The Turbine Steamer (TS) Queen Mary was the largest ship ever built for the excursion trade in Scotland's Firth of Clyde and is the sole survivor of this type of vessel and an exemplar of the Clyde shipbuilding industry in the age of steam. She was built at the shipyard of William Denny & Bros Ltd in Dumbarton, Scotland for Williamson-Buchanan Steamers. With the order placed in 1932, Denny's completed the design and hull within two months and the ship was launched on 30 March 1933. Named Queen Mary with the consent of Her Majesty Queen Mary, wife of King George V, the ship was fitted out in a mere six weeks and undertook sea trials on 15 May 1933. Joining the Williamson-Buchanan fleet on 20 May 1933, Queen Mary was based at Glasgow's Bridge Wharf and proved very popular with the thousands of daytrippers and holidaymakers who sailed on her during her regular runs from Glasgow to destinations in the Firth of Clyde, such as the resorts at Dunoon, Largs, Bute, and Arran.
Compared to Clyde paddle steamers, such as PS Waverley, Queen Mary's turbine engines provided greater speed, smoothness, stability, and fuel efficiency. Her 10.7-metre beam, wider than any other turbine steamers, meant she sported large interior and exterior passenger spaces. While earlier Clyde steamers had their dining saloons sited near the stern, Queen Mary's dining saloon was located forward of the engines, ensuring more pleasant views and less vibration for diners. The ship's upscale fittings included teak deck seats, mahogany furniture in the saloons, and a smoking room panelled in oak. Queen Mary featured two classes of accommodation until 1950 and a waiter-service restaurant until 1972.
With its new transatlantic liner about to be launched, in 1934 the Cunard-White Star Line asked Williamson-Buchanan to change the name of TS Queen Mary to TS Queen Mary II so that Cunard-White Star could give the Queen Mary name to its liner, then known only as Hull 534. Williamson-Buchanan agreed and, in appreciation, Cunard gifted the company an official watercolour portrait of Her Majesty Queen Mary, which was hung in the forward lounge of the newly-renamed Queen Mary II.
During the Second World War Queen Mary II remained in Scottish waters to ferry mail and passengers between Gourock and Dunoon, her deep draught of 3.1 metres rendering her unsuitable as a minesweeper. She also served as a tender for the large ocean liners converted into troopships, ferrying soldiers out to the likes of Cunard's RMS Aquitania, RMS Queen Mary, and RMS Queen Elizabeth. In June 1942, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth sailed aboard TS Queen Mary II from Bridge Wharf and, in November US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt sailed on the ship during part of her goodwill tour of Britain.
Following the war, Queen Mary II was refitted and repainted in the colours of the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway, which had acquired the entire Williamson-Buchanan fleet in 1936. Returned to passenger service, the ship carried a number of famous dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, and Princess Margaret, who were tendered aboard Queen Mary II from Greenock to RMS Queen Elizabeth, lying offshore, for the liner's first official speed trials on 8 October 1946. Other notable passengers included King George VI, Anthony Eden, Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, and Lord Mountbatten of Burma. With the 1948 nationalisation of Britain's railways, ownership of the LMS Railway's remaining passenger ships was transferred to the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. During the winter of 1956-57, Queen Mary II was converted from coal to oil fuel, involving the removal of the ship's two original Scotch boilers and their replacement by a single-ended Yarrow water tube boiler. Queen Mary II's original two cylindrical funnels were also replaced by a single elliptical funnel, and a new mainmast was installed to provide the shipboard lighting required by new safety regulations.
Despite the drop in passenger numbers in the 1960s caused by affordable air travel and the increasing popularity of package holidays, Queen Mary II continued sailing, being refitted for cruising between Gourock on the Firth of Clyde and the Scottish west coast towns of Inveraray, Brodick, Campbeltown, Ailsa Craig, Bute, and Stanraer. In 1976, Cunard's RMS Queen Mary was finally removed from Lloyd's Register (despite being retired from service in 1967) and, on 4 May, TS Queen Mary II reverted to her original name, Queen Mary. The next year, facing dim economic prospects, Queen Mary's owners elected not to invest in the major work required to keep the 44-year old ship running and announced that she would be removed from service; Queen Mary undertook her final public sailing on 27 September 1977.
After being laid up in Greenock, Scotland, Queen Mary was sold to Glasgow District Council in 1978 with plans to convert the ship into a Clyde maritime museum. These plans fell through for want of funding and Queen Mary was sold to private interests, who towed the ship to London in January 1981. After having her fixtures, fittings, and engines stripped out, Queen Mary remained laid up for six more years until she was converted into a floating entertainment venue in 1987-88. Sold to a French buyer in 2009, Queen Mary was towed to Tilbury to be prepared for her new life as a floating restaurant and fitness centre at La Rochelle; however, this plan failed and the ship remained moored at Tilbury Docks, deteriorating. Although sold at auction to another buyer in 2015, Queen Mary was prevented from departing Tilbury by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency until repairs were made to render her seaworthy. Later that year, the Port of Tilbury arrested Queen Mary for non-payment of berthing dues and later put the ship up for auction.
The Friends of TS Queen Mary, formed in 2012, won the 2015 auction and raised more than £100,000 needed for essential repairs through a nationwide fundraising campaign. Work began in April 2016 and Queen Mary was towed to Greenock in May for further repairs in a drydock, funded through a second public appeal which raised £350,000. Following completion of the repair work in November 2016, Queen Mary was towed to Glasgow, the first time she had visited the city since 1977. Over the next two years, more than 300 cadets and 50 volunteers stripped the ship back to bare metal. In June 2019, Queen Mary was again drydocked to be laser scanned, surveyed by regulators, and repainted. The results of the survey indicated that returning Queen Mary to operational service was feasible and, in March 2022, the ship's Royal Patron, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, officially announced that Queen Mary's refit would be expanded to return her to service.
As of November 2025, TS Queen Mary was moored at the entrance to Princes' Dock, next to the Glasgow Science Centre, undergoing restoration work. As part of this effort, the original Burmese teak decking has been replaced by steel deck plates to comply with modern safety standards and the ship's interior and exterior have been painted. Over 220 windows and portholes are being removed for refurbishment or replacement, and nearly 2,600 square metres of insulation is being fitted. While no date for Queen Mary's return to service had been announced as of early 2026, the intent is that the ship will remain moored next to the Glasgow Science Centre as a heritage attraction when not undertaking cruises.
Specifications: TS Queen Mary (1933)
Displacement: 871 gross register tons (as built), 1,014 gross register tons (current)
Length overall: 76.9 metres (252 feet 6 inches)
Beam: 10.7 metres (35 feet 1 inch)
Draught: 3.1 metres (10 feet 1 inch)
Propulsion: 3 x direct drive Parsons steam turbines generating 3,800 horsepower
Service speed: 21 knots (39 km/h; 24.2 mph)
Maximum speed: 19.7 knots (36.5 km/h; 22.7 mph) during sea trials
Passenger capacity: 2,086 (as built), reduced to 1,820 in 1957
Photos taken 2 and 5 November 2025
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| A port side view of TS Queen Mary, moored alongside the Glasgow Science Centre and the entrance to Princes' Dock basin, 5 November 2025. As part of the restoration process, the ship's funnels were removed in June 2023 and will be replaced with new funnels of the same size and rake as the 1933 originals. The wheelhouse, captain's cabin, and ventilator cowls were also removed at that time for restoration. This photo gives an impression of the extensive passenger spaces aboard Queen Mary, including a 630-square metre open-air boat deck promenade. |
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| A stern view of TS Queen Mary, photographed from across Princes' Dock on 2 November 2025. The ship was closed to visitors, given the restoration work underway, and a cordon of barricades across Plantation Quay prevented close-up views. |
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| A port side view of TS Queen Mary, photographed from Stobcross Quay, across the River Clyde from the Glasgow Science Centre, 2 November 2025. The work being carried out on Queen Mary will restore her to her original 1933 appearance and allow her to resume passenger excursion services for the first time since 1977. |