The Working Alleyways

The term "Working Alley" is applied to the house-keeping service corridors and kitchen storage areas of the Queen Mary that were located amidships on the port side of original D and E decks (now renamed C and D decks). Because of the hard labor done in the area, it was dubbed "the Burma Road" by some crew members after World War 2.

C Deck (old D deck) working alleyway. Click on map to expand to full size.
There was also a less defined passageway on the deck below this.

The Alleyway as it was in service (left), and (right) today

The Queen Mary's working alleyways were as crucial to the hotel/hospitality features of the ship as the underground service areas of Disneyland are to that attraction today. They made it possible to service and support the hotel services and hospitality features of the ship with minimal intrusion on the elegant atmosphere of the primary passenger decks above.

In this area were found the cold storage areas for the kitchens, the butcher's shop, linen supplies, the print shop (where daily menus and the ship's newspaper were printed) and a bevy of other services and supplies required by the passengers. They were conveniently located directly beneath the main galleys of current R deck.

The walls of the service alleys were painted with a cream upper and light green enamel paint. The length of the corridor was broken up with electrically operated watertight doors which could be operated by remote control from the bridge in case of emergency.

One ex-crewmember remembers the area thus:

The Women's Hospital on modern C Deck (old D Deck)

The D deck (now named C deck) features included:

The ship's hospital, including the operating theatre, was destroyed in the 1968-71 "conversion". Elements of its furnishings and equipment are on display in an exhibit on Sun deck.

The E deck (now named D deck) features included:

History of Use

1936 - 1967 - These areas retained their original functions throughout the passenger service life of the Queen Mary.

1968 - 1971 - In the conversion from ocean-going luxury liner to shore-side tourist attraction, the crucial functional role of the "working alleys" was unrecognized. Perhaps it was believed that the storage and service functions need no longer be housed aboard the ship, since the ship was permanently docked in port.

Also, the ship was purchased primarily for its "icon" value and to house a maritime museum on the lower decks. To create a two deck high entrance level for this museum, the conversion plan called for the complete removal of original D deck - then (and today) called C deck. As a result this deck was largely, but not completely, cut away from the stern to approximately the middle of the ship. Although this effort stopped amidships, many original features such as passenger cabins, and wood paneling in the corridors on the starboard side were gutted even further towards the bow.

It was at this time the massive pair of wooden doors that separated the third class passenger area from the working alley were removed. (See first photograph below.) Note that the water pressure gauge shown in this photograph is still in place, although the surrounding paneling has been removed. The dial reading is the same today as in this 1936 photograph! (see top of panel on left of photo)

The sliding doors that separated the 3^rd Class areas from the Working Alley and the same view of the area today. This area was extensively gutted during the conversion.

This massive structural modification had important consequences for the logistical operation of the ship future hotel services as well as her seaworthiness and structural soundness.

 1994 – Present – In the mid 1990s, the operator of the Queen Mary, RMS Foundation/QSDI, in an attempt to bring in revenue with little investment in the historic ship, started an annual Halloween haunt on the lower decks known as Shipwreck.  This operation has continued to the present. Large areas of C, D and E Decks are filled year round with assorted “haunted house” exhibit material used in the mazes that make up the Shipwreck.  Fake spider webs, blood, and dead bodies abound. As a result, the remainder of the Working Alley on C Deck was littered with black partitions and other debris that make up one of the mazes for ‘Shipwreck’. This fascinating area of the ship is closed off to the public and left in this state year round for an event that lasts just four weeks a year. To understand the full extent of the effects of ‘Shipwreck’ on the Queen Mary, read our article on the subject here. 

The Domino Effect

• Because the original storage and service areas for catering and hotel services were destroyed in the conversion, both the second class and third class dining rooms on R deck were informally commandeered for these purposes.
• The loss of these two (of the three) main dining rooms on R deck, pushed banqueting services up to the passenger lounges on the upper decks. They were all stripped of their furnishings and turned into "ballrooms".
• Adjacent areas, once beautiful facilities that were part of the total design atmosphere of the Queen Mary, have been ruined as pantries, galleys and chair storage spaces.
• The physical results, as indicated in the photos of numerous original areas covered in this web area regarding endangered areas have been catastrophic.

Both from a physical and atmospheric point of view, the floating catering venue that resulted bears little resemblance to the elegant yet practical design that was the "RMS Queen Mary."

The maritime museum concept that was the rationale for purchasing the ship and destroying the Working Alleys was only partially built -- as Cousteau's "Living Sea Museum." Within a few years of its opening in 1971, it was in trouble. By the mid 1980's this museum was closed and abandoned. Vast areas of the lower decks forward of this museum, that housed the power train of the Queen Mary and that were gutted for its next phase of development, have sat undeveloped and largely unused for over 40 years!

Potential for future restoration and re-use of the Working Alleys

The current use of the ship’s dining rooms and lounges as multi-purpose banqueting ballrooms, along with the massive table and chair storage requirement through this use, is the main cause of damage to the Queen Mary’s beautiful wood veneered interiors. If the operational approach doesn’t change, then any restoration efforts are only a short term solution. If an enlightened operator wished to truly restore the Queen Mary, then a reversal of the dreaded domino effect is essential. The best way to begin this is by restoring R deck as the banqueting center for the ship.

If banqueting/catering are relocated to the original dining rooms on "R' deck, some alternative service, supply and storage arrangements are required.

Current D deck survives along the entire length of the ship. It is served by two service entrances (one forward and one aft) and two large public entrances. The foremost public entrance serves the "Exhibit Hall" the occasionally used space created out of the abandoned Cousteau 'Living Sea Museum" (The second public entrance is for the QM story museum feature). It could provide a new working alley for the ship.

If D Deck is established as the new Working Alley and service core for the ship, then it makes sense for the current midships service entrance on this deck to be removed and replaced with a discrete entrance behind the aft boarding tower. The area behind the current ship museum entrance would become the new delivery and distribution center, allowing the two large service entrances between the two boarding towers to be closed and replated. We also see the bridge between the two boarding towers removed (the escalators are dead and this area isn’t even necessary if both boarding towers have elevators for handicapped access) freeing up the Queen Mary’s impressive port side profile.

Current C deck, where the bulk of the original working alley was found, now disappears amidships. The structural soundness of the ship might be significantly enhanced by its replacement. This would give the operator the option of restoring the original working alley for touring purposes, while using the port side of current D deck as the contemporary Working alley.

The utility pipes that line both C and D decks could easily be housed below D deck above the fuel tanks. (Suggestion of Robin Jacobs.)

The area that once contained the Kosher Kitchen

The existing Exhibit Hall and ship "museum" on D decks and below, could and should be housed in new facilities off the ship.

With a service alley once again running beneath all of the decks requiring hotel and passengers services - and these service and supply areas linked by high speed service elevators in readily available mechanical spaces that run from current D deck to Sports Deck, the logistical support structure for the RMS Queen Mary would be enhanced to better than maiden voyage condition.

If contemporary working alleys are created on existing D deck, what remains (or could be recreated) of the original working alleys on current C deck, could be developed as part of the attraction's multiple tour program. Along with the crew quarters in the bow area and the adjacent third class facilities, the restored working alleys could be used to tell the fascinating story of crew life "downstairs" on the Queen Mary.

With potentially 4 large dining rooms on original C deck - now R deck, capable of serving close to 2,000 people in one seating, banqueting services would be enhanced, not diminished. These dining rooms could be paired with original lounges on the upper decks for pre and post dinner receptions.

The upper deck original lounges, restored and refurbished would also be available as entertainment venues, to house hospitality features for hotel guests, and for viewing on guided tours.

This approach permits restoration and functional use of virtually all original public areas on the ship for purposes closely resembling those for which they were designed and built.

The removal of the Working Alley and service core from the Queen Mary during the conversion was a gross mistake that is, to this day, the main reason that so many areas of the ship are trashed, especially on R Deck. Over the years, various operators have taken on “restoration” projects without addressing this core problem and when their efforts fail they don't even bother to step back and try to understand what went wrong and why.  Without reconstituting a working alley, all of the restoration efforts on the upper decks are essentially a waste of time and money.