Boiler Casings & Fidleys

data-science-dad

data-science-dad

Member
Reviewing the deck plans, specifically the boat deck, I became curious about the section between the char/pilot rooms and officer's lavatory. Specifically, the Nos 5&6 Boiler Casing, Fidelity, and Trunk|Vent portions.

I have tried searching for those terms but am unable to get much information -especially for 'fidelity'. Therefore, my questions for the community are:

  1. What does 'Fidelity refer to? Is this just an open area on both sides of the boiler casing?
  2. Are the trunk/fan/vent rooms separate? I do not see doors on the blueprints. My guess is that, like the rest of the funnel, it (the rooms) are empty space that go through the ship.
  3. What does 'trunk' refer to?

I am attaching an image of the area in question.

CaptureB
 
1.) The Fidleys are basically open mechanical spaces for piping and such next to the boiler casings. They had grating tops and housed the ladders that ran from the boiler rooms up to the boat deck.
2 & 3.) They're fan trunks, large intake ducts from the boat deck that ran down to the fan rooms on each side of the boiler casings and fed fresh air to the boiler rooms. The vents are the main air ducts that fed (or exhausted) air to the fans that were on the boat deck used for ventilating the interiors of the ship.
 
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I believe its Fidley not Fidelity . Sometime also known as Fiddley.
www.merriam-webster.com

Definition of FIDDLEY

the uppermost part of the stokehole of a steamship or an alleyway across this on a level with the between decks and roofed usually with a grating for ventilation… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com www.merriam-webster.com
 
Matty B said:
1.) The Fidleys are basically open mechanical spaces for piping and such next to the boiler casings. They had grating tops and housed the ladders that ran from the boiler rooms up to the boat deck.
2 & 3.) They're fan trunks, large intake ducts from the boat deck that ran down to the fan rooms on each side of the boiler casings and fed fresh air to the boiler rooms. The vents are the main air ducts that fed (or exhausted) air to the fans that were on the boat deck used for ventilating the interiors of the ship.
Click to expand...
Had not seen your post when I posted in this thread. Good description. Thanks!
 
For some more perspective on the Fidleys I would suggest watching the video I've linked below. It's a video of Spammals going through THG's third demo. Skip ahead to 36:00 and not long after he walks through a door off Scotland Rd. and looks up. What you see is the Fidley.

 
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I should add that the Fidley Spammals looks into is the one just aft of the chart room. Also, you can see one of the HSTWs (Hot Salt Water Tanks) as he climbs the ladder.
 
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Tim Aldrich said:
I should add that the Fidley Spammals looks into is the one just aft of the chart room. Also, you can see one of the HSTWs (Hot Salt Water Tanks) as he climbs the ladder.
Click to expand...
Nice info. Was going to ask about that tank. Was that primarily for the turkish baths or did they use hot salt water for something else?
 
The emergency ladders from each of the boiler rooms went up and over the boilers and out on to E Deck, Scotland Road, through emergency doors.

This was the route that Fred Barrett took to try and re enter boiler room 6 after being told to go back to his station and later used to make his escape from boiler room 5.

There's a picture of it in this thread:

Which areas or rooms of the wreck would you want to explore?

I would love to send a small "robbie" submarine down the holes left by the fallen funnels. It would be fun to see what we find!
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org www.encyclopedia-titanica.org
 
Matty B said:
1.) The Fidleys are basically open mechanical spaces for piping and such next to the boiler casings. They had grating tops and housed the ladders that ran from the boiler rooms up to the boat deck.
2 & 3.) They're fan trunks, large intake ducts from the boat deck that ran down to the fan rooms on each side of the boiler casings and fed fresh air to the boiler rooms. The vents are the main air ducts that fed (or exhausted) air to the fans that were on the boat deck used for ventilating the interiors of the ship.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much, this is quite helpful. Taking this, along with the video provided by @Tim Aldrich, I think I have put together the vertical layout. Anyone able to review for accuracy?

In this image, I have marked the smoke stack directly behind the bridge/wheelhouse. The area identified (within the square) are the outputs of the vent/trunk room, correct?

So the Fidley (thanks @Steven Christian) would be directly behind [these vents] and directly in-front of the smoke stack?

RMS Titanic 3b Top Boat Deck
 
The rectangle gooseneck on the left is an intake for a ventilation fan that blew air down through the "vent" as labelled on the map and into the interior of the ship. The large rectangle vent that's a little lower and wider is the intake for the "fan trunk" that fed air to the fans for the boiler room. If you look just to the right of that, mirror the intake fan you can see a 90 elbow that's pointing aft, which would be the exhaust of a ventilation fan using the other "vent". Yes, the fidley would be directly between these vents and the boiler casing.
 
The fidley was the name for the large, vertical ER ventilation trun--way' usually located at the base of and forward of a funnel. It was open ended at its upper end, so a walkway grill safety cover was placed over it to stop anyone or anything falling down It . The grill itself was usually referred-to as The Fidley.
 
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The Olympic class had fidley trunks both forward and aft of the forward three funnels.
 
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I saw a video of other liners recently that showed their bathrooms and they had both fresh and salt water taps available in the shower and tub....Hot and cold. I think they were Cunard ships. I can understand a salt water pool. But why anyone would want to take a salt water shower is beyond me. I did it aboard my ship. Our fresh water condenser broke and we went on reduced water. Only the drinking fountains were on. After a couple days I couldn't take it anymore and went to one of the missile mags where we had emergency salt water showers for decontamination. Not a very good shower even with the gallon of fresh water I had to rinse off with.
 
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