Temperature inside ship

[Tarn Stephanos]

Sourpuss survivor Mrs Shelly complained there was no heat in second class. Check her testimony in the US Senate Hearings- very interesting. I dont believe any of her complaints- that the heat was off, that the bathroom was in an unfinished state, etc. She complained to recieve attention, plain and simple. Are there accounts of any other survivors suggesting 2nd and 3rd class had problems with heat?

Thanks

Tarn Stephanos

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Well, maybe and maybe not. Remember that the Titanic was a brand new ship fresh out of the yards, and new ships inevitably have all sorts of little bugs in them...which includes equipment and fittings that don't work. Mrs. Shelly's story doesn't strike me as being implausible at all.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Dave Gittins]

There are other witnesses to Titanic not being fully finished. Equipment was loaded on the night of April 2nd off Belfast. Maud Slocombe told Walter Lord about the mess left in the Turkish bath. It's recorded that workers were still on board on the day of sailing from Southampton. Mr Shelley might have been a pain but that doesn't make her wrong.

 

[George Pastarmatzis]

Was it really cold in the Titanic when it struck the iceberg? I assume it was really cold even afterwards since the electricity would be mostly used in the engine room and wireless room and not for inside heating. But I suspect it must have been cold even before. I believe some passengers complained about the heating problem and would not imagine how "warm" their otherwise cold rooms would seem in a few hours in the icy Atlantic waters. How and which ladies, in particular, complain about the cold in and inside the ship? George ...

 

[Dave Gittins]

George, in an affidavit given to the US inquiry, Mrs Imanita Shelley complained of the cold in her second class cabin, from the time she went on board. According to her, third class passengers had the same problem.

Titanic's cabins were heated by steam, which provided most of the heat. Electric heaters were also used in cabins so that passengers could adjust the heat to suit themselves. If Mrs Shelley was right, the system was not working very well, even before the collision.

At 10-30 p.m. Captain Lord, a few miles north of Titanic, recorded the air temperature as -1.1°C. Certainly anybody on the deck of Titanic would have felt cold, though we should remember that many of the passengers were from cold countries and would have been used to the temperature.