Toward the bottom of Titanic we come to the Orlop decks and the Tank top. Here were the holds, the mail-room and the specie room (see page 146), as well as the machinery that drove the vessel. Motor cars in transit were crated up here, and there were refrigerated rooms for anything from champagne to fresh flowers.
And here the tour ends. It now remains to people the ship with crew and passengers.
We are getting more ship-shape every hour, but there is still a great deal to be done.
March 1912 saw fairly frantic activity on Titanic as the last
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Captain Edward Smith (front row, second from right) with his senior officers. To his right sits Chief Officer Henry Wilde; to his left, First Officer William Murdoch. To Wilde's right sits Sixth Officer James Moody.
In the back row, left to right, are: Chief Purser Herbert McElroy, Second Officer Charles Lightoller, Third Officer Herbert Pitman, Fourth Officer Joseph Boxall and Fifth Officer Harold Lowe.
Titanic, shepherded by four tugs, moves down Belfast Lough at the start of her first voyage to Southampton.
Touches were made to her fitting out. She was due to sail from Belfast to Southampton—a voyage of some 570 miles—on April 1, but strong winds that day meant that both her sea trials and her departure were delayed by 24 hours. Staffed by her officers and a skeleton crew, together with Thomas Andrews and his “guarantee crew” of craftsmen and fitters who were there to iron out any snags, and Harold Sanderson, a director of White Star, she was towed out of her deepwater wharf by four Liverpool tugs and into Belfast Lough for her sea trials. During these the engines were tested, the compasses adjusted, and trial transmissions made by the Marconi wireless men. The Board of Trade inspector, Francis Carruthers, signed and dated the ship’s certificate as “good for one year from today, 2.4.12,” and Andrews and Sanderson signed the acceptance papers for White Star. Andrews also dropped a quick line to his wife: “We got away this morning in fine style and have had a very satisfactory trial. We are getting more ship-shape every hour, but there is still a great deal to be done.”
Titanic left Belfast about 8:00 p. m., arriving at 44 Berth in Southampton docks late the following day. On Thursday, April 4, Andrews wrote again to his wife: “I wired you this morning of our safe arrival after a very satisfactory trip. The weather was good and everyone most pleasant. I think the ship will clean up all right before sailing on Wednesday.”
The new Royal Mail triple-screw steamer Titanic, which has been built by Harland & Wolff Ltd, for the White Star Line, left the deepwater wharf shortly after 10 o’clock yesterday morning for Southampton, whence she will sail on her maiden voyage to New York on the 10th inst. The usual scenes of bustle and animation attending the departure of a great liner were witnessed from an early hour in the morning, and as the hawsers were cast off, the Titanic—the largest vessel in the world—floated proudly on the water, a monument to the enterprise of her owners and the ingenuity of the eminent firm who built her. She was at once taken in tow by the powerful tugs which were in attendance and the crowds of spectators who had assembled on both sides of the river raised hearty cheers as she was towed into the channel. The mammoth vessel presented an impressive spectacle, looking perfect from keel to truck, while the weather conditions were happily of favorable character. When the tugs were left behind the compasses were adjusted, after which a satisfactory speed run took place, and the latest triumph of the shipbuilder’s art then left for Southampton, carrying with her the best wishes of the citizens of Belfast.’
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