Did Titanic Have DirtyStained Floors

[Sahand Miraminy]

I often see pictures of Titanic's public rooms with the floor not looking so great. For example, the second class smoking room picture has some kind of ugly floor stains.

Was this because pictures were taken while the ship was under construction? Many other pictures seem to have dirty floors.

Thanks

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Was this because pictures were taken while the ship was under construction?<<

Most likely, yes. Once the ship departed Belfast, there weren't that many opportunities to take photos so any cleanup done by the crew would not have been caught on film. None that's survived in any event. Shipyards are very dirty places so it's not much of a shock to see photos where things are unkempt. I can recall a photo of Captain Smith standing just outside the bridge with some trash on the deck.

 

[Sahand Miraminy]

Thanks Alot Michael!

That situation with the trash would be an interesting sight!

Sahand

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Sahand,

I guess the main reason the various rooms look so dirty on photos is because they were taken during construction or while the ship was undergoing maintenance at the shipyard. The ships would have had a very thorough clean-up while in port (i.e. Southampton) prior to departure. Keep in mind that few photos of Titanic survive/exist, and most of the photos are of the Olympic.

There is a 1911 article which praised Olympic's cleanliness, noting that her accommodations were impeccable, and even going so far as saying that the author of the article would have no hesitation eating off the galley/pantry floors - that's how clean they were!

Regards,

Daniel.

 

[Sahand Miraminy]

Thanks Daniel,

It's sad to think that the floors were once clean enough to eat off of and now they are decaying at the bottom of the ocean. The fact that the Titanic was on her maiden voyage always slips my mind. What a shame not only for all the lives lost, but also every new fitting, furniture, etc.

 

[Damon Hill]

i wonder if the floors are protected somewhat from decay due to the amount of sediment now on them. Perhaps if we were able to "vacuum' up the sediment we would find the tiles still on the floor of the Grand Staircase....maybe there might be odd scraps of carpeting buried under it as well....wishful thinking more than anything I expect though

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Mud is a wonderful protectant. The reason the Confederate submarine CSS Hunley was even recoverable was because she was buried in sediment and filled with it. Not only did this protect the hull, it also served to protect the bones of the crew. I would suspect that if there are any organic remains at all, especially of the passengers and crew of the Titanic, they would be inside the ship and buried in the mud.