Absolutely wonderful thread....the photos are amazing 
Can I ask the folks that visited the yard recently, when you look out onto the Clyde and when the tide is low, there are two slipways next to each other. The first one is closest to the fitting out quay and the other further along. There is a tribute Commemorative plaque above the slipway thats furthest away stating that was the slipway that launched the Queens BUT is that correct? Was it not the slipway "closest" to the fitting out quay???
-NairB 
When the first two Queens were built, there was a smaller slipway between them and the fitting out basin. Some photos of Queen Mary up on the slipway show this quite clearly, as does this RAF WW2-era aerial shot of the John Brown yard.
Note: the link Stowaway 2K posted is no longer active. However this photo on the Canmore site shows the smaller slipway if you zoom in:
https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1257244In the photos of QE2 on her slipway, it appears that this smaller slipway has by then been built over, making QE2's the closest to the fitting out basin.
So, it looks like the first Queens were second from the basin, while QE2 was on the same slipway, it was then the first from the basin....
This same website has other fantastic period photos of the John Brown yard and Clydebank, including a Luftwaffe aerial survey. There is a photo of QE2 on the slipway with Shieldhall cruising up the river, which I love as it shows that Shieldhall was there at the start and the finish for QE2...
Browsing all these photos leads me to believe that the fitting out basin wasn't "lengthened" for QM or QE2, just that the shape of the basin head was rebuilt and changed formation over the years. But that's just me... I'm open to being wrong...
