The Queen Mary sailed the North Atlantic from 1936 well-into the Jet Age until 1967. Along with its sister ship The Queen Elizabeth, the two sailed weekly express service between Southampton, UK, Cherbourg, FR, and New York…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Ship was built by John Brown & Company for the historic Cunard-White Star Line to compete with German, French, and Italian superliner companies who were all trying to dominate the Transatlantic Travel Market…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Queen Mary was officially retired from service in 1967 when it left Southampton for the last time on October 31st, 1967, and sailed to the port of Long Beach, California, where it is permanently moored…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In 1940 the Queen Mary and its sister ships the Queen Elizabeth, and Normandie were docked in New York because of World War II. They were eventually converted into troopships, and the Normandie actually burned-down during its conversion!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Ship was repainted and nicknamed the “Grey Ghost.” Nearly 6 miles of carpet, 220 cases of china, crystal, silver services, tapestries, and paintings were removed and stored in warehouses until the end of its WWII service…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Off the Irish coast on October 2nd, 1942, the Queen Mary accidentally sliced through one of its escort ships - the HMS Curacoa, killing 239 people!
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Sometime between December 8th and 14th of 1942, around 700 miles away from Scotland, with 11,339 soldiers and crew on-board, the ship was hit by a 92 foot-tall “Rouge Wave” which nearly capsized it…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
In 1943, the Queen Mary held the record for transporting the most passengers ever on one vessel. It was 16,683 people, and many had to sleep outside on the deck…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Legendary British Prime Minister - Winston Churchill, travelled on The Queen Mary several times, and stated that the “Queen Mary had shortened the War by one year!”
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
This is one of the surviving Lifeboats. Originally there were twenty. But in 2021, the others were removed because they were putting stress on the side shell of the ship creating cracks. They were destroyed since “Toxic Lead Paint Doomed Efforts To Auction Them Off…”
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Inside The Wheelhouse is the original Captian’s Chartroom. This space was basically the captain’s sea cabin, and its function was to track the position of the ship on the surface of the earth…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Charts and navigational publications were stored in drawers in the chart table. Chronometers played an important role in celestial navigation as it was imperative to note the exact time when celestial observations were made with a sextant…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Wheelhouse had a commanding view of the ocean, and included two wheels. One was engaged by a person, whereas the other included a “Sperry gyro-pilot connected to the servo gear,” allowing automatic steering on a predetermined course.
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Doris Zinkeisen was responsible for the design of the Verandah Grill, the ship’s most popular restaurant and night club, which in 1936 was described in Vogue magazine by Cecil Beaton as “the prettiest room on any ship…”
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Doris Zinkeisen designed an ultra-fashionable 1930s scheme with a hint of sensuality, creating a place where Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor and the Kennedy’s all were known to have made appearances…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
“The Woman in White” was hand-painted by Doris Zinkeisen, and her sister Anna, and supposedly haunts “The Queen Salon” Piano Room on the Main Deck of the Ship…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Although only 55 deaths have been reported on the Queen Mary, many more are believed to have occurred since they didn’t keep records during its WWII service…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The historic Ship has become an hot-spot for paranormal enthusiast with rumors of doors, like the one pictured, rattling on their own… Hot & cold spots, and ghostly images appearing on photographs…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Queen Mary’s “Dark Harbor” spooked patrons in the “Guts of the Ship” for years, and was one of the Nations Top-Ten Halloween Attractions, according to the Travel Channel. It closed for good when the City of Long Beach took over management of the ship…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
Across from the “Grand Salon” ballroom is the historic “Grand Lobby Glass Elevator.” It has been preserved but does not operate. In fact, only a handful of mechanical and electrical parts of the Ship are still in service.
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
At the time, the engineering for the ship was a “Modern Marvel.” Within three months of the its maiden voyage in May 1936, the Queen Mary had broken six Atlantic speed records, and had won the notable “Blue Riband…”
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The Ship was fitted with 24 Yarrow boilers in four boiler rooms and four Parsons turbines in two engine rooms. The boilers delivered 400 pounds per square inch (28 bar) steam at 700 °F which provided a maximum of 212,000 shp (158,000 kW) to four propellers, each turning at 200 RPM…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The working pressure of the main boilers is 425 lb per square inch, with steam superheated to a temperature of 700 degrees. Steam at this temperature is an intensely hot gas, and the whole generating plant was compared to being inside a volcano at full blast…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
The overall length of each set of turbines, including the “Michell bearings” that take the enormous thrust of the propeller, is 70 feet. The total length of propeller shafting that transmits the power of the Queen Mary’s engines to the giant screws is 1,024 feet.
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
To me, probably more “spooky!” than the paranormal, is the underwater 53 ton propeller. The propeller has a diameter of nearly 20 feet and a pitch of a little over 18 feet…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
A little reminiscent of “The Shining,” Stateroom B340 is known as the most notorious “haunt” on the Ship. Legend has it - in the final 1967 cruise, a man went crazy and murdered two women in his third class stateroom. He was detained and locked in the room with a guard posted outside until the Ship could dock in NY the next day…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler
…A little while later, the Man started pounding on the door saying someone was in the room, trying to kill him. The Guard ignored it, thinking he was trying to escape... When docked, the NY Police discovered that the Man had been ripped apart, with his entrails and limbs spread all over the room. They couldn’t figure out how he could have done this by himself!
Stateroom B340 has been haunted ever since…
Film Photograph by Adam Chrysler