The Royal Mail Steamer Titanic was built in the great shipyards of Harland
and Wolff, in Belfast, Ireland. The crown jewel of Britain’s White
Star Line, she was the largest, finest and grandest ocean liner ever to sail
the seas. She contained three separate libraries, a complete gymnasium, a
squash court, a Turkish bath, a pitch and putt golf course and a 33-foot
indoor bathing pool.
It took 14,000 employees to build the 46,328-ton Royal Mail Ship Titanic.
Her anchor alone weighed fifteen and a half tons. Her hull, 26,000 tons. Twenty-three
tons of wax, train oil, and soft soap were used to grease the ways at her launch.
Titanic, built at a cost of 1,500,000 English pounds, ($7.5 million), was 882
feet in length; standing on end she’s rise higher than the tallest skyscraper
then in New York. Weighing 46,000 tons, her great rudder alone weighed more
(101 tons) than the entire Santa Maria. (She carried more saloon waiters than
the entire crews of Columbus’ three ships combined.) Her 16 coal-burning
boilers produced the steam that drove two reciprocating engines and one low-
pressure turbine which, reciprocating engines and one low-pressure turbine,
which, together, manufactured 66,000 horsepower. Only three of her four great
funnels, 22 feet in diameter, were functional, the rear stack being merely
for show.
Titanic was designed with 16 watertight compartments running the entire length
of the ship below the waterline, each separated by transverse steep bulkheads,
rendered watertight by six-inch thick steel doors that could be lowered in
a matter of seconds. They were designed to keep the ship afloat, even if as
many as four of these compartments should become completely flooded.
Pride of the White Star Line, the R.M.S. Titanic steamed out of Southampton,
England on Wednesday, April 10, 1912. She carried 2,228 passengers and crew.
(1,314 passengers in 1st, 2nd and 3rd Class, plus a crew and service staff
of 914.)
After stops in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, she leaded across
the North Atlantic for New York. She never arrived.
For four days she traveled unscathed, despite warnings of ice in the water.
Just before midnight on Sunday, April 14, she struck an iceberg off the coast
of Newfoundland. Two and a half-hours later, the acclaimed “watertight” ship
sank two and a half miles to the ocean bottom, taking 1,517 lives with her.
Fifty bellboys, none more than fifteen years old, 76 of the 84 engine stokers,
and all of the 38 engineers perished. Thirty-seven dogs, eleven cats and
a pet pig went down with the ship as well.
Titanic Facts & Figures
It took 14,000 employees to build the 46,328-ton Royal Mail Ship Titanic.
Her anchor alone weighed fifteen and a half tons. Her hull, 26,000 tons. Twenty-three
tons of wax, train oil, and soft soap were used to grease the ways at her
launch.
Pride of the White Star Line, the R.M.S. Titanic steamed out of Southampton,
England on Wednesday, April 10, 1912. She carried 2,228 passengers and crew.
For four days she traveled unscathed, despite warnings of ice in the water.
Just before midnight on Sunday, April 14, she struck an iceberg off the coast
of Newfoundland. Two and a half-hours later, the acclaimed “watertight” ship
sank two and a half miles to the ocean bottom, taking 1,517 lives with her.
Fifty bellboys, none more than fifteen years old, 76 of the 84 engine stokers,
and all of the 38 engineers perished. Thirty-seven dogs, eleven cats and a
pet pig went down with the ship as well.
Though her twenty small lifeboats had a capacity for 1,178 persons (slightly
over half of the total number of board) only 711 survived afloat.
FAMOUS PEOPLE ABOARD:
John Jacob Astor
The richest man on board Titanic was often referred to as “The world’s
greatest monument to unearned income.” New York Society looked down on
Madeline Astor who was 19 years old (29 years younger than her husband) and
visibly pregnant.
Captain E.J. Smith
Known as the millionaires’ captain, was so popular amongst the wealthy
that people often made their travel plans around his schedule.
Benjamin Guggenheim
The son of a Swiss immigrant who reportedly made his financial rise selling
shoelaces on Philadelphia streets.
Isador Straus
His vast fortune had not been able to buy a cure for his beloved wife Ida.
So the trip home would be bittersweet for the owner of Macy’s. Still,
over 40 years of marriage had taught them to live every day as though it
were their last.
COSTS:
Cost of a ticket:
First Class- $4,350 (today $50,000)
Third class - $30 (today $345)
Cost of the Titanic in 1912 - $7.5 million
PASSENGERS:
2,228 total passengers and crew
First Class – 337
Second Class – 271
Third Class – 712
Crew – 908
Survivors – 706
PROVISIONS ON BOARD:
Fresh Meat – 75,000 lbs.
Poultry and Game – 25,000 lbs.
Eggs – 42,000
Potatoes – 40 tons
Apples – 36,000
Oranges – 36,000
Lettuce – 7,000
Fresh Milk – 1,500 gallons
Cigars - 8,000
Bottles of wine and other spirits – 3,700
Coffee – 2,200
Sugar - 10,000 lbs.
Bacon and ham – 7,500 lbs.
Sausages – 2,500 lbs.
Fresh Butter – 6,000 lbs.
