Enclosed "A" deck promenade

G

greg robertson

Member
When the Titanic's A deck was enclosed, how exactly did they go about this?
Are there any pictures showing it half completed?
For example, if i were looking at the Titanic's A Deck enclosed area in detail, would i be able to see the areas 'filled' in with steel.
I have made a small (i know its bad!) image to see if you know what i mean. I have outlined the areas in red

27700
 
Greg,

There's one picture (it's no very clear) that possibly shows some of the A deck railing removed. You would not see steel "filled in", as the rail would have been removed, and completely replaced with the new sliding windows.

Daniel.
 
Below is a picture which I'm sure many of you have seen, although it is from Olympic's B deck, it shows what the A deck enclosed promenade would have looked like. (The gangway door of course would not have been there.)

27817
 
I have been perplexed for some time about the glassing in of Titanic's A-Deck promenade; it was allegedly done so because of complaints of spray hitting passengers on Olympic. Can spray really reach that high and so far back? And why did no passengers complain of getting drenched on Olympic's B deck?
And also, why was no retrofitting done on the Olympic's promenades?!
 
>>Can spray really reach that high and so far back? <<

Yes...quite easily depending on the seastate...and this can be a real problem in the rough and incredibly unpredictable North Atlantic too.

Whether or not the so-called Ismay Screen was actually installed for this reason is a matter of some conjecture and debate. The asserted reason for it is pretty well ingrained in Titanic lore, and it might even be true, but I've not personally seen any primary sources which affirm this.

My personal opinion is that this was done for purely cosmetic reasons and also to jack up the Gross Tonnage figures a bit to give the impression of being a little bit bigger and a little bit better then the earlier ship. As to why this was never done with Olympic, it's been suggested that White Star wasn't keen to have a ship that resembled Titanic too closely, but again, I've seen no primary sources to support that.
 
"As to why this was never done with Olympic, it's been suggested that White Star wasn't keen to have a ship that resembled Titanic too closely, but again, I've seen no primary sources to support that."

It was also suggested over time that A-deck forward on Olympic remained open 1) to allow a full picturesque view since the boat deck post-1912 afforded virtually no view, and 2) in the event an evacuation WAS warranted, A-deck could also be used for loading with ease. The loading of Boat 4 on Titanic through the screen windows was, in short, a pain.

However, as Michael says, I've seen no reliable source to prove or disprove any of the above.
 
I happen to agree with Bill Sauder's theory that the screens were an attempt by Ismay to camouflage the loss of promenade space in Titanic, as compared to Olympic. As Dan says, though, this is just "thinking cap" stuff...there is no documentation to prove or disprove it.

Parks
 
I belive (and others to) the real reason why Titanic received a screen on her promenade deck was because her original enclosed deck was deleted for the preference of larger and additional suites on deck B. I really think that the "sea spray" thing is a myth that has grown through time to making the Titanic sound more luxurious than her sister when in reality it was just a slight re-arrangement from the orginal design and only through the passage of time people have misconceived the reason for its installation. Just another thing to boost on how more luxurious the Titanic is over the Olympic, when clearly it was not.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Hi all! Just a general question: why were Titanic's B deck suites moved all the way out and left no promenade deck and Olympic's the other way around? I mean, was Titanic's promenade space so much less that one could complain? I guess not but I would appreciate your input! Thanks!
 
George, what happened was that additional cabins were added to the Titanic to take advantage of the available space and (naturally) increase revenues. Since more cabins for more passengers were added, something had to give and it was the promanade space.

Nigel, I don't know how "mythic" the seaspray claim is. However, I would add that if it get's that rough out...and on the North Atlantic, it sure as hell can....you won't want to be out on deck anyway.
Wink
 
Anyway, wasn't it noticed on the Olympic that the promenade space was under utilized?
 
It was noted on the maiden voyage of the Olympic by Bruce Ismay, that this space on B-deck was hardly used and on the letter from Ismay after the trip to the White Star head offices at Liverpool; he cables this across:

"The deck space, with the number of passengers on board going out, was certainly excessive, and i think, in another ship (Titanic) we might carry out the rooms on 'B' deck the same as those on 'C' deck."

The whole letter was posted at the Olympic Forum at the Titanic Research and Modelling Association some time ago. I think its still there. Check it out at - Viewing topics in The TRMA General Olympic Forum

I can understand also (not just increased revenues) why Ismay wanted to extend these suites out. On the Olympic as noted the outer enclosed promenade would have blocked sea views for the most expensive suites. By deleting this deck space it gave the finest suites a view of the sea, previously blocked on the Olympic.

They also extended the forward B-deck staterooms out also, unlike the next sister Britannic which this forward area retained an enclosed deck, to allow passengers better access to the forward B deck.

Basically the only area left on Titanic for a screened deck was on the A-deck promenade, this has been noted before by others on previous threads. Check out Daniel Klistorner’s comments on “Olympic & Titanic: Opinion” thread. The screened decks were a feature of the Olympic-class vessels, and proving popular so they had to place it somewhere and A-deck forward was the most ideal and only location for it on Titanic. Hope this helps.

Regards,

Nigel
 
Hi all! Can anyone tell me what was the purpose of the doors of the B deck private promenades not looking inside the suite and if someone could enter those from there and not through the corridor? Also, were these locked from the inside and what overall would these doors do since it was a private area and such entrances -in my opinion- would do nothing more for the passenger(s). Thanks !!!
 
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