The Story of the RMS Titanic - Part 3

Tall as an 11 story building, 882ft 9" long, the R.M.S. Titanic is the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man. She was the pride of Belfast, Harland and Wolff and the White Star Line.
Now that the Titanic is complete and has finished her sea trials, she makes her way down the Irish Sea and on through the English Channel where she will arrive in Southampton to begin loading cargo for sailing on 10th April for a 7 day crossing to New York.
The Titanic boasted many facilities not found on any other ship, such as a Gymnasium:

A Turkish Bath:

A squash court, a swimming pool and even 3 different restaurants in the 1st class areas alone. It also offered smoking rooms and lounges for 1st and 2nd class passengers. An opulent Grand Staircase in 1st class which reached from A Deck all the way down to F Deck. This would become the most famous part of the ship.

Here, people such as John Jacob Aster and his newly wedded wife Madeline would make their entrance. A large glass dome topped the staircase allowing natural light into the room, adding to it's splendour.
1st class passengers could enjoy exquisite accomodation decorated in many different styles. Two parlour sweet rooms were on board, one of which, B54, was booked by Bruce Ismay, the White Star Line's chairman. These rooms consisted of a sitting room, private promenade, a bathroom, a wardrobe and 2 bedrooms. This was the most expencive room on board.


Passengers began to arrive from around 9:30am on Wednesday 10th April to board the liner. Boat trains from London and all over the country would arrive, bringing passengers to the ship, including Francis Brown, the man who took the last known photographs of the ship before she sank.
More cargo arrived including mail sacks, golf balls, fresh food, wine, fresh water, eggs and even ostrich feathers. Another interesting piece of cargo was a brand new Rennault owned by William Carter.
Many famous and wealthy people boarded the ship in Southampton such as John Jacob Aster, Colonal Archiebald Gracey and many others.
At 12 Noon, the Titanic cast off the ropes tying her to the dock. She started her engines and slowly started to move, however, several loud bangs could be heard. A smaller ship, The New York, was being pulled towards the Titanic, her mooring lines snapped due to the suction caused by Titanic's massive displacement. Immidiately the Titanic stopped and reversed her engines and the New York drifted out of the way, inches from coliding with Titanic's stern.



The tug boat Vulcan towed the New York safely away from the Titanic, avoiding a repeat of the incident between the Olympic and the Hawke back in 1911.
Now, after a delay of about an hour, the Titanic heads out of Southampton harbour and into the English Channel where she will arrive at Cherbourg, France at around 6:30pm to pick up more passengers, including the famous Margaret "Molly" Brown and the Astors. After a stay of about an hour and a half, the Titanic raises anchor and leaves Cherbourg, heading West to it's last stop in Queenstown, Ireland, before heading across the Atlantic to New York.

To be continued....