Engineers Lift

[Beardy Rich]

I've forgotten where this was. I believe it went up from 6 deck to the Engineers accom on Boat Deck. Does anyone know?

[holynougat]

Yeah - it only had 2 stops, Engine Room (working alley way level) and engineers’ accommodation.
It was the longest lift on the ship I think!

[Rob Lightbody]

And only installed in 1987, I believe, as the funnel casing was re-worked.

[Beardy Rich]

Thanks for your replies chaps. I'm pretty certain that prior to 1987, there was an Engineers Lift somewhere in the vicinity of the Enginering Stores/car lift.

Someone on here must have some plans?

[ancoaster78]

Hi everybody,

I have a 1968 book of deckplans stamped 'The Cunard Steamship Co Ltd - Naval Architects Dept. 4 Jan 1968'

They are quite small scale but of all decks, in what I assume by the date was pretty much as built condition.

They clearly show a lift marked as 'Engineers Lift' on Deck 7 and described as 'Lift 17' on all the other decks running right up into the machinery space under the funnel on Signal Deck.

The lift is on the forward end of the engine casing, protruding into the casing that ran all the way through the ship at that point, and is on the centreline. It looks like on the drawing it could have been accessed either via the control room or engine room, but it dosn't show the doors so I can't tell which.

It looks like ther might have been 'stops' only on deck 7 and Signal Deck, but possibly on Sports deck too as the area immediately in front of the lift is the lift machinery space for a bank of 4 passenger llifts.

Looking forward to other info, cheers 

[Bob C.]

Would that put the lift right behind the E-Stairway bank of lifts?  I know there was one just aft on the opposite side of the aft lift compartment bulkhead. I noted it on CQ's deck plans on my Double Room thread (http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,643.0.html). 

Look about 2/3rd's the way down the page and you'll see the lift I am referring to just off the band room.  Its labeled "Lift No. 17".

[Rob Lightbody]

I'll look at my files tonight... I'm certain that either a lift was added, or extended, in 1986/7.  They had to alter whichever stairwell it is that is immediately adjacent to the funnel uptakes from around 3 or 2 decks upwards, and this freed up space for the lift to be installed/extended to boat deck - can't remember which.

[Beardy Rich]

Thanks Rob... much appreciated 

[holynougat]

it would have been extended because it went in the engineers accomodation which I think was newish?

[ancoaster78]

Bob, that lift 17 on those plans is in a slightly different place to the lift 17 on the as built plans, this suggests it is a new lift installed in 87 to replace the original, which is not on that plan in the place it is on mine.

On the as built plan, it is on the centreline of the ship backing onto the backs of the middle two of those 4 lifts you can see in the plan you linked to, on the double room thread.

Does this make sense?! Hope so :-)

[Bob C.]

On the as built plan, it is on the centreline of the ship backing onto the backs of the middle two of those 4 lifts you can see in the plan you linked to, on the double room thread.

Does this make sense?! Hope so :-)

Makes perfect sense.  I would suppose the position of the lift shaft moved to accomodate the new uptakes.  I'm wondering if anything can be seen on Rob's website on his photos of the engine room during refit, specifically the photo of the engines being installed (http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1987_Refit/index.htm). 

[Rob Lightbody]

On page 158 of Bruce Peter's wonderful tome...

The new arrangement of exhaust uptakes and engine-room ventilation shafts allowed for the inclusion of a lift-shaft in the original engine casing, at long last providing the QE2's engineers with direct lift access from their accomodation on Signal Deck to the upper reaches of the machinery spaces on Six Deck, without having to pass through other parts of the ship.

and also possibly relevant on page 154...

The 12.6 meters of clear fore and aft space needed for lowering the nine engines aboard was created by cutting away five metres of the deck vestibules and stairwys, immediately forward of the casing down as far as Two Deck where the casing widened to accomodate the original boiler exhaust uptakes

[Rob Lightbody]

Makes perfect sense.  I would suppose the position of the lift shaft moved to accomodate the new uptakes.  I'm wondering if anything can be seen on Rob's website on his photos of the engine room during refit, specifically the photo of the engines being installed (http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1987_Refit/index.htm). 

Yes I think you can see it here - http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1987_Refit/plan%20longitudinal1.jpg - above the electric motors.

[qe2crew]

The lift was there in the 70's, as I was Engineer's steward around that time. When the alarm would go off. It was advisable to stay away from the path of an engineer. He can travel at a frantic rate of knots.

[ancoaster78]

''Yes I think you can see it here - http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1987_Refit/plan%20longitudinal1.jpg - above the electric motors.''


The lift on the as built plans is further forward than that, would be right up against the left (on the drawing Rob links to) edge of the passengers lifts above the aft bank of engines and the letter 'T' of 'Air Duct' approx between frames 122 & 124.

I wonder why Bruce Peter refers to the new one as 'at last' the original looks ideal, I wonder what was wrong with it?  I'd never given it any thought, but want to know now!

[Bob C.]

Yes I think you can see it here - http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1987_Refit/plan%20longitudinal1.jpg - above the electric motors.

Rob,
     I believe that is Stairway F which goes from the 6 Deck pool up to 1 Deck. I agree with Andy that the engineer's lift should be immediately aft of the bank of 4 Stairway E lifts.

[Bob C.]

It's not a photo or technical drawing but it's definitley the Engineer's Lift.  Check out Rob's QE2 "1969 Cutaway" (http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1969_TILN/1969_cutaway.htm) just aft of the Stairway E lifts. 

It's easy to pick out a lift shaft but difficult to see the Stairway E lift shaft and lift.  The obvious purple lift shaft that shows a lift passing by 2 Deck is the Engineers Lift.  This depiction has it running from 7 Deck up at least to Boat Deck but I assume it continues on as we've discussed.

I originally mistook the purple shaft for the E lifts but asked myself why there would be such a wide gap between the E stair landings and the lifts.  Then I looked at the Upper Deck level and saw an E Stairway lift there.

This being an artistst rendering I can't say for certain that the terminal points of the lift are accurate but I do know there is no public lift that close to the E lifts so I am declaring it to definitely be the Engineer's Lift in 1969!