Queen Mary steamer to make surprise return to Clyde cruising – 45 years on
A historic Clyde steamer that took thousands of daytrippers a week “doon the watter” is to make a surprise return to cruising – 45 years after retiring.
Since 2015, turbine ship (TS) Queen Mary has been undergoing restoration as an intended static “heritage destination and education/training centre” beside the Glasgow Science Centre.
However, in a dramatic changeofdirectionannounced by the Princess Royal yesterday, the ship’s royal patron, the 89-year-old vessel is due to return to active service in summer 2024.
Its owners said they had been “overwhelmed by the generosity of corporate donors and individuals who were keen to see the ship restored to its former glory”.
However, they admitted “substantial work” remains to be completedonthe252-foot-long vessel, including new engines.
It also remains to be seen whetherthemovewillgrowthe market by increasing interest in Clyde cruising, or take business from the Waverley paddle steamer, which has lost significantrevenueafterlosingalmost twoseasonsduetomajorboiler replacement work, Covid lockdownsanddamagefromcollidingwithbrodickpierinseptember 2020.
Butqueenmary’sownerssaid the vessels, which are docked beside each other at Pacific Quay, “complement each other other wonderfully”.
The announcement was made exactly three years after Princess Anne became patron of the Dumbarton-built ship, which was named after her great grandmother.
Decades after sailing from Bridge Wharf, opposite the Broomielaw in Glasgow city centre, TS Queen Mary will again head down the river to resorts such as Dunoon and Rothesay.
In its heyday, the steamer carried 13,000 passengers a week and its owners said it was knownas“britain’sfinestpleasuresteamer”,withthosecarried including members of the royal family, along with US First
Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Viscountmontgomeryofalamein andmusichalllegendsirharry Lauder.
The ship changed its name to Queenmaryiiin1935,twoyears afterbeingbuilt,indeferenceto the new Cunard-white Star liner Queen Mary. Queen Mary’s cruising days ended in 1977 and it became a bar and restaurant until 2009 on the Thames in London before being rescued from dereliction at Tilbury in Essex and towed back to the Clyde in 2015.
Since then, Friends of TS Queen Mary have raised £3.8 millionofcashandin-kindsupport for the restoration, which hasa£6mtarget.chairmaniain Sim said: “TS Queen Mary has a special place in the hearts and minds of those in Britain and beyond who recall this iconic ship and its unrivalled place in the life of the River Clyde. Thanks to the backing of our wonderful supporters – both individual and corporate and thosewhosehardworkisdefining this restoration.”
Actor Robbie Coltrane, a patron of the charity, said: “I always dared to say we could put engines back in her and sail her down the Clyde like she did in 1933.”