Table of Contents
Model, Make, and Before Setting Sail
- The Titanic’s official number was 131,428.
- 15,000 men were working on the Titanic at the peak of its construction.
- The Titanic’s length was 269.1 meters. That’s 882.9 feet. That’s roughly about 2.5 football fields. Its height (from keel to top funnels) was 53 meters, or 175 feet. That’s roughly the size of a 14-story building.
- On 30 April 1911, 20 horses were needed to transport the Titanic’s main anchor from Netherton Ironworks to Dudley Railway Station. From there, it was loaded in a cargo steamer to carry it to Belfast (the Titanic’s shipyard).
- The Titanic has 840 staterooms. Of these, 416 were first class, 162 were second class, and 262 were third class.
- The ship had 10 decks. The boat deck was the topmost deck, followed by the promenade deck (also known as deck A), passenger decks B to G, the orlop deck, and the tank top.
- There were 20 lifeboats on the ship, which included two emergency cutters, 14 standard lifeboats, and 4 Engelhardt collapsible lifeboats. (Check out our article on Titanic Survivors here.)
- There was a darkroom for photograph development on board.
- Captain Herbert James Haddock was the first captain of the Titanic. He was the one who was in control when the ship docked at Belfast. Later, when it went to the White Star Line, Captain Edward J. Smith took over on 31 March. Captain Haddock went over to become the captain of RMS Olympic.
Life on the Titanic
- Titanic’s assistant wireless telegraph operator was paid 4 pounds a month.
- Percy Fletcher, the Bugler, played Roast Beef of Old England to call the first-class passengers to dinner. Listen to it here, or better yet, play it at your next dinner party for first-class Titanic vibes.
- The first-class passengers were given a white house music book that had 352 songs in it. So, the passengers could sing along or request music to be played. The musicians on board were expected to know all of these songs.
- Punch à la Romaine, a cocktail made with rum, champagne, and shaved ice, among other ingredients, was often served as a palate cleanser between meals to the first-class passengers.
- The 700 third-class passengers had access to two bathtubs on board.
The Night When The Iceberg Hit
- The iceberg that hit the Titanic was first spotted by Frederick Fleet at 11.40 pm. He survived and later said that it was “darker than darkness.” Read why it was so dark and what happened that night in our “Why Did The Titanic Sink?” article.
- About 20 minutes after being hit, about 2 million gallons of water entered the ship. That’s about the same quantity of water that could fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
