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For those interested - here is my research into the Race Chairs.
QE2 RACE RESTAURANT CHAIR, Designed by Robert Heritage for Race Furniture
When QE2 entered service the ship featured 1,300 Race restaurant chairs; the chairs actually turned out to be one of the most complex development programmes ever undertaken by a British chair manufacturer. Designed by Robert Heritage for Race Furniture, the chair’s development also required the active co-operation or research personnel in seven different companies.
Perhaps the biggest single problem was producing the pre-formed plywood shells and liners. The right radius of the two fronts and return bends on the back shell demanded manufacturing techniques different from any previously used. Alesbury Bros, who were given the job, said afterwards that the contract vastly increased their technical knowledge. Blemish-free plywood shells had to be made to an unusually high degree of accuracy, more than half faced with Formica on the outer surfaces – a task which required the design and manufacture of special post-forming jigs and heaters. The complex curves meant that the plywood and the laminate shells had to match exactly to be bonded together without damage.
The British Aluminium Company, who made the chairs’ striking two-legged under frame, also had problems. They had to cut three dies before they could satisfactorily produce the H profile of the extruded aluminium legs.
Certainly the most surprising aspect of the chair’s production was the fact that the metal legs and feet were glued together with Araldite. It was the first time that adhesive had been used to secure such a critical joint in furniture, yet after long and detailed tests both Race and the Furniture Industry Research Association were satisfied that the joints had immense strength.
Because of the sharply turned arch shape of both seat and back, the cushioning units needed a lip that would absorb the outer rims of both shells; moulding such a unit promised to be extremely difficult. Using hand-built prototypes, and after constant adjustments, Dunlopillo devised a method of moulding the units flat and at the same time produce cushioning that fitted into the shells without creasing.
In prototype form it was discovered that the chair’s polished aluminium base developed too much friction to glide freely over a heavy pile carpet and there was some danger of it tipping over when pushed back from the table. The suggested solution was to insert small pads of polytetrafluoroethlene resin (PTFE) in recesses cast in the chair’s feet to provide free-gliding action. The problem of sticking the non-stick pad to the frame was passed over to Richard Klinger, development engineers who came up with the bondable-backed PTFE called Duplex.
When QE2 entered service in 1969 the chairs were used in the Columbia Restaurant (Quarter Deck) and Britannia Restaurant (Upper Deck). The chairs were noted for their provision of great comfort to diners and practicality with regard to cleaning.
By 2008 just over 100 of these special chairs were being used in the Princess Grill.
COLUMBIA RESTAURANT /
MAURETANIA RESTAURANT
1969 Upholstered in brown.
1972 The chairs were reupholstered in cream.
1977 Redundant chairs (of the same design) from the former Britannia Restaurant were relocated to the Columbia Restaurant and recovered in white hide to replace damaged Columbia seating.
At some point the chairs were redone in a different shade of cream.
1984 The chairs were redone in pinky beige to match the new colour scheme of the room.
1994 The existing chairs were re-upholstered in cream.
1996 The Race chairs were removed forever.
BRITANNIA RESTURANT /
TABLES OF THE WORLD /
MAURETANIA RESTAURANT
1969 Upholstered in red and white
1972 Additional chairs in the same colour scheme were introduced as part if the restaurant expansion.
1977 The chairs were redone in a variety of colours to match the new theme of the restaurant when the room became Tables of the World. Colours included: dark red, blue velvet and green.
1986 / 87 All chairs ere re-covered in rosy multi-hues that complemented the burnt orange and dusty rose pink and soft peach window frames.
1992 The chairs were re-done in beige.
1994 The Race chairs were removed forever.
THE GRILL ROOM /
PRINCESS GRILL
1972 The Race chairs were introduced into the space of The Grill Room when this space became part of the expanded Columbia Restaurant. The chairs were upholstered in cream.
1976 The chairs were redone in burgundy red when the space became the Princess Grill.
1996 The Grill received its first significant colour change since QE2’s introduction in 1969, with blue being introduced to complement the burgundy red colour scheme; the chairs were redone in blue.
1999 The dominating colour scheme of the Grill became red again and the chairs were recovered in red.
2006 The chairs were re-upholstered in a patterned red fabric.
QUEENS GRILL LOUNGE
1972 Several of the Race chairs were placed in this room (upholstered in cream) for a time.
They were removed in the 1970s.
Topic: QE2 "Race" Restaurant Chair by Robert Heritage (Read 24571 times)
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Apr 10, 2015, 02:38 PM