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GlescaPals - Transport
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Photographs & memories.........
a social history
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QE2 souvenir
2009
Calendar
order
Limited
edition |
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Queen Elizabeth II |
Sunday 5th October 2008 I was down at Greenock to see the QE2
sail in, the boat heading towards
us, on the right of the photo, is the MV Balmoral full of
passengers on a 'QE2 site-seeing trip.'
Notice the Balmoral is listing to the left as all the passengers are on that
side looking at the QE2
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Sunday 5th October 2008 Greenock.
Considered as one of the last of
the great transatlantic ocean liners and one of the most famous
ships in the world, the Queen Elizabeth II
or QE2 as she is commonly known
came home to Greenock for the last
time today.
The
QE2 has carried over two million voyagers, crossed continents
and circled the globe countless times, completed 24 full world
cruises, sailed more nautical miles than any other ship (5.5 million
nautical miles to be exact) over a period of 40 years
Built
at the John Brown yard in Clydebank, Glasgow,
she was the flagship of the Cunard Line for over 30 years
Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
on 20th Sept.1967
She made a mini maiden voyage to Las Palmas on 22 Apr1969, then on 2 May 1969
made her official maiden voyage to New York and
is one of the last great Transatlantic liners. At 70,327 tons and 963 feet long
with a top speed of 32.5 knots she is also one of the largest and fastest
passenger vessels afloat.
QE2 Vital statistics:
Cost £29million to build, length
963ft, breadth 105ft 2½in,
Gross tonnage is 70,327 tonnes.
power: diesel electric
height 204ft 1½in from keel to funnel (funnel
height is 69ft) mileage: she has sailed 5.5
nautical miles, Top speed:32.5
knots
Crew: 1,016 including a Captain, 112 chefs, 17
laundry staff, 23 orchestra players and 2 librarians
13 Decks and 7 Restaurants
with a Capacity to carry 1,778 guests and she has
carried 2.1 million guests since her launch.
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A group of Clydebridge steelworkers visiting the QE2 as she was being built.
The man with the bowler hat is the Shipyard foreman, the rest of the group are
steelworkers who were involved in the manufacture of the steel plate she is made
of.
(photo from Webmaister's pal, Peter Phillips) |
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10 Yard
Foreman |
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13 Willie
Walton |
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Greenock Telegraph
Newspaper
QE2 Farewell
Special Edition
A bumper
48 pager, packed with new pictures, facts and stories.
See the
video taken by
the Greenock Telegraph |
Captain Ian McNaught has been at the helm of the QE2 since 2003. At
Greenock he hosted a reception on board the ship for civic leaders and
invited guests, and told them the area had done the 'Queen of the Clyde'
proud. "It is a great privilege and honour to bring the QE2 as
near to her birthplace as we can." He added that although the time
had come for his ship to retire from the seas, people were right to
lament the last days of a true, proper ship.
(info from the Greenock Telegraph) |
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QE2's farewell voyage around the British Isles : |
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Sep 30 2008
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Southampton
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Oct 1
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Cork (Cobh)
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Oct 2
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TH
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Dublin
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Oct 3
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F
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Liverpool
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Oct 4
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Belfast
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Oct 5 2008
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SU
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Glasgow (from Greenock)
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Oct 6
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Cruising the North Sea
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Oct 7
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Edinburgh (from South Queensferry)
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Oct 8
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Newcastle
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Oct 9
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TH
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Cruising the North Sea
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Oct 10 2008
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Southampton
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Thereafter she cruises the Atlantic and the Mediterranean
before finally sailing to Dubai where she will be turned into a floating hotel.
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Nov 11 2008
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Southampton
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Nov 12
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Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
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Nov 13
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TH
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Lisbon, Portugal
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Nov 14
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F
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Gibraltar
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Nov 15
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Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
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Nov 16
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SU
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Rome (from Civitavecchia), Italy
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Nov 17
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Naples, Italy
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Nov 18
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Valetta, Malta
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Nov 19
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W
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Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
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Nov 20
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TH
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Alexandria (for Cairo/Giza), Egypt
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Nov 21
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F
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Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
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Nov 22
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Transit the Suez Canal
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Nov 23-26
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Cruising the Arabian Sea
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Nov 27
2008
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TH
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Dubai
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5th Oct.2008, Greenock.
The QE2's captain, Ian McNaught, said: "It's a great ending for the ship,
really for her working career, and she moves off to this new life as a hotel,
she'll have a good second career in Dubai, and she's not going to be left to go
to wrack and ruin."
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QE2
page2 see 4 minute
video |
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