Ghost And Legends Here We Come
But first some Kung Pow Chicken
Did You Know? - Gong Bao chicken (Chinese: 宫保鸡丁; pinyin: gōng bǎo jī dīng; is a classic dish in Sichuan cuisine, originating in the Sichuan Province of central-western China. Allegedly, the dish is named after Ding Baozhen (1820–1886), a late Qing Dynasty official. Born in Guizhou, Ding served as head of Shandong province and later as governor of Sichuan province. His title was Gōng Bǎo (宮保), or palatial guardian. The name "Kung Pao" chicken is derived from this title.
During the Cultural Revolution, the dish was labeled as politically incorrect because of its association with Ding Baozhen. The dish was renamed "fast-fried chicken cubes" (hong bao ji ding) or "chicken cubes with seared chiles" (hu la ji ding) until its political rehabilitation in the 1980s.
Yeah yeah... The gang's all here....
This guy was watching us the whole time
Geeez... Where did Paul's neck go???
Off To The Queen And Her Ghosts
Spooky even at noon!
Did You Know? - Ghosts were reported on board after the ship was permanently docked in California. Many areas are rumored to be haunted. Reports of hearing children crying in the nursery room, used as the third-class playroom, and a mysterious splash noise in the drained first-class swimming pool are cited. In 1966, 18-year-old engineer John Pedder was crushed by a watertight door in the engine room during a fire drill, and his ghost is said to haunt the ship.
One of the most haunted spots of the ship is Cabin B340, which is no longer let out due to the extreme paranormal activity, believed to be the result of the murder of an 8 year old girl.
There is also said to be the spirit of a young girl named Jackie Korin who drowned in the second class pool and continues to haunt the first class pool room on board the ship. A young woman by the name of Sarah was said to have been murdered in the first class women's change rooms by an unknown man and haunts the first class pool with Jackie.
Some visitors say they have seen women wearing early 1930s bathing suits in the pool areas. It is also said that men screaming and the sound of metal crushing against metal can be heard below decks at the extreme front end of the bow. Those who have heard this believe it to be the screams of the sailors aboard HMS Curacoa (D41) at the moment the light cruiser was split in half by the liner.
We walked the plank into the main part of the Queen Mary
and spotted the Scorpion Submarine
Dark Harbor is a new Halloween attraction
Nick has friends
Dark Harbor
Did You Know? - The ship's crew have ensured this Long Beach Halloween tradition's unforgettable and macabre makeover at the hands of fright masters long responsible for some of Southern California's biggest scare-fests. More than 45,000 scares per hour await, along with 160 monsters and 20-foot tall flames.
Three shipboard and two onshore mazes confuse and ensnare visitors, and although visitors will have every opportunity to turn back, the food, drink and entertainment inside will ensure leaving is unthinkable.
Wow... In the 1950's
The pay phone????
Did You Know? - The red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar, and despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, red boxes can still be seen in many places and in current or former British colonies around the world. The color red was chosen to make them easy to spot.
The Catalina Express is returning
Nick asks "When do the signals happen??"
Did You Know? - Audible fog signals have been used in one form or another for hundreds of years, initially simply bells or gongs struck manually. At some lighthouses, a small cannon was let off periodically to warn away ships, but this had the obvious disadvantage of having to be fired manually throughout the whole period the fog persisted (which could be for several days). In the United States, whistles were also used where a source of steam power was available, though Trinity House, the British Lighthouse Authority, did not employ them, preferring an explosive signal.
Throughout the 19th century efforts were made to automate the signalling process. Trinity House eventually developed a system (the "Signal, Fog, Mk I") for firing a gun-cotton charge electrically. However, the charge had to be manually replaced after each signal. At Portland Bill, for example, which had a 5-minute interval between fog-signals, this meant the horns had to be lowered, the 2 new charges inserted, and the horns raised again every 5 minutes during foggy periods. Clockwork systems were also developed for striking bells.
Captain James William Newton claimed to have been the inventor of the fog signalling technique using loud and low notes.
Nick walks the decks
Check your watch
Not an original....
Time To Head For The Tour
Our escort awaits us
In 1945 she arrived in New York carrying almost 20,000 people
Queen Mary pool
Did You Know? - If spooky little girls like the ones in the Shinning scare you then you'll want to stay clear of the pool area. A girl from third class thought she'd have some fun and slide down the banister but a sudden wave upset her course and she broke her neck on the fall. She now wanders the pool area and nursery looking for her doll or mommy. She is not alone though. In the 30's and 60's two other women met their unfortunate deaths in the pool area and are seen periodically in that area.
Spooky in the dark
The flash lite the place up... the pool was still wet?
The fog sets in.....
Did You Know? - Two more popular spot for the Queen's other worldly guests are its first and second class swimming pools. Though neither are utilized today for their original purpose, spirits seemingly are not aware of that. In the first class swimming pool, which has been closed for more than three decades, women have often been seen appearing in 1930's style swimming suits wandering the decks near the pool. Others have reported the sounds of splashing and spied wet footprints leading from the deck to the changing rooms. Some have also spied the spirit of a young girl, clutching her teddy bear.
Did You Know? - A fog machine or smoke machine is a device which emits a dense vapour that appears similar to fog or smoke. This artificial fog is most commonly used in professional entertainment applications, but smaller, more affordable fog machines are becoming common for personal use. Fog machines can also be found in use in a variety of industrial, training, and some military applications. Typically, fog is created by vapourizing proprietary water and glycol-based or glycerine-based fluids or through the atomization of mineral oil. This fluid (often referred to colloquially as fog juice) vapourizes or atomizes inside the fog machine. Upon exiting the fog machine and coming into contact with the moisture in the outside air the vapour condenses, resulting in a thick visible fog.
We are waiting for the apparition
During the war the Queen hauled many troops back and forth across the Atlantic
Did You Know? - In late August 1939, Queen Mary was on a return run from New York to Southampton. The international situation led to her being escorted by the battlecruiser HMS Hood. She arrived safely, and set out again for New York on 1 September. By the time she arrived, the Second World War had started and she was ordered to remain in port until further notice alongside Normandie. In 1940 Queen Mary and Normandie were joined in New York by Queen Mary's new running mate Queen Elizabeth, fresh from her secret dash from Clydebank.
The three largest liners in the world sat idle for some time until the Allied commanders decided that all three ships could be used as troopships (Normandie was destroyed by fire during her troopship conversion). Queen Mary left New York for Sydney, where she, along with several other liners, was converted into a troopship to carry Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the United Kingdom.
Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were the largest and fastest troopships involved in the war, often carrying as many as 15,000 men in a single voyage, and often travelling out of convoy and without escort. Their high speed meant that it was difficult for U boats to catch them.
It was very dark in the bottom of the ship... the flash camera helped
We are now about 33 feet UNDER the water line!
This area was a boiler room
Did You Know? - After several years of decreased profits for Cunard Line, Queen Mary was officially retired from service in 1967. The ship left Southampton for the last time on 31 October 1967 and sailed to the port of Long Beach, California, United States, where it remains permanently moored. Much of the machinery including two of the four engines, three of the four propellers, and all of the boilers were removed.
Someone had an itchy foot.....
The steel was welded/riveted together 70 years ago....
This room used to be 110 degrees when the boilers were running at full steam ahead
Did You Know? - When Queen Mary was bought by Long Beach, they decided not to preserve her as an ocean liner. It had been decided to clear almost every area of the ship below C deck (called R deck after 1950; to lessen passenger confusion all the restaurants were on "R" deck) to make way for the museum.
This would increase museum space to 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2). It required removal of all the boiler rooms, the forward engine room, both turbo generator rooms, the ship stabilizers and the water softening plant. The ship's now empty fuel tanks were then filled with local mud which would keep the ship's centre of gravity and draft at the correct levels, as these critical factors had been affected by the removal of all various components and structure. Only the aft engine room and "shaft alley", at the stern of the ship, would be spared.
Great optical effects.... The steam pipes glowed in the dark
The pipes vibrated... you could feel them
Ghostly mists came up suddenly
Watertight doors abound
Did You Know? -
In 1966, 18-year-old engineer John Pedder was crushed by a watertight door in the engine room during a fire drill, and his ghost is said to haunt the ship.
Looks pretty scary....
Lots of iron work in these here walls
Seventy years ago
Oh oh.... we sprung a leak
Did You Know? - On 2 October 1942, Queen Mary accidentally sank one of her escort ships, slicing through the light cruiser HMS Curacoa off the Irish coast with a loss of 239 lives. Queen Mary was carrying nearly 20,000 American troops of the 29th Infantry Division[14] to join the Allied forces in Europe. Due to the risk of U-boat attacks, Queen Mary was under orders not to stop under any circumstances and steamed onward with a fractured stem.
We are going to sink!!!!
Did You Know? - The incident occurred as the result of several factors. The captain of the Queen Mary made the assumption that her escort ship would track her course change and adjust accordingly.[6] Meanwhile, Captain Boutwood on board the Curacoa assumed the standard seafaring rule that an overtaking ship must yield. The resulting convergent courses were reported on board both ships and the Queen Mary's First Officer issued a correction, but both the reports and correction were dismissed by the respective ship's captains.
The loss was not reported until after the war ended, whereupon the Navy immediately pressed charges against the Queen Mary's owners, Cunard White Star Line.[6] The High Court of Justice subsequently ruled mostly in favour of the latter, giving two-thirds of the blame to the Admiralty and one third to Cunard White Star.[6] This ruling would become important in the civil lawsuits subsequently filed against Cunard White Star Line by relatives of the Curacoa's deceased. It also prompted significant revisions in Royal Navy policy, including the suspension of escorts for passenger liners indefinitely.
The ship was powered by 24 Yarrow Boilers
Did You Know? - Yarrow boilers are an important class of high-pressure water-tube boilers. They were developed by Yarrows and were widely used on ships, particularly warships.
The Yarrow boiler design is characteristic of the three-drum boiler: two banks of straight water-tubes are arranged in a triangular row with a single furnace between them. A single steam drum is mounted at the top between them, with smaller water drums at the base of each bank. Circulation, both upwards and downwards, occurs within this same tube bank. The Yarrow's distinctive features were the use of straight tubes and also circulation in both directions taking place entirely within the tube bank, rather than using external downcomers.
Yarrow boiler, with the flue and outer casing removed
No wonder they needed three funnels
Water tight doors
Door #13
Did You Know? - Located 50 feet below water level is the Queen Mary's engine room, which is said to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. Used in the filming of the Poseidon Adventure, the room's infamous "Door 13" crushed at least two men to death, at different points during the ship's history. The most recent death, during a routine watertight door drill in 1966, crushed an 18 year-old crew member. Dressed in blue coveralls and sporting a beard, the young man has often been spied walking the length of Shaft Alley before disappearing by door #13.
Steam or hydraulically activated
Into The Sunlight... Our Eyes Had To Adjust
The blimp flew right over us
Bob got some good pictures
It's time for the submarine
Speaking of ghostly things