North River Crossing
watercolor, 14” x 21”
$1,975
The New York Central Ferry ALBANY while on her way to the 42nd Street Terminal in Weehawken, New Jersey, is waiting for the Cunard Lines QUEEN MARY to pass as she makes her way to her pier at 57th Street in early 1950’s New York. The Ferry ALBANY made runs from the New York Central Railhead in Weehawken to either Cortland Street in lower Manhattan, or to the midtown terminal at West 42nd Street. The ALBANY was built at Port Richmond by the Staten Island Shipbuilding Company I 1925, and she remained in service until 1959. Laid up in Jersey City, she burned and was subsequently scrapped. The ALBANY was 203.4 feet long with a 44.8’ beam, and gross tonnage of 1,389 tons. Her steam plant generated 1,600 shaft horsepower.
The QUEEN MARY made her maiden voyage to New York in 1936 at the height of the depression. In 1938, she won the Blue Riband, for the fastest Atlantic crossing clocking 30.99 knots, Eastbound, and 31. 69 knots Westbound. She held the record until 1952, when the SS UNITED STATES bested her with a 34.51 knot Westbound crossing. The QUEEN MARY did trooping service from 1940 to 1946, and was refurbished and served on the North Atlantic run until 1967. She is currently in Long Beach, California, where she serves as a tourist attraction as a hotel and convention center. Her dimensions are 1,020 feet overall with a 118’ beam and a gross tonnage of 81,237 tons. He steam plant and quadruple screws drove her at a 29 knot sustained speed.