Explanation of Recommendations for the Navigation Bridge and Top of Houses
Wheel House Top- The top of the
wheel house can and should be restored as a tour area where guests can
get a close up look at some of the working equipment of the ship such as
the radar mast, searchlights, etc. The life floats wouldn't necessarily
need to be restored to this particular area especially as the ship would
be permanently docked.
Navigation Bridge- The wheel house and associated rooms of the bridge complex should be fully restored as close as possible to their original condition so that guests can experience the environment in which the ship's officers piloted the Big U across the Atlantic.
Navigation Bridge- The wheel house and associated rooms of the bridge complex should be fully restored as close as possible to their original condition so that guests can experience the environment in which the ship's officers piloted the Big U across the Atlantic.
The original bridge equipment was
reportedly sold at auction when the ship's interiors were removed and
may still exist. Hopefully those items could be returned to the ship. If
not, replica equipment could be manufactured. Detailed photographs of
this area in its prime exist and the stumps on the floor where equipment
was removed show their exact placement meaning restoration is pretty
straight forward.
To see an excellent "then and now" shot of the bridge, visit the SSUS page of modern-ruins.com:
http://modern-ruins.com/
The emergency generator room may still
have its equipment almost entirely intact like much of the machinery
aboard. It could also be opened for guests to view.
Nav. Bridge Deck- This was the Engineers' Promenade during the sailing career of the ship. It could serve a similar purpose in a dockside role as an outdoor break area for a modern day "crew". The view was and is excellent from these upper decks.