WORLD SHIP SOCIETY

At our last membership meeting before the summer break, PONY Branch members and friends were treated to a screening of “The Superliners: Twilight of an Era.” Produced in 1979 by National Geographic in association with WQED in Pittsburgh, this 50-minute film documents a westbound crossing in the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 with both crew and passenger interviews and footage from public spaces and working areas of the ship including the bridge and engine room. Also shown is a rare glimpse of her dramatic unassisted docking in New York City by Captain Ridley during a tugboat strike. The film, for which Frank Braynard served as historical advisor, provides rare insight and footage of the QE2 during a period where her future remained uncertain as rising fuel costs and the competition from air travel challenged the time honored tradition of crossing the Atlantic by ship. The film also examines, through archival footage, the role that the ocean liner has played as the “Atlantic Ferry” in times of peace and war, with a discussion of the immigrant trade, the Blue Riband, and superliners such as the NORMANDIE, QUEEN MARY and QUEEN ELIZABETH.

Prior to the screening, PONY Branch member Pat Dacey led a discussion of recent developments in QE2’s restoration and its opening as a floating hotel in 2018.

(Photo credit: Patrick Dacey)