|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|
|

|

|
|
|
 |
|

|
Titanic
conceived - The order to proceed with the design of both of White Stars new
mammoth liners was signed April 30, 1907, and the shipyard was given orders to proceed
with construction of Olympic (yard number 400) and Titanic (yard number
401) on September 17, 1908. As ship names were only used officially by the builder after
the ships were launched, most plans and specifications provided for the construction were
titled by yard numbers only. Since the first two of the three planned Olympic-class
ships would be built simultaneously, they would share many of the same construction plans.
As construction progressed on Olympic, any changes decided upon for Titanic
were indicated by notes written on the plans, indicating the hull number to which they
applied; in instances where the differences were considerable, separate drawings were made
for Titanic . . . (continued) |
|
|


Image above, H&W works map - The Harland & Wolff works as
it appeared in 1909. Authors
Collection/The Engineer
|
|
Construction
plans - After the overall dimensions and form of the ship had been settled and
the preliminary design and general arrangement of the ship had been approved, several
steps were required before actual construction could be undertaken. First, structural
plans had to be prepared by the shipbuilder for submission to the Board of Trade for its
approval. These plans consisted of general specifications of the hull, and the sizes or
scantlings of all steel, iron and wood forming the structural parts of the
vessel. All of these features were to be distinctly marked according to the requirements
of the Board of Trade. For Olympic and Titanic, among these plans were
those for the construction of the watertight bulkheads, designed in accordance with the
requirements specified in the latest report of the Board of Trades Bulkhead
Committee. Titanics plans were delivered for the Boards review on June 3,
1908. Once approved, they were returned to Harland & Wolff, which then proceeded to
order the steel and iron. At that point, the draftsmen proceeded to prepare detailed
structural plans for the workmen in the shipyard . . . (continued) |
|
The Mold
Loft - The initial fairing of the lines was done by the draftsman during the
laying-out of the Preliminary Lines plan. Upon completion, the preliminary lines and
offsets were then turned over to the loftsmen, whose domain was the Mold Loft. Harland
& Wolff, as with other shipyards, had a special building constructed for the purpose
of laying out the design of each ship before it was constructed. The Mold Loft was a large
floor upon which the loftsmen chalked the lines of the cross sections of a ship at full
size, and the length at quarter scale. The work of the Mold Loft also included making
templates, or molds, of heavy paper or thin wooden boards for all the
structural parts of the ship. A template for a steel plate consisted of a full-size
pattern of the plate marked out and showing in detail all punched or countersunk holes,
scarfs, bends and angle lines. The use of paper had disadvantages as the material would
contract or expand with changes in humidity, sometimes necessitating multiple corrections
on the ship. Templates of basswood or white pine were superior to paper and could be
stored more easily. The Mold Loft at Harland & Wolff occupied the upper floor of the
Plumbers Shop and was over several hundred feet long and a hundred feet wide. There,
the lines were carefully laid out . . . (continued) |
|
Other topics in this chapter include: Preparation
of drawings - The lines plan - Half-breadth plan - Profile plan - Body plan - Fairing -
Offsets - Preliminary lines - Beveling - Scantlings - Ordering and construction of parts -
Laying the blocks - Tonnage |
 |
|