|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Nos. 1 and
2 Holds - The section of the Orlop Deck forward of WTB A formed the watertight
top of the Fore Peak Tank as well as the bottom of the chain locker for the anchor cables.
The deck space aft, between WTBs A and B, comprised the upper level of the No. 1 Hold and
was used for general cargo. This hold was accessed through the No. 1 Hatch on the
Forecastle Deck, with the hatchway extending through to the middle and lower hold areas on
the Lower Orlop Deck and Tank Top below. Abaft WTB B was the upper level of the large No.
2 Hold, accessed through the No. 2 Hatch in the forward Well Deck. This hatchway also
extended down to the lower hold at the Tank Top level, there being no Lower Orlop Deck
this far aft. Cargo holds such as these with no staircases were accessed from within the
ship via vertical ladders. The No. 2 Hold at the Orlop Deck level was noted on plans as
being for “cargo or motor cars.” As described in the chapter on Machinery and
Boiler Casings and Hatches, the hatch cover on the Orlop Deck was reinforced and sat
completely flush with the deck to permit stowage on the hatch cover. . . (continued) |
|
|
Image above, Nos. 4 and 5 Hold Areas - The rooms with double walls
were insulated compartments, refrigerated to the specific requirements of the contents
within. The dashed horizontal lines within some of these compartments represent overhead
rails for meat storage. Illustration by Bruce
Beveridge
|
|
Bunker Hold
- Along the sides of the ship at the Orlop Deck level, port and starboard, were coal chute
casings leading to the No. 3 Hold at the Tank Top level below. This hold, divided in the
center by the watertight Fireman’s Tunnel, could be utilized either for cargo or for
1,092 tons of reserve coal, hence the name “Bunker Hold.” For the same reason,
the No. 3 Hatch was referred to as the “Bunker Hatch.” A pair of vertically
hinged watertight doors in WTB D gave access to the Bunker Hold from the No. 6 Boiler
Room. These doors were located on either side of the vertically sliding watertight door in
WTB D at the after end of the Fireman’s Tunnel, and would have been closed and
secured to prevent pilfering if baggage was stowed in the hold and not coal . . . (continued) |
|
Tank top - The Tank Top was the
lowest level of the ship, and was not a deck in the true sense of the term. It was
actually the plating forming the inner bottom, and by definition was the plating forming
the top of the double bottom. The Tank Top plating was fitted to the tops of the floor
plates, longitudinals and center keelson, and made a nearly complete inner skin along the
bottom and was carried out to the sides of the hull throughout much of the ship’s
length.
Being the top plates of the double bottom tanks, the plating of the Tank Top
was watertight. This was also the plating that the boiler stools, engines, and other
machinery and machinery seatings sat on. The strakes were riveted in the in-and-out
fashion with the landings being joggled. The edges of the landings and butts were not
planed, and the bulkhead foundation bars were joggled over the landings. The plates were
increased in thickness in the engine and boiler rooms, and heavy sole plates were fitted
under the reciprocating engines . . . (continued) |
|
Image, lower-left, Typical
Hold - A typical hold on a ship of Titanic’s era with the limber boards open
for inspection. Though this is not Titanic, and the ship pictured here is of considerably
smaller dimensions, the deck covering and the use of wood sparring against the ship’s
frames would have been the same. In the background against the athwartship bulkhead is the
ladder that gave access to the hold. Author’s
collection |
|
| Other topics in this chapter include: |
| No. 3 Hold, Mail Room and Specie Room - Boiler casings, bunkers
and machinery spaces - Insulated and non-insulated store rooms for provisions - No. 6 Hold
and After Peak Tank - plus Dimensions and Specifications |
|
|
|
|
