Lower Decks and Engineering Spaces Appearance

[Brad Rousse]

Hey all,

I'm doing a science fiction novel with most of the second half set on the Titanic. Several key scenes will be taking place in the lower decks and engineering spaces (including the dummy funnel), and I'd like to be more descriptive than "they entered the engine room" or "they went up the ladder into the funnel." Can anyone recommend some resources as to describe these areas more accurately? I asked the Honor and Glory team and they didn't answer.

 

[Rancor]

Hey Brad,

Have a look at this thread:
360 Views of the Olympic class reciprocating room

A member by the name of stevefury has 3D modeled the reciprocating engine room and boiler room 1 in incredible detail and he has been kind enough to share some images in the linked thread. Some of them work with google cardboard and there is one that is fully VR compatible, which I would highly recommend trying if you have the right equipment.

Either way I think it is the most detailed and historically accurate recreation I've seen so far. Better even than the engine room scene in the 1997 movie in my opinion. Definitely worth a look!

 

[Rancor]

Also have a look at this article written by Codad1946 on how the engineers would start the Olympic class ships from cold. Written from the perspective of being a 5th engineer and contains plenty of detail that may help you with your novel.

Cold Starting the Titanic

 

[Brad Rousse]

Rancor, thanks. You've already been more helpful than others I've contacted.

Do you (or anyone else) know just how access works the fourth funnel and what the platform atop is like? All I would have to go on is Cyberflix and, well, yeah.

 

[Stephen Carey]

Hi Brad
From the ship's profile plan on this site (Bruce Beveridge) you can get an idea of the way up to the funnel from inside the ship (clip attached). From the Engineer's cross alleyway there is a staircase that goes up to the funnel deck, where there would have been an entry and a ladder to the top of the funnel. The platform at the top was intended to support men attaching painting rigging in order to paint the funnel, as in most ships of the period, and indeed ships I sailed on. There is also usually a door at the base of the funnel which allows access. An idea of the top of a funnel platform is attached from Mauretania 2, in this case plated in, though it could just as well be a grating.
Whilst it may be thought that the forward 3 funnels actually carry the exhaust gases from the boilers, they don't. The uptakes carrying smoke are within the funnel casing which is in effect an aesthetic surround to disguise the rather utilitarian uptakes, and to support them to a certain extent. There would be a door at the base of these funnels as well, and possibly and entry from the boiler rooms in each case. I've attached a photo from Mauretania which shows the ladder arrangement common in ships above the boiler rooms upwards to the skylights. Also attached is one from another ship around the tops of the boilers ("FD Fans"), showing the lifting gear for the turbine covers - probably Mauretania; I should know, but I didn't label it...
Rancor has mentioned my publication on starting the ship, which should give you an idea of what it smells, feels and looks like. If you follow the walk through with the plans alongside you, you will get a reasonable perspective of the machinery spaces of the ship.
Good luck!
Stephen

 

[Stephen Carey]

Hey all,

I'm doing a science fiction novel with most of the second half set on the Titanic. Several key scenes will be taking place in the lower decks and engineering spaces (including the dummy funnel), and I'd like to be more descriptive than "they entered the engine room" or "they went up the ladder into the funnel." Can anyone recommend some resources as to describe these areas more accurately? I asked the Honor and Glory team and they didn't answer.

H&G haven't done the engineering spaces, they are coloured red for later inclusion. As Rancor says, stevefury has the best representation I've ever seen in this regard - almost like being there! Even Cameron didn't spend a lot of time on the enginerooms, probably because people other than us are only interested in the 1st Class accommodation which to my mind has been done to death several times over!