Titanic Museum - Belfast
The Titanic museum in Belfast is a must see for any visitor to Northern Ireland. Situated on Queens Island in the centre of Belfast, it is the place to go to learn everything about this iconic ship. Learn about the reasons for building the Titanic as well as stories from survivors and amazing footage from the building of the ship. The museum also provides a huge amount of information about the rescue effort and ends with the work carried out by the Ocean Exploration Centre since the wreck of the ship was discovered in 1985 after many years of searching. Titanic Museum - History of the Titanic
Work began building the Titanic on the 31st March 1909 and took three years to complete (including fitting out the ship). The RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) Titanic was launched into Belfast Lough from the slipway where it was built on the 31st May 1911. It was then fitted out, a process which took ten months and 3000 workers to complete! Titanic's sea trials were due to begin on the 1st April 1912 but they were delayed due to high winds, the trials began at 6am on 2nd April. The board of trade registered Titanic to the port of Liverpool and confirmed her weight to be 52310 tonnes. The sea trials tested the engine and equipment and the Titanic passed all the tests. It was then that Harland and Wolff who were responsible for building the Titanic officially handed the paperwork for the Titanic over to the White Star Line who were the boats owners. Titanic Museum - Story of the 'Pride of Belfast'
Titanic left Belfast on the 2nd April 1912 at 8pm and sailed to Southampton where it loaded its cargo and boarded its crew and passengers. After briefly stopping at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (Cobh) in Ireland to collect mail and embark/disembark passengers, Titanic left the port of Cobh on the 11th April sailing for New York. Unfortunately the 'Pride of Belfast' and 'The Unsinkable Ship' never reached its destination. It hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean on the 14th April 1912 and sank with the loss of 1517 lives. The History of the Titanic and its unique story has been the subject of many documentaries, movies and films and the sinking of this amazing vessel is something that most people are aware of. The wreck of the Titanic was finally discovered in 1985, its final resting place over two and a half miles down in the Atlantic Ocean. Titanic Museum - Survivors
After hitting an iceberg it took the Titanic less than three hours to sink, it split into two as it sank and many survivors jumped into the water as the boat went down. Unfortunately, due to the icy cold water many survivors of the sinking perished despite wearing life jackets. The survivors who were lucky enough to be rescued from lifeboats were picked up by the Cunard ship, Carpathia. The Carpathia rescued 713 survivors in total and brought them to New York, arriving on the 18th April where the full tragedy was revealed to the world. Titanic Museum - Pictures Picture of the Iconic Harland and Wolff gantry cranes commonly nicknamed Samson and Goliath in Belfast. The cranes are situated opposite the Titanic Museum in Belfast. Picture of the Titanic Museum, Queens Island Belfast Titanic Museum - Facts
| Titanic Museum Facts - 1: The Titanic was built by White Star Line's whose main competitor was Cunard. In fact one of Cunards ships, the Carpathia came to the aid of Titanic's passengers as the ship sank and rescued 713 people |
| Titanic Facts - 2: The ship took three years to build and despite the dangerous working conditions for the men who worked on the gantries, only 8 lives were lost during its construction |
| Titanic Museum Facts - 3: Work began building the Titanic on the 31st March 1909 |
| Titanic Museum Facts - 4: Titanic was first launched into Belfast Lough from its slipway on 31st May 1911 where an estimated 100,000 people watched its launch |
| Titanic Museum Facts - 5: The internal fit out of Titanic took ten months to complete and included staircases, lifts and corridors as well as the allocation of separate areas for first, second and third class passengers | | Titanic Museum Facts - 6: There were 18,000 bed sheets and 45,000 cloth napkins onboard the ship as there were no facilities onboard to wash linen! | | Titanic Museum Facts - 7: The ship had six pianos on board, three in first class, two in second class and one in the third class general room | | Titanic Museum Facts - 8: On the 4th April 1912 (Good Friday) while docked in Southampton, Titanic was decorated with flags and bunting to thank the people of Southampton for being so welcoming | | Titanic Museum Facts - 9: At noon on the 10th April 1912, Titanic left Southampton ion the UK to begin its maiden voyage to New York via Cherbourg in France and Cobh in Ireland | | Titanic Museum Facts - 10: The ship had an amazing 885 members of crew! | | Titanic Museum Facts - 11: A total of 22 passengers disembarked the ship at Cherbourg, choosing to cross the channel for the ships maiden voyage and not complete the trip to New York | | Titanic Museum Facts - 12: There were a total of 2223 passengers and crew onboard Titanic when she set sail for New York on the 10th April 1912 | | Titanic Museum Facts - 13: Titanic only had enough lifeboats for 1178 people and many of these boats were not full when they left the sinking ship | | Titanic Museum Facts - 14: Most of the passengers did not die from drowning, they died from hypothermia due to the freezing water and length of time they were in the water before help arrived | | Titanic Museum Facts - 15: The Carpathia was the first ship to reach the scene of the Titanic disaster, it was sailing from New York to the Mediterranean | | Titanic Museum Facts - 16: The wreck of Titanic was finally discovered on the 1st September 1985 | | Titanic Museum Facts - 17: Titanic's final resting place is two and a half miles down in the Atlantic ocean. Many people feel it should remain their as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives while others would like to see the wreck recovered and brought to the surface | | Titanic Museum Facts - 18: The last survivor from the ship was Millvina Dean, she was just nine weeks old when she was rescued from the ship. Millvina was handed from the ship to a lifeboat in a postbag! | | Titanic Museum Facts - 19: The letters RMS stand for 'Royal Mail Steamer'. Titanic was able to carry 3635 mailbags! | | Titanic Museum Facts - 20: The last survivor from the sinking (Millvina Dean) died on her her 98th birthday, 31st May 2009 which was also the anniversary of the ships launch! | | Titanic Museum Facts - 21: Titanic is famous for its four funnels or chimneys. Only three of the funnels were used to vent fumes from the coal driven boilers, the fourth funnel was used for ventilation | | Titanic Museum Facts - 22: The full name of the captain who went down with the ship was Captain John Edward Smith, many consider him to be a hero including many of the ships survivors |
Titanic Museum
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