In March 1908, when the decision was finally made to proceed with the construction of the Titanic. The Titanic was allocated shipyard number 401. The keel for Olympic, the first of the class, was laid on December 16, 1908. The keel for her sister, Titanic, was laid an March 31. 1909, and construction of the two ships progressed side by side.The building of the RMS Titanic marked the construction of the largest man-made moveable object in the world at that time. The vessel's staggering dimensions, and the technological advances in marine engineering it represented, made possible unprecedented developments in ocean transportation. The Titanic was not only much larger than any other vessel ever previously constructed, it also embodied in the exquisite detail of its internal fittings a microcosm of the Victorian age of elegance and grace.
The general size of the vessel was impressive: it had an overall length of 882ft 9in, which equated to a length between the perpendiculars of 850ft. This allowed an extreme breadth at the midship point of 92ft 6in on a gross tonnage of 45,000 tons. The total height of the vessel from the base of the keel to the top of the navigating bridge deck was 140ft. In her normal service condition Titanic operated on a design load draught of 34ft 6in, which equated to a displacement in general terms of about 60,000 tons. The power to drive Titanic across the oceans was provided by a combination of tried and trusted engineering, and what was - for 1912 - new technology. The main motive power was provided by two steam reciprocating engines producing 30,000hp in total. Secondary to this main engine arrangement was a shaft turbine engine of 16,000hp.
Titanic was constructed using the traditional shipbuilding method of keel, frame an shell plating built up in riveted sections. Rising up from the double bottom at each side of the hull were the side frames or ribs to which the outside shell or skin was attached. The frames extended from the double bottom upwards to the base of the Bridge deck, which was the eighth deck from the inner bottom. Each frame had a height of 66ft an was spaced apart at 3ft intervals, except at the bow and stern where the frame spacing was 2ft at the bow and 2ft 3in at the stern. Titanic was intended to be the largest vessel in the world, and it was therefore of vital importance that the hull had the maximum degree of stiffness in order for Titanic to operate safely and comfortably in heavy seas. Attached to the immensely strong internal frame were one-inch thick steel plates, each being 30ft in length by 6ft wide; when riveted together, these formed the deck structure. To provide additional strength to the upper part of the hull, the thickness of the deck plating was increased to 1.5in on the two uppermost decks - the Shelter and Bridge decks respectively.
The Titanic had a classic triple-deck superstructure, the uppermost decks comprising the Boat, Promenade and Bridge decks. An additional design feature was the incorporation of expansion joints, inserted in the superstructure above the Bridge deck, one forward and one aft, resulting in the whole superstructure being completely severed at these points.
Titanic's stern construction was of the schooner, or overhanging, type. The main component was the stern post, on which was mounted the massive five-section rudder.
The steam-generating plant comprised 29 boilers, of which 24 were double-ended. These 24 were 15ft 9in in diameter an 20ft long. At each end of each boiler were three furnaces providing a total of 159 furnaces. Titanic's main engine room on was a vast cathedral of a compartment housing the twin main reciprocating steam engines. This area was the largest of the watertight compartments and had a length about 59ft. Adjacent to and aft of this compartment was the turbine engine room, extending for al length of 57 ft.

The internal structure of Titanic comprised ten decks. In accordance with the usual maritime practice, to avoid possible confusion on board, the passenger decks were also designated alphabetically A, B, C, D, E, F an d G, with "A" representing the Boat deck. The decks were:

The passenger accommodation and public areas were located on the Promenade, Bridge, Shelter, Saloon, Upper, Middle and Lower decks, with the remaining three decks being occupied by crew quarters, cargo, stores and machinery compartments. The Boat and Promenade decks were above the moulded or shaped structure of the ship and did not extend for the complete length of the other superstructure decks due to additional space being necessary for machinery requirements and cargo loading facilities. Having a length of 500ft, these two uppermost decks were only 50ft shorter than the superstructure and enhanced the vessel's profile by providing a tiered appearance. The first deck to occupy the complete length of the superstructure was the Bridge deck, which extended for a length of 550ft. Forward and aft of this deck, and on the same level but interrupted by the cargo hatches, were the Forecastle and Poop decks. The Forecastle deck was 106ft long, and the Poop deck was 128ft long.

First class passengers were accommodated on the five levels from the Upper to the Promenade decks; second class passengers had their accommodation on the Middle, Upper and Saloon decks; while third class passengers were to be found on the Lower deck forward and the Middle, Upper and Saloon deck aft. The cost of travelling on the Titanic varied widely according to the type of passage chosen. At the top end, the most expensive suite cost £ 870one way across the Atlantic. The lowest-priced first class passage - accommodation in a four-berth cabin without meals - cost £23.
The cost of a steerage, or third class, passage was £ 7 10s one way, but it included all meals. For this fare the passenger got a bunk in a dormitory of up to eight people.

The passenger accommodation for first class was arranged to provide 39 private suites, 30 on the Bridge deck, with the remaining nine on the Shelter deck. Titanic's first class accommodation was completed with a complement of 350 first class standard cabins, all of which were all fitted with single beds producing a total accommodation of over 750.

Number of passengers first class Deck One-berth Two-berth Three-berth Parlour-Suite Number of passengers A-Deck 30 - 4 - 42 B-Deck 31 34 8 2 123 C-Deck 15 62 57 2 310 D-Deck 111 8 30 - 117 E-Deck 9 2 28 - 97 total 96 106 127 4 689 If required, 46 single-berth rooms can be converted into two-berth rooms, making the total number of first-class passengers 735.

Second class passengers had their accommodation arranged as two or four-berth rooms to a maximum complement of 668 passengers. The rooms were finished in enamel white with mahogany furniture covered in moquet material and linoleum tiles to the floor.

number of passengers second class Deck Two-berth Three-berth Vierbett number of passengers D-Deck 19 - 20 118 E-Deck 15 - 49 226 F-Deck 19 - 45 218 G-Deck 23 2 15 112 total 76 2 129 674

For the 1026 third class passengers, however, it was a vastly different story; in their areas the passenger accommodation comprised mainly four or six-berth cabins with only 66 two-berth rooms being provided. White star had in Titanic provided what was probably the best conditions possible for this class of passenger and was probably equivalent to second class in other comparable vessels.

number of passengers third class Deck Two-berth Four-berth Six-berth Eight-berth Ten-berth number of passengers D-Deck 4 - 7 - - 50 E-Deck 26 40 8 - - 260 F-Deck 31 59 18 5 2 466 G-Deck 5 13 4 - - 86 G-Deck - - - - - 164* total 66 112 37 5 2 1026

The pictures on this side are taken from the book "Olympic & Titanic- Ocean liners of the past" (ISBN 1-85260-105-1). If there will be any problems concerning the copyright, please inform me via Mail. Then I will remove the pictures.