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

And Propelling Machinery. Eight Of The Fifteen Water-Tight

Compartments Contained The Mechanical Part Of The Vessel. There

Were,  For Instance,  Twenty-Four Double End And Five Single End

Boilers,  Each 16 Feet 9 Inches In Diameter,  The Larger 20 Feet Long

And The Smaller 11 Feet 9 Inches Long. The Larger Boilers Had

Six Fires Under Each Of Them And The Smaller Three Furnaces.

Coal Was Stored In Bunker Space Along The Side Of The Ship

Between The Lower And Middle Decks,  And Was First Shipped

From There Into Bunkers Running All The Way Across The Vessel

In The Lowest Part. From There The Stokers Handed It Into

The Furnaces.

One Of The Most Interesting Features Of The Vessel Was The

Refrigerating Plant,  Which Comprised A Huge Ice-Making And

Refrigerating Machine And A Number Of Provision Rooms On The

After Part Of The Lower And Orlop Decks. There Were Separate

Cold Rooms For Beef,  Mutton,  Poultry,  Game,  Fish,  Vegetables,

Fruit,  Butter,  Bacon,  Cheese,  Flowers,  Mineral Water,  Wine,

Spirits And Champagne,  All Maintained At Different Temperatures

Most Suitable To Each. Perishable Freight Had A Compartment

Of Its Own,  Also Chilled By The Plant.

Comfort And Stability

Two Main Ideas Were Carried Out In The Titanic. One Was

Comfort And The Other Stability. The Vessel Was Planned To Be

An Ocean Ferry. She Was To Have Only A Speed Of Twenty-One

Knots,  Far Below That Of Some Other Modern Vessels,  But She Was

Planned To Make That Speed,  Blow High Or Blow Low,  So That

If She Left One Side Of The Ocean At A Given Time She Could Be

Relied On To Reach The Other Side At Almost A Certain Minute

Of A Certain Hour.

One Who Has Looked Into Modern Methods For Safeguarding

{Illust. Caption = Life-Boat And Davits On The Titanic

This Diagram Shows Very Clearly The Arrangement Of The Life-Boats And

The Manner In Which They Were Launched.}

A Vessel Of The Titanic Type Can Hardly Imagine An Accident

That Could Cause Her To Founder. No Collision Such As Has

Been The Fate Of Any Ship In Recent Years,  It Has Been Thought

Up To This Time,  Could Send Her Down,  Nor Could Running Against

An Iceberg Do It Unless Such An Accident Were Coupled With

The Remotely Possible Blowing Out Of A Boiler. She Would

Sink At Once,  Probably,  If She Were To Run Over A Submerged

Rock Or Derelict In Such Manner That Both Her Keel Plates And

Her Double Bottom Were Torn Away For More Than Half Her

Length; But Such A Catastrophe Was So Remotely Possible That

It Did Not Even Enter The Field Of Conjecture.

The Reason For All This Is Found In The Modern Arrangement

Of Water-Tight Steel Compartments Into Which All Ships Now

Are Divided And Of Which The Titanic Had Fifteen So Disposed

That Half Of Them,  Including The Largest,  Could Be Flooded

Without Impairing The Safety Of The Vessel. Probably It Was

The Working Of These Bulkheads And The Water-Tight Doors

Between Them As They Are Supposed To Work That Saved The

Titanic From Foundering When She Struck The Iceberg.

These Bulkheads Were Of Heavy Sheet Steel And Started At The

Very Bottom Of The Ship And Extended Right Up To The Top Side.

The Openings In The Bulkheads Were Just About The Size Of The

Ordinary Doorway,  But The Doors Did Not Swing As In A House,

But Fitted Into Water-Tight Grooves Above The Opening. They

Could Be Released Instantly In Several Ways,  And Once Closed

Formed A Barrier To The Water As Solid As The Bulkhead Itself.

In The Titanic,  As In Other Great Modern Ships,  These Doors

Were Held In Place Above The Openings By Friction Clutches.

On The Bridge Was A Switch Which Connected With An Electric

Magnet At The Side Of The Bulkhead Opening. The Turning

Of This Switch Caused The Magnet To Draw Down A Heavy Weight,

Which Instantly Released The Friction Clutch,  And Allowed The

Door To Fall Or Slide Down Over The Opening In A Second. If,

However,  Through Accident The Bridge Switch Was Rendered Useless

The Doors Would Close Automatically In A Few Seconds.

This Was Arranged By Means Of Large Metal Floats At The Side

Of The Doorways,  Which Rested Just Above The Level Of The

Double Bottom,  And As The Water Entered The Compartments

These Floats Would Rise To It And Directly Release The Clutch

Holding The Door Open. These Clutches Could Also Be

Released By Hand.

It Was Said Of The Titanic That Liner Compartments Could Be

Flooded As Far Back Or As Far Forward As The Engine Room And

She Would Float,  Though She Might Take On A Heavy List,  Or

Settle Considerably At One End. To Provide Against Just Such

An Accident As She Is Said To Have Encountered She Had Set Back

A Good Distance From The Bows An Extra Heavy Cross Partition

Known As The Collision Bulkhead,  Which Would Prevent Water

Getting In Amidships,  Even Though A Good Part Of Her Bow Should

Be Torn Away. What A Ship Can Stand And Still Float Was

Shown A Few Years Ago When The Suevic Of The White Star

Line Went On The Rocks On The British Coast. The Wreckers

Could Not Move The Forward Part Of Her,  So They Separated Her

Into Two Sections By The Use Of Dynamite,  And After Putting

In A Temporary Bulkhead Floated Off The After Half Of The Ship,

Put It In Dry Dock And Built A New Forward Part For Her. More

Recently The Battleship Maine,  Or What Was Left Of Her,  Was

Floated Out To Sea,  And Kept On Top Of The Water By Her Water-

Tight Compartments Only.

The Maiden Voyage Of The Titanic

Preparations For The Voyage--Scenes Of Gayety--The

Boat Sails--Incidents Of The Voyage---A Collision

Narrowly Averted--The Boat On Fire--Warned Of

Icebergs.

Ever Was Ill-Starred Voyage More Auspiciously Begun

Than When The Titanic,  Newly Crowned Empress Of

The Seas,  Steamed Majestically Out Of The Port Of

Southampton At Noon On Wednesday,  April 10th,  Bound For

New York.

Elaborate Preparations Had Been Made For The Maiden

Voyage. Crowds Of Eager Watchers Gathered To Witness The

Departure,  All The More Interested Because Of The Notable

People Who Were To Travel Aboard Her. Friends And Relatives

Of Many Of The Passengers Were At The Dock To Bid Godspeed

To Their Departing Loved Ones. The Passengers Themselves

Were Unusually Gay And Happy.

Majestic And Beautiful The Ship Rested On The Water,

Marvel Of Shipbuilding,  Worthy Of Any Sea. As This New Queen

Of The Ocean Moved Slowly From Her Dock,  No One Questioned

Her Construction: She Was Fitted With An Elaborate System Of

{Illust. Caption = Steamer "Titanic" Compared With The Largest Structures In The World

1. Bunker Hill Monument. Boston,  221 Feet High. 2. Public

{Illust. Caption = J. Bruce Ismay

Managing Director Of The International Mercantile

Marine,  And Managing Director Of The White....}

{Illust. Caption = Charles M. Hays

President Of The Grand Trunk

Pacific Railways,  Numbered Among The Heroic Men....}

Water-Tight Compartments,  Calculated To Make Her Unsinkable;

She Had Been Pronounced The Safest As Well As The Most Sumptuous

Atlantic Liner Afloat.

There Was Silence Just Before The Boat Pulled Out--The

Silence That Usually Precedes The Leave-Taking. The Heavy

Whistles Sounded And The Splendid Titanic,  Her Flags Flying

And Her Band Playing,  Churned The Water And Plowed Heavily

Away.

Then The Titanic,  With The People On Board Waving Handkerchiefs

And Shouting Good-Byes That Could Be Heard Only

As A Buzzing Murmur On Shore,  Rode Away On The Ocean,

Proudly,  Majestically,  Her Head Up And,  So It Seemed,  Her

Shoulders Thrown Back. If Ever A Vessel Seemed To Throb

With Proud Life,  If Ever A Monster Of The Sea Seemed To "Feel

Its Oats" And Strain At The Leash,  If Ever A Ship Seemed To

Have Breeding And Blue Blood That Would Keep It Going Until

Its Heart Broke,  That Ship Was The Titanic.

And So It Was Only Her Due That As The Titanic Steamed

Out Of The Harbor Bound On Her Maiden Voyage A Thousand

"God-Speeds" Were Wafted After Her,  While Every Other Vessel

That She Passed,  The Greatest Of Them Dwarfed By Her Colossal

Proportions,  Paid Homage To The New Queen Regnant With The

Blasts Of Their Whistles And The Shrieking Of Steam Sirens.

The Ship's Captain

In Command Of The Titanic Was Captain E. J. Smith,

A Veteran Of The Seas,  And Admiral Of The White Star Line

Fleet. The Next Six Officers,  In The Order Of Their Rank,  Were

Murdock,  Lightollder,{Sic} Pitman,  Boxhall,  Lowe And Moody.

Dan Phillips Was Chief Wireless Operator,  With Harold Bride

As Assistant.

From The Forward Bridge,  Fully Ninety Feet Above The Sea,

Peered Out The Benign Face Of The Ship's Master,  Cool Of Aspect,

Deliberate Of Action,  Impressive In That Quality Of Confidence

That Is Bred Only Of Long Experience In Command.

From Far Below The Bridge Sounded The Strains Of The Ship's

Orchestra,  Playing Blithely A Favorite Air From "The Chocolate

Soldier." All Went As Merry As A Wedding Bell.