Handrail added to Grand Staircase

[Stuart Kelly]

Hi,

found this on ebay:

I notice the additional handrail in the photo. This is still present on the short section of stairs leading up to the Olympic room at the White Swan hotel. It's interesting as I thought the extra handrail would have been added when it got to the hotel. The handrail on the main staircase at the hotel does not have the handrail and the big luxurious thick feel to it as you run your hand along it would have been compromised by the addition of that hand rail. I wonder when and why they added it.

 

[Brandon Whited]

I noticed what I thought was an additional handrail in that image, as well. I thought it might have been there the whole time and I had just overlooked it.


Cheers,

-B.W.

 

[greg robertson]

The Handrail was added to the Olympic when she was in service.

look at this image on ebay at the moment and notice the rail:

 

[Mark Chirnside]

Wasn't it 1928?

 

[Mark Chirnside]

...Or! 1920!

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Mark,

The rails were definitely thre by 1920 when she returned to service after the post-war refit (the ebay photo is a 1922 photo). I'm not sure, I think Eric Sauder did tell me they might have been added as early as 1914. I wouldn't know wbout that, but photos taken aboard her in 1920 do show these rails.

Daniel.

 

[Mark Chirnside]

1914? That's early. My supposition of 1920 came from an idea that 'something different' was done -- another change would have been the war service plague added to the grand staircase.

Best regards,

Mark.

 

[Bill Sauder]

Stuart:

The reason WS added the addtional hand rail was safety. Those broad bannisters look great but it is impossible to grip them. This is a real hazzard in rough weather.

Bill Sauder

 

[Stuart Kelly]

I wonder why the main staircase at the white Swan hotel doesn't have it.

Thanks for the info.

Stuart

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Having viewed some photos of the staircase, I have more thoughts on the rails. I doubt these were added in 1914. Here's a photo of the staircase taken in June/July 1920. You can see a rail in the upper left hand corner:

None of the other rails seen in the e-bay 1922 photos can be seen on the above photo. These would have obviously been a later addition. These rails were added in the post war 1919/20 refit, and additional rails were added later.

Daniel.

 

[greg robertson]

The handrail is visible on D Deck from the Picture of Olympic with her pannelling painted.
Daniel posted this picture before on a diff thread.

 

[Mark Chirnside]

I'd go for 1921 as the date then for the remaining handrails. This was the year that the deck lettering designations were changed and White Star seem to have been in the mood to alter everything, often with little reason. At the end of this year, as a Christmas present to the ship's huge passenger list the second 'Ship Magnificent' brochure was issued. I wish that it was still available to look at because had I the chance to examine some of those interior photos as well we might be able to ascertain a date of 1921.

Best regards,

Mark.

 

[greg robertson]

What about the Promotional FIlm of the Olympic?
Wonder if it is in that? As that was filmed during the 1920s.

 

[Mark Chirnside]

I do wonder if it is in there, but my first impression was that this film was done in the later 1920s so that would seem unlikely.

I may well be wrong on that, however, and it may have been as early as 1921.

Best regards,

Mark.

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Mark,

About the Ship Magnificent, they recycled photos all the time. So just because it was printed in 1921 or 1922 doesn't mean they used new photos. They likely used photos from 1913 and the 1920 photo shoots.

Greg,

The photo of the D deck staircase that I posted was probably from 1933 or later. So the rails had been there for over 10 years.

Daniel.