Queen Mary REPAIR Update & Year in Review | January 2024

Queen Mary's third funnel is set to be repainted a new Candy Shop opened in main hall and a new historic exhibit is on the way all of this and more on this January repair update and year in review of the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach California I'm your host Alex the historian a huge fan of the Queen Mary I make documentaries about the history and importance of the ship and my construction updates not only provide insight into the ongoing refurbishment of the ship but also dispel the Doom and Gloom that newspapers were spewing out to the public during the 3-year closure of the ship and I must give thanks to my friend Chris from lmg vids who has filmed this entire update for you all to see today just a quick recap no the ship was never going to sink or capsize no the ship is not sitting on concrete or ballasted with concrete she actually floats in the water and will rise and fall with the tide no her structure is not damaged or heavily corroded nor does her Hull show any signs of advanced corrosion due to the Salt Water the Queen Mary structure has been deemed by marine engineers to be in good shape both inside and out and her Hull has been protected by a sacrificial cathodic anode system for the last five decades the Queen Mary always turned a profit but in the last 30 years previous companies that leased the ship preferred to pocket the profits and neglect the ship's maintenance which is why she wasn't in very good shape but in 2021 the city of Long Beach took back control of the Queen Mary and ever since February of 2022 the ship has been undergoing restoration which will continue for many many years to come first we'll start with the latest updates and then we'll review all the updates of the past year on December 3rd the Royal Sunday brunch a fan favorite returned to the Queen Mary and has been booked solid every Sunday since the ship has been bringing in bands singing and playing period music in the styles of the 30s and 40s the New Year's Eve party was a huge success I was told the entire ship was packed with people especially in the upper decks for views of the fireworks on the Harbor in an interesting but understandable move room b340 a room that Disney arbitrarily chose back in 1989 to be the most haunted room on the ship is now no longer available for overnight stays but a window was installed in the doorway to allow people to view the room even if they didn't book a tour to let them explore inside on the Haunted Tours this room is one of the most anticipated stops but if the room is booked up for a private stay the tours cannot go in so having the room as only a display piece gives them that flexibility in other news Queen Mary's general manager Steve Koka reported that between July and October of 2023 the ship generated 10.66 million in revenue and after expenses it amounted to $2.25 million in Gross operating profit this is a big deal since only 200 of the 347 hotel rooms are even available for booking we are being told that sometime this month another 100 rooms will come online another reason why it is a big deal is because that $2.25 million in profit was generated in just 3 months we can expect the gross profits for the entirety of 2024 to be nearly quadruple that amount the sale of Tours aboard the ship are up 43% over what was recorded in 2019 and the tours are booking out the profits the ship made are going back into refurbishment projects for the ship in addition to $12 million in funding the City of Long Beach has located thanks to land Deals they have made with the port according to the general manager Steve Koka the shotty paint job on the AFT funnel is set to get repainted later this month although as I've been saying saying for a while expect the color to match the other two funnels don't expect the color to be returned to card orange as the red color has proven to last longer in the California Sun meanwhile we've been told that sir Winston's will reopen in the first quarter of 2024 I imagine that with all of the restaurant's chairs being used in the observation bar that sir Winston's can't open until either the observation bar undergos its expected refurbishment or if all new chairs are installed in the fan favorite Steakhouse as for the observation bar a timeline has not yet been scheduled for its refurbishment however what general manager Steve Koka says is the carpets and furniture will be replaced with more period accurate fittings it is rumored the carpet will be replaced with lenium that closely matches the rub oium pattern the observation bar had in her years of service new lighting will be installed as well but this could mean anything some of the dark light fixtures will likely be repaired so that they are lit properly once again a new Candy Shop opened in the main hall it's called Picadilly Delights the treats are sold in Period accurate packaging the new shop is a welcome addition to the ship up on Sund deck the benches were moved to face downtown Long Beach General Manager Steve Koka has said that outside deck spaces are going to get lounge chairs and Cabanas the Cabanas will be able to be reserved by guests he also said that an archive Museum will be built on prominon deck that will showcase the ship's original Furniture artworks and other items all dating back to the 1930s the new exhibit will be put into the former second class smoking room which for decades has been used as a wedding chapel in fact the second class smoking room today still has most of its original wall paneling and light fixtures while we would all prefer to see original spaces on the ship return to their original look as as opposed to just seeing an exhibit of it let's just remember that until that can be done this is still a great way to see old artifacts and reuse and underutilize space that would otherwise remain behind locked doors up on Sports deck the worst half of the deck planks have been refurbished and the whole area has been reopened yes the future of the Queen Mary is looking bright and lots more repairs and additions are on their way but now here is a review of all the major work done this past year 2023 at the beginning of 2023 just prior to the ship's April opening work was completed on inspecting the majority of the ballast tanks located within the double bottom Hull of the ship contrary to popular belief the ship is not sitting in concrete or mud at the bottom of the harbor she really does float and every day she Rises and falls with the tide to keep her upright despite the fact that in 1969 her boilers and generators were removed the ship's ballast tanks in the double Hull were filled with a non-corrosive drilling mud and have sat that way for half a century in late 2021 the Marine engineering firm Elliot Bay Design Group was hired to perform extensive inspections around the ship one of those inspections was ultrasounding the ship both inside and out divers went underwater to Ultra sound the hull but have found no major corrosion issues the average thickness of the steel plates is still 1in thick thanks to the still functioning sacrificial cathodic anode system which has greatly reduced the seawaters effect on the hull Hull stress tests were also performed that showed the ship's Hull was within normal ranges a year later in 2022 marine engineers from a different firm returned to open up the double Hull tanks to visually inspect the ballast and Wing tanks which haven't been seen by human eyes in over 50 years while the insides of the double hell of course do not look brand new anymore there was no major corrosion or issues to speak of and the tanks were then refilled with either drilling mud for the kill tanks or freshwater ballast for the wing tanks I want to take this moment to remind folks as I've been saying for the past 2 years the ship has never sprung a seawater leak and the news reports of the ship on the verge of sinking and capsizing were exaggerated and in some cases taken out of context besides the hole being thoroughly inspected at the beginning of the year the City of Long Beach also installed 11 brand new automatic buge pumps with water intrusion alarms as per the results of computer model testing they raised the height of two water type bulkheads which had openings cut into them half a century earlier this means that if the ship should spring a major leak the alarms will signal an emergency and the buge pumps will automatically start up to drain the incoming water and the water type bulkheads should help to contain the water to the affected area instead of spreading through the ship a brand new emergency generator was installed on the dock and it not only generates enough power to keep the emergency lights and fire doors activated but it also keeps the buge pumps running also on the dock is the hotel boiler system the previous Hotel boilers which were over 50 years old were no longer functioning as they should and were Beyond repair all new boilers were installed these not only Supply the ship with steam for Galley and hotel services but they also Supply the hotel with hot water on the upper decks 200 of the 347 rooms were deep cleaned with new mattresses and brand new electronic door locks installed the restaurant galleys were updated with all new cooking equipment as well as ventilation hoods and other maintenance work to the dining areas the air conditioning equipment on the ship had some units replaced while other units were properly repaired the ship's two remaining original elevators were given maintenance to keep them running on the sheltered prominade broken glass panes were replaced and the original Teakwood decks were sanded and restored to their original look on the same prominade deck level the various public rooms and spaces had their exotic wood paneling cleaned and Polished the observation bar received a minor repair to the bar itself which for decades was missing a piece of its nickel silver banding and now the banding is once again complete the awful flat screen televisions that made this room into a sports bar were removed out front The Battered and weathered plexiglass wind barriers were removed a new teid handrail was installed and currently work is being done to install a more Modern Glass wind barrier in the main hall the lolium floors that were installed in the mid1 1990s to replace the original 1947 lenium floors were starting to bubble and warp and it appeared perpetually filthy that lenium was removed the subfloor was ripped up down to the steel deck and a new subfloor was laid down with new lenium floors installed over it all the lenium had to be hand cut and hand laid to match the 1947 pattern up above the Cove light which is supposed to appear as a smooth band of light concealed along the edges of the room only had one out of every three light bulbs illuminated due to the high cost of electricity and the high cost of replacement bulbs The Cove lamps have since been updated with a strip of LED light that can imitate the warm white color of incandescent bulbs but seasonally the light can be reprogrammed to match a holiday or private event when this video was filmed back in December the Cove lighting had a Rosy pink Hue to match the Christmas and New Year's season but it will return to its regular color shortly in the former library and former drawing room the merchandise has been updated to items that are more relevant to more modern tourists and the ship now offers a fantastic variety of souvenirs in the first class main Lounge the wood paneling was cleaned and Polished as well as the various bronze reliefs done by artist Maurice Lambert the electric fireplaces were cleaned and restored the light fixtures and the overheads were repaired as well and per the general manager's insistance the curtains of the room which normally are drawn are kept retracted to allow daylight to flood the room and it allows visitors on the prominade to peer into the room Through the Windows this has also revealed the Fantastic bronze metal work that surrounds the side light windows in the first class smoking room the paneling was cleaned and Polished and the light fixtures were repaired work on the upper superstructure of the ship has been receiving proper repainting the paint helps to protect the steel and therefore protects the ship from the rain and salty Coastal air and let's remember that the third funnel will finally get a proper repaint later this month helping the ship to look more presentable to visitors down on Main deck the travel Bureau received some TLC and now glistens with its fresh dusting and repolishing more art artifacts were brought out of the archives to help fill the space as well all down the corridors of main deck a deck B deck and R deck the old fluorescent lights which by the way are not original to the ship and made the beautiful golden wood paneling look green have been slowly replaced with much brighter warm white LED bulbs this helps the paneling to once again shine golden as they were intended to appear and the brighter illumination helps visitors to navigate the corridor doors work continues on replacing fluorescent bulbs the dilapidated and smelly carpets are being replaced with newer red carpets while the ship's corridors originally had lenium the carpets helped dampen sound and reduce noise echo which makes for a much more pleasant experience for the hotel guests the red carpet looks more classy and fitting for the queen of the sea down on our deck at the entrance to the first class swimming pool the lights inside the pool room have been repaired allowing for a better view of the room and some of the pool room furniture has been put on display as the ship now sells a haunted tour that takes people onto the sea deck level of the pool room for a look around the area the pool room is also on the prioritized list of areas and items that they want to restore throughout the hotel areas the various Planters have new faux floral arrangements that lend a bright cheery color to the area and the decorative floral CES along the first class main stairwell have had their lamps repaired and the floral arrangements made colorful down in the AFT engine room which houses two of the original four main engines all new show lights were installed to illuminate the space in a way that helps to capture the interest and Imagination of the younger visitors while some would argue that these new lights are unnecessary one must not forget that a little Showmanship can go a long way in making something more interesting to look at not only that but the show lights also help to distinguish one area from the next this room is also a little brighter than it used to be the show lights illuminate more of the Machinery that was once hidden in darkness overall it is a great new feature folks who would leave the engine room and pass through the shaft alleys used to have to climb a broken escalator up to the steering gear room this escalator has been closed off to prevent the risk of injury in the darkness and those wishing to see the steering gear room and the remaining propeller have to use the exit path in the lobby the broken escalator will eventually be removed and replaced with stairs on the fil deck at the bow of the ship rust abatement work had begun though we don't know if it was completed because the rotten teak decks have forced the closure of the area it cannot be reopened until the deak decks are replaced both the general eneral manager and the historic resources adviser to the ship have expressed that they intend to repair the Lifeboat davits and restore the remaining lifeboats to be put back on the ship and empty davits will have lightweight replicas hanging on them but as with everything the projects must be prioritized and money must be allocated to that project some folks wonder why Long Beach would even bother restoring the ship some people call the ship a money pit but the thing thing is those folks seem to forget that the definition of a money pit is an item where countless funds are thrown at its repairs and restoration but no Financial return ever comes back this does not fit the definition of the Queen Mary the ship has always been a large economic Powerhouse for the region maybe the thirdparty companies that leased the ship were too inept to know how to operate it but the ship itself attracted 2.5 million visitors every year without the Queen Mary Long Beach would not even be on the map of tourist destinations today it would just be another suburb of Los Angeles and based on the success the ship has had in the last 8 months the huge weekend crowds that flock to the ship and the renewed interest in the Queen Mary that folks around the world have expressed on this little YouTube channel alone I can foresee that the mighty Queen of the sea is on the verge of a major Renaissance As for the submarine next to the ship that everyone asks about it is a Russ Russian foxtrot scorpion submarine it went into service in the 1970s during the Cold War to my knowledge it never saw battle and it was retired in 1994 as with many of these scorpion Subs it was purchased and used as a tourist attraction then one day in 1998 it was moved into Queen Mary's Lagoon and used as a small tourist attraction in tandem with the ocean liner it closed in late 2015 and the previous owners claimed that when Urban common took over the lease of the Queen Mary in 2016 that the ownership of the submarine also transferred to them though right now this is hotly disputed by the parties involved the abandonment of the submarine has led to it rotting away at its moing the marine engineers at Elliot Bay Design Group did not recommend the restoration of the submarine in fact they suggested its disposal as an attempt to Save the Queen Mary from any damage she might sustain if the submarine were to sink and tumble underneath the bow and sinking is very likely as the outer Hull of the submarine has corroded to the point where it is structurally unsound and the inner hole has shown signs of advanced corrosion as well the City of Long Beach worries that the submarine cannot be towed away without sinking nor can it be lifted out of the water without it breaking apart and putting crane operators in danger the cost of removal is roughly estimated to be at least $5 million and that is the cost the city does not want to impose on taxpayers if they can get a previous owner to pay for its removal however Urban Commons went bankrupt in 2021 and the previous owner of the submarine is quite elderly and might not have the capability to organize its removal let alone take on the financial costs of it the submarine is a Pandora's box of issues that may not be resolved even in the year 20124 but let's hope that the opposite is true and it is removed as soon as possible and finally I don't know if you remember the last update where Chris and I Heard a Voice and then captured an orb on camera but this time around I was on a video call with him asking him to film the lobby outside of the second class main Lounge on Main deck he was all by himself no one around when he heard the sound of something fall right next to him cool I don't think there's anything new to see over there but you know what you might find on this ship that is true whoa the hell was that you might find on this ship that is true whoa the hell was that whoa the hell was that holy I scared this living out at me what was that hello what was it I don't know something fell was that something fell and it hit the the railing went ding ding and it came down and then and but there's nothing here that was weird it could have been a coin coming down honestly that was weird are you still recording I'm still I've been recording the whole time okay good maybe we'll see what it was in in the in the post production I don't think so that was I don't see it it hit the ground I I heard it dump on the the ground yeah I heard like something too and I thought that madebe oh you know you know I I have idea what it is someone probably dropped like a like a quarter and it just came down and it dropped on the up here oh oh maybe not what was that it was strange because even if there was someone around who managed to get out of sight before he could be seen the item that seemed to fall right next to Chris was not to be found we searched the whole area and furthermore the floors were all carpeted which would normally dampen the sound of a metal or glass object falling afterward I informed Chris that the area he was walking through once had a cocktail bar back in the 1930s anyway folks that's all I have for you stay tuned for an allnew Queen Mary tour video coming out this month and for future updates every 2 to 3 months check out my history and information videos about the Queen Mary and be sure to give the video a like if you enjoyed it subscribe to the channel for more videos about the age of steam

Channel: Alex the Historian

Views: 242,694

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Id: hmQl18fzowE

Length: 22min 45sec (1365 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 05 2024