A Picture Of Queen Mary Being Built

[NairB]

Hi Everybody,

Look at this wonderful picture of the Queen Mary being fitted out at John Browns....CLYDEBANK....Glasgow.

Photo not available to view

The creation of these "things" are more impressive to me than their working life for some reason....I LOVE THE THOUGHT OF BUILDING THESE MASTERPIECES again!!

Love that picture.

[Mauretania1907]

Aha, the REAL Queen Mary. Long may she endure.

[Dr. Edmund Carus]

Hello all,

How did they get her out when completed? There isn't a lot of room! Are there any equivalent pictures of the QE please?

Wonderful picture!

Cheers!

[hollihedge]

Stunning photo!

[Stowaway2k]

Hello all,

How did they get her out when completed? There isn't a lot of room!

Cheers!

With the help of 7 tugs, very carefully...      The Queen Mary was kept as light as possible for the dangerous voyage down the river.  She had the minumum possible amount of fuel, and only the two forward lifeboats.   Plus, the river channel had been enlarged, 1/2 million tons of sand and sludge were dredged and dumped at sea, and 5 1/2 acres of river bank around the Cart River, opposite the shipyard, were cut away.

On the 24th of March, 1936, an estimated ONE MILLION people lined the banks of the River Clyde to view the Queen Mary departing her place of birth, for her life of fame and glory.   The day declared a holiday, shops and schools closing for the historic occasion.

Even with the help of 7 tugs, one of them brought up specially from Southampton, the Queen Mary grounded.  Twice.  As seen in this photo, a gust of wind sent the Queen Mary's bow onto the bank, and the current of the river put her stern on the opposite bank.   She was held fast for about half an hour on the two opposite river banks.
With the dropping tide and the pull of the current, the Queen Mary had only minutes more to be brought free before the stresses she was being subjected to would have broken her keel.  Queen Mary would had to have been scrapped on the spot, closing the Clyde to river traffic for months.

As we know, RMS Queen Mary was freed on time, and went on her way to become the greatest merchant ship in history.

[singlemalt]

Stunning pictures NairB; and thank-you to Kyle for sharing the story.

Please keep them coming!
Clydebank has a lot to be proud of. 

[Stowaway2k]

Stunning pictures NairB; thank you Kyle  for sharing the story.

Please keep them coming!
Clydebank has a lot to be proud of. 

For more stunning photos, please visit the galleries at www.queenmaryassociation.com
An organization by and for Queen Mary former crew. 

[NairB]

WOW....

Those picts are stunning folks. I had no idea the QM got dangerously stuck at one point gosh looking at the tugs panic to save her...

Glad she made it tho.

-NairB

[Bob C.]

Great photos and the presence of the notch in the fitting out berth is now confirmed for QM!.  Given the length of QM and the even longer length of QE, I think we can assume that the notch was created for them.  Does any one know if John Brown built any other ships as long as the above two?

[Waverley]

I thought that I should add the photo of the QE2 doing a similar procedure with the tugs. Picture quality is poor. Your aerial photos of the QM at John Browns are great.   

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[Cunarder Man]

A few snaps of the Queen Mary's launch taken by my father-in-law. Must have been quite a day, despite the rain. Look at 'Launch Day' picture - there's a camera crew up the crane.

[Jem]

A few snaps of the Queen Mary's launch taken by my father-in-law. Must have been quite a day, despite the rain. Look at 'Launch Day' picture - there's a camera crew up the crane.

I wonder if that film crew took some of these shots?

[Cunarder Man]

Many thanks for linking to a clip from Shipyard Sally. There are scenes in this clip which are obviously shot by the camera in my picture. Brilliant!

[Peter Mugridge]

I spotted something interesting; although the hull portholes have been cut, the bridge front is still a blank sheet of metal...

[jdl]

Brilliant pictures and website link, thanks for posting!

If only we were contemplating the challenges of launching another Trans Atlantic liner on the Clyde  in our lifetime.

jdl

[Lynda Bradford]

Amazing photos.  The quality of the black and white photos is very good, particularly when you think how long ago it was since they were taken.  It must have been quite a experience to see her being moved down the River Clyde accompanied by the tugs. It is no wonder so many people lined the banks of the Clyde to watch this spectacle. Not only was she a magnificent ship but for many Clydeside workers the completion of this ship marked the end of "the depression" years when they were out of work and had experienced great poverty. 

[Lynda Bradford]

An old photo I have in my collection of the Queen Mary in the fitting out bay in Clydebank.

[No 736]

A nice view Lynda and her lines never fail to impress.
Steve S.

[Lynda Bradford]

I have to admit it is a favourite photo of the Queen Mary, mainly because of the angle the photo was taken from which gives an indication of the size of the ship. 

I think the photo was taken when she was ready to leave John Brown's but I am not sure as there is not a date on the back of the photo.   

[Bob C.]

Can anyone explain why the QM and QE's hulls were lauched with a whitish paint (at least looks that way in the B&W photos) and later painted with the familiar Cunard queen's livery in the fitting out basin?  And, as a follow-on, why QE2 was launced in the black, red and white paint scheme?