Sinking Of The Titanic And Great Sea Disasters by Logan Marshall (best reads of all time txt) 📕

First News Of The Greatest Marine Disaster In History

"The Titanic In Collision,  But Everybody Safe"--

Another Triumph Set Down To Wireless Telegraphy--

The World Goes To Sleep Peacefully--The Sad Awakening.

Like A Bolt Out Of A Clear Sky Came The Wireless Message

On Monday,  April 15,  1912,  That On Sunday Night

The Great Titanic,  On Her Maiden Voyage Across The

Atlantic,  Had Struck A Gigantic Iceberg,  But That All The

Passengers Were Saved. The Ship Had Signaled Her Distress And

Another Victory Was Set Down To Wireless. Twenty-One

Hundred Lives Saved!

Additional News Was Soon Received That The Ship Had Collided

With A Mountain Of Ice In The North Atlantic,  Off Cape Race,

Newfoundland,  At 10.25 Sunday Evening,  April 14th. At

4.15 Monday Morning The Canadian Government Marine

Agency Received A Wireless Message That The Titanic Was Sinking

And That The Steamers Towing Her Were Trying To Get Her Into

Shoal Water Near Cape Race,  For The Purpose Of Beaching Her.

Wireless Despatches Up To Noon Monday Showed That The

Passengers Of The Titanic Were Being Transferred Aboard The

Steamer Carpathia,  A Cunarder,  Which Left New York,  April

13th,  For Naples. Twenty Boat-Loads Of The Titanic's Passengers

Were Said To Have Been Transferred To The Carpathia

Then,  And Allowing Forty To Sixty Persons As The Capacity Of

Each Life-Boat,  Some 800 Or 1200 Persons Had Already Been

Transferred From The Damaged Liner To The Carpathia. They

Were Reported As Being Taken To Halifax,  Whence They Would

Be Sent By Train To New York.

Another Liner,  The Parisian,  Of The Allan Company,  Which

Sailed From Glasgow For Halifax On April 6th,  Was Said To Be

Close At Hand And Assisting In The Work Of Rescue. The Baltic,

Virginian And Olympic Were Also Near The Scene,  According To

The Information Received By Wireless.

While Badly Damaged,  The Giant Vessel Was Reported As

Still Afloat,  But Whether She Could Reach Port Or Shoal Water

Was Uncertain. The White Star Officials Declared That The

Titanic Was In No Immediate Danger Of Sinking,  Because Of

Her Numerous Water-Tight Compartments.

"While We Are Still Lacking Definite Information," Mr.

Franklin,  Vice-President Of The White Star Line,  Said Later

In The Afternoon,  "We Believe The Titanic's Passengers Will

Reach Halifax,  Wednesday Evening. We Have Received No

Further Word From Captain Haddock,  Of The Olympic,  Or From

Any Of The Ships In The Vicinity,  But Are Confident That There

Will Be No Loss Of Life."

With The Understanding That The Survivors Would Be Taken

To Halifax The Line Arranged To Have Thirty Pullman Cars,

Two Diners And Many Passenger Coaches Leave Boston Monday

Night For Halifax To Get The Passengers After They Were Landed.

Mr. Franklin Made A Guess That The Titanic's Passengers

Would Get Into Halifax On Wednesday. The Department Of

Commerce And Labor Notified The White Star Line That Customs

And Immigration Inspectors Would Be Sent From Montreal

To Halifax In Order That There Would Be As Little Delay As

Possible In Getting The Passengers On Trains.

Monday Night The World Slept In Peace And Assurance.

A Wireless Message Had Finally Been Received,  Reading:

"All Titanic's Passengers Safe."

It Was Not Until Nearly A Week Later That The Fact Was

Discovered That This Message Had Been Wrongly Received In

The Confusion Of Messages Flashing Through The Air,  And That

In Reality The Message Should Have Read:

"Are All Titanic's Passengers Safe?"

With The Dawning Of Tuesday Morning Came The Awful News

Of The True Fate Of The Titanic.

The Most Sumptuous Palace Afloat

Dimensions Of The Titanic--Capacity--Provisions For

The Comfort And Entertainment Of Passengers--

Mechanical Equipment The Army Of Attendants Required.

The Statistical Record Of The Great Ship Has News Value

At This Time.

Early In 1908 Officials Of The White Star Company

Announced That They Would Eclipse All Previous Records In

Shipbuilding With A Vessel Of Staggering Dimensions. The

Titanic Resulted.

The Keel Of The Ill-Fated Ship Was Laid In The Summer Of

1909 At The Harland & Wolff Yards,  Belfast. Lord Pirrie,

Considered One Of The Best Authorities On Shipbuilding In The

World,  Was The Designer. The Leviathan Was Launched On

May 31,  1911,  And Was Completed In February,  1912,  At A

Cost Of $10,000,000.

Sister Ship Of Olympic

The Titanic,  Largest Liner In Commission,  Was A Sister Ship

Of The Olympic. The Registered Tonnage Of Each Vessel Is

Estimated As 45,000,  But Officers Of The White Star Line Say

That The Titanic Measured 45,328 Tons. The Titanic Was

Commanded By Captain E. J. Smith,  The White Star Admiral,

Who Had Previously Been On The Olympic.

She Was 882 1/2 Long,  Or About Four City Blocks,  And

Was 5000 Tons Bigger Than A Battleship Twice As Large As The

Dreadnought Delaware.

Like Her Sister Ship,  The Olympic,  The Titanic Was A Four-

Funneled Vessel,  And Had Eleven Decks. The Distance From

The Keel To The Top Of The Funnels Was 175 Feet. She Had An

Average Speed Of Twenty-One Knots.

The Titanic Could Accommodate 2500 Passengers. The

Steamship Was Divided Into Numerous Compartments,  Separated

By Fifteen Bulkheads. She Was Equipped With A Gymnasium,

Swimming Pool,  Hospital With Operating Room,  And

A Grill And Palm Garden.

Carried Crew Of 860

The Registered Tonnage Was 45,000,  And The Displacement

Tonnage 66,000. She Was Capable Of Carrying 2500 Passengers

And The Crew Numbered 860.

The Largest Plates Employed In The Hull Were 36 Feet Long,

Weighing 43 1/2 Tons Each,  And The Largest Steel Beam Used Was

92 Feet Long,  The Weight Of This Double Beam Being 4 Tons.

The Rudder,  Which Was Operated Electrically,  Weighed 100

Tons,  The Anchors 15 1/2 Tons Each,  The Center (Turbine) Propeller

22 Tons,  And Each Of The Two "Wing" Propellers 38

Tons Each. The After "Boss-Arms," From Which Were Sus-

Pended The Three Propeller Shafts,  Tipped The Scales At 73 1/2

Tons,  And The Forward "Boss-Arms" At 45 Tons. Each Link

In The Anchor-Chains Weighed 175 Pounds. There Were More

Than 2000 Side-Lights And Windows To Light The Public Rooms

And Passenger Cabins.

Nothing Was Left To Chance In The Construction Of The

Titanic. Three Million Rivets (Weighing 1200 Tons) Held The

Solid Plates Of Steel Together. To Insure Stability In Binding

The Heavy Plates In The Double Bottom,  Half A Million Rivets,

Weighing About 270 Tons,  Were Used.

All The Plating Of The Hulls Was Riveted By Hydraulic Power,

Driving Seven-Ton Riveting Machines,  Suspended From Traveling

Cranes. The Double Bottom Extended The Full

Length Of The Vessel,  Varying From 5 Feet 3 Inches To 6 Feet 3

Inches In Depth,  And Lent Added Strength To The Hull.

Most Luxurious Steamship

Not Only Was The Titanic The Largest Steamship Afloat But

It Was The Most Luxurious. Elaborately Furnished Cabins

Opened Onto Her Eleven Decks,  And Some Of These Decks Were

Reserved As Private Promenades That Were Engaged With The

Best Suites. One Of These Suites Was Sold For $4350 For The

Boat's Maiden And Only Voyage. Suites Similar,  But Which

Were Without The Private Promenade Decks,  Sold For $2300.

The Titanic Differed In Some Respects From Her Sister Ship.

The Olympic Has A Lower Promenade Deck,  But In The Titanic's

Case The Staterooms Were Brought Out Flush With The Outside

Of The Superstructure,  And The Rooms Themselves Made Much

Larger. The Sitting Rooms Of Some Of The Suites On This Deck

Were 15 X 15 Feet.

The Restaurant Was Much Larger Than That Of The Olympic

And It Had A Novelty In The Shape Of A Private Promenade Deck

On The Starboard Side,  To Be Used Exclusively By Its Patrons.

Adjoining It Was A Reception Room,  Where Hosts And Hostesses

Could Meet Their Guests.

Two Private Promenades Were Connected With The Two Most

Luxurious Suites On The Ship. The Suites Were Situated About

Amidships,  One On Either Side Of The Vessel,  And Each Was About

Fifty Feet Long. One Of The Suites Comprised A Sitting Room,

Two Bedrooms And A Bath.

These Private Promenades Were Expensive Luxuries. The

Cost Figured Out Something Like Forty Dollars A Front Foot For

A Six Days' Voyage. They,  With The Suites To Which They Are

Attached,  Were The Most Expensive Transatlantic Accommodations

Yet Offered.

The Engine Room

The Engine Room Was Divided Into Two Sections,  One Given

To The Reciprocating Engines And The Other To The Turbines.

There Were Two Sets Of The Reciprocating Kind,  One Working Each

Of The Wing Propellers Through A Four-Cylinder Triple Expansion,

Direct Acting Inverted Engine. Each Set Could Generate 15,000

Indicated Horse-Power At Seventy-Five Revolutions A Minute.

The Parsons Type Turbine Takes Steam From The Reciprocating

Engines,  And By Developing A Horse-Power Of 16,000 At 165

Revolutions A Minute Works The Third Of The Ship's Propellers,

The One Directly Under The Rudder. Of The Four Funnels Of The

Vessel Three Were Connected With The Engine Room,  And The

Fourth Or After Funnel For Ventilating The Ship Including The

Gallery.

Practically All Of The Space On The Titanic Below The Upper

Deck Was Occupied