Work in progress
Our volunteers are restoring a cutting machine from the former printshop on board. The machine gets a new place near other historical instruments. In the engineroom several builders plates have been cleaned.
Boilerfront
Our volunteers Jan Egberts and Jim Luteijn placed an original boilerfront in the engine room. There were 16 of these boilerfronts on the four boilers of the ship. They were replaced when the boilersystem was automatized during the eighties. The fronts were delivered by A. de Jong engineering. From the mid-eighties till 1997 the front decorated the officers bar on Sundeck. The front was donated by Bart Peters, former engineer on the ss Rotterdam.
20 years ago in Hong Kong
Today 20 years ago the ss Rotterdam arrived in Hong Kong during her final world cruise. She stayed there until the 5th of March. The ship on the other side of the pier is the ms Oriana (1995) of P&O.
The picture comes from the collection of captain Leo van Lanschot Hubrecht.
Interior improvements
Our volunteers have constructed a rail to protect the special glass wall plates in the Queens Lounge. The wall plates have been damaged severely by catering transports. Fortunately our volunteers found some spare plates in one of the holds of the ship, so they could replace the damaged plates. The plates were created by Royal Dutch Furniture Factory H.P. Mutters & Sons, who designed and built the Queens Lounge. Picture by Koos Sanderse
In the Smoking Room the operator has removed the trays on the three cupboards. The first picture below shows the recent situation. The second picture shows the present situation, after restoring the cupboard by the Service Stewards. Our volunteers fitted the glass plates that have been stored during the last years. The original character of the Smoking Room, designed by Carel Wirtz, benefits by this change.
Picture Jan-Willem Koene
Picture koos Sanderse
Our volunteers placed a new clock in de Ambassador Room. The original clock has been removed long ago and its appearance is unkown to us. The present clock fits with the atmosphere of the Ambassador Room that was designed by Han van Tienhoven.
The new clock. Picture Klaas Krijnen
Worldmap moved to a new place
Our volunteers removed the worldmap from the foyer between Smoking Room and Grand Ballroom to the Central Staircase on Upper-Promenadedeck.
A new place for the map was necessary because the foyer between Smoking Room and Grand ballroom has been transformed into a pantry. De map was a gift in 1959 by Observator, a company that delivered nautical instruments for the ship. Picture Klaas Krijnen
On a cold winter’s evening
Pictures Jan-Willem-Koene