains, possible and the selling price was not "hundreds" of thousands of pounds. The asking price was GBP 154,950.

Queen Mary, unlike City of Adelaide was never added to the Core Collection of Britain's fleet of historical vessels but was merely "Registered" with the NRHV, although the Foundation's view is that this was as much to do with the inertia of her commercial owners rather than the historical merits of the ship itself. In a purely Scottish context, the importance of Queen Mary surely far outweighs that of City of Adelaide, which was named Carrick whilst moored in Scotland as a naval training ship, but otherwise had little to do with the nation. Also, in contrast to the City of Adelaide, Queen Mary was still afloat and, by comparison, in excellent condition. She had a lot of supporters; nothing as well organised as the City of Adelaide, but still enough to get the Scottish local press and the Scottish Maritime Museum, despite their reluctance to take on any perceived additional risk, involved.

In terms of Denny-built ships, it is difficult to see which had more importance to the Glasgow area, and most importantly in the terms of reference of today's museums, its people and "social history". In any case, how many other Denny-built ships still survive, and of those, which would be better candidates for preservation ? Ironically, a 1952-built Denny motor passenger ferry, Fenerbahce, broadly equivalent in size to Queen Mary and withdrawn in 2008 from its service at Istanbul, has been sent directly to the city's excellent Rahmi M Koc Transport and Technical Museum as a floating exhibit (see photo).

Ships do not have to be scrapped after thirty-five years - unless thay cannot pay their way in a commercial organisation or cannot attract revenue support in an alternative environment. The problems that Mitchells & Butlers faced with Queen Mary (ie a regular overhaul which should have been budgeted for over the medium term) just happened to coincide with the economic shock waves which rocked the world economy in 2008/2009, hit business revenues and sent share prices, especially for pub-owning companies reeling. A number of other unrelated issues, particularly in the area of property speculation, had also contrived to further affect the M&B share price during this period.

The periodic "rebuilding" of the paddle steamers on the Swiss lakes, many of which are now over 100 years old, shows that old ships can be regularly "renewed" rather than being disposed of (a point made very strongly on our sister website - paddlesteamers.info). It is also interesting to note that Swiss paddle steamer operators managed to weather the economic crisis of 2008/2009 admirably. Whilst it would take time, effort and money to return Queen Mary to her original configuration, it is a point of debate as to whether that would be absolutely necessary for a museum ship. Is a museum ship an exhibit in itself or a place to display other exhibits ? The Foundation has taken the view that Queen Mary would be more than suitable as the latter whilst a long-term rebuild to her original internal form would be desirable but not essential. The chance was missed in 1977 and not taken up in 2009. The new owners in France recognised the possibilities and seized their opportunity. Although not to be used as a museum, it would seem that Queen Mary still had her attractions - and her uses ......

It seems that others shared this view. Richard Lane, handling the sale of the vessel said to the Glasgow Evening Times in the same week as Mr Tildesley gave his sceptical views : "Our website had 5000 hits within 36 hours of advertising the vessel. I have had calls from around the world including Texas, France and Greece from people saying they love this ship. I've had a fantastic, overwhelming response to this vessel. Vessels of this age and pedigree are a very important part of maritime history and to have a vessel like the Queen Mary in your harbour is a very attractive proposition. It has massive tourist potential and will generate a lot of visitors. I've not had this amount of interest in any other vessel and must admit I've been taken aback."

In 2011, when the project of the new French owner for a hotel ship at La Rochelle failed, the opportunity was once again passed. Glasgow Life, the city's agency responsible for culture and sport, owner of the preferred "home" for Queen Mary for most enthusiasts, and which has always privately distanced itself from the Queen Mary, was prompted by Scottish Daily Mail journalist Gavin Madeley in an article published on 16th August 2011 to make its only public statement known to the webmaster on the issue. " We do not have the expertise, resources, or the capacity to host the Queen Mary steamer and, as such, have no plans to purchase her". Contrast this to the words of an earlier Museum Director, Trevor Walden, in 1977 to the Glasgow Herald : "We would benefit enormously from such a facility and the ship would bring new interest and life to the quay. It could provide accommodation for exhibitions and possibly space to develop an art rental service. It might also provide catering facilities".

THE CLYDE TURBINE STEAMER FOUNDATION'S ON-GOING AWARENESS OBJECTIVES

In late 2008 when it became clear that the then owners Mitchells & Butlers plc had failed to sell the ship within the pub/leisure trade and fearing that she might be sold for scrap, the webmaster, attempted to draw attention to her plight by expanding his long-standing Queen Mary web page. He appealed for anyone interested in buying the ship, who might otherwise not have known of her availability, to step forward. For over 20 years she had really only been known of as a floating pub, and whilst remembered fondly from her time on the Clyde, there was no obvious group to "keep an eye on her" as would be the case with paddle steamers. Whilst it was accepted that her future would more than likely be with a corporate or at least a commercial owner, it was presumed that anyone finding the ship and its availability through this website would likely be an enthusiast willing to run the ship in a "preservationist-minded" way.

One major philanthropist came forward and the webmaster helped promote his plan to persuade one of the major maritime museums on the Clyde to accept Queen Mary as a gift. It was felt that it would also be possible to get the support of small enthusiast donors (for whom this has always been a favoured solution) and attract corporate sponsorship to ensure there was no call on the public purse. Made under the banner of the Clyde Turbine Steamer Foundation, the proposal was rejected. Once the sale to M Boudon of La Rochelle, found also to be an enthusiast of the ship, went through, the webmaster planned to promote his hotel project in France.

This website continued to maintain awareness of Queen Mary, appealing for supporters of the ship to make themselves known, hoping that amongst them there might be parties, either individually or jointly, with the resources and abilities needed to ensure the ship's survival if she became at risk again. A number of intersted parties made themselves known and the webmaster was able to put several of these together for mutual benefit in developing projects for Queen Mary's future. A major awareness campaign was initiated in 2011 when it became known that the ship was to be put up for sale and the plight of the ship received good coverage in the Scottish press and also on the regional news programme of independent TV in Scotland and the south east of England.
Click here to see the main press articles referring to Queen Mary and the Clyde Turbine Steamer Foundation

ON-GOING AWARENESS
The webmaster is in contact with the new owner in order to assist in his private project in any way when required. However the Foundation believes it is important to keep the profile of the ship high as she will become an even more important part of Scotland's maritime heritage as the years go by.
ENTHUSIASTS : The webmaster continues to invite anyone with an interest in Queen Mary to let him know - and join the mailing list for periodic news updates.
If nobody is seen to have any interest in the ship, then what incentive is there for the maritime heritage authorities to take any interest either?
POTENTIAL BUYERS : The webmaster has been able to give helpful advice to potential buyers and was able to bring parties who had registered an interest together for mutual benefit

CONTACT THE WEBMASTER : Click here to send an e-mail to webmaster Gordon Stewart  and he will reply as soon as possible

WEBSITE LINKS : for "Glasgow Life" (City Museums Service, including the Riverside Museum), Scottish Maritime Museum and Historic Scotland

THE CLYDE TURBINE STEAMER FOUNDATION WEBSITE

THE WEBMASTER

Gordon Stewart is a paddle steamer and tramway photographer and promotes paddle steamers through the Foundation for Paddle Steamers Worldwide website.
Gordon Stewart can be contacted on this link 

ASSOCIATED WEBSITES

Please note that this is an unofficial website, not connected in any way with past or present owners of the Queen Mary.
Any views expressed are those of the webmaster only unless otherwise attributed.

COPYRIGHT ISSUES AND RE-USE OF PHOTOS

 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