TITANIC TIMELINE: Part Four

Promenade Deck

TITANIC Timeline: Voyage to Collision


April 11 to 12: Titanic covers 386 miles in fine, calm, clear weather.


April 12 and 13: Titanic covers 519 miles. Fine weather continues. Various ice warnings received, which is not uncommon for April crossings.


April 13, 10:30 PM: Heavy ice pack warning signaled by passing Rappahannock, which has sustained damage coming through the ice field.

Gymnasium Windows

April 14, Sunday: 9:00 AM: Titanic picks up wireless message from Caronia warning of field ice and icebergs in 42ºN, from 49º to 51ºW.


    10:30 AM: Divine service held in first-class dining saloon.


    11:40 AM: Dutch liner Noordam reports "much ice" in about the same position as the Caronia.


    Noon: As usual, the ship's officers gather on the wing of the navigating bridge to calculate daily position with sextants: "Since noon Saturday, 546 miles."

Grand Staircase Dome

    1:42 PM: Iceberg warning received via the Baltic and "large quantities of field ice" in latitude 41º 51'N, longitude 49º 52' W about 250 miles ahead of Titanic. Message delivered to Captain Smith. Smith later gives it to J. Bruce Ismay, who puts it in his pocket.


    1:45 PM: "Large iceberg" warning received via German liner Amerika (41º 27' N, 50º 8' W). Message not sent to the bridge.


    5:30 to 7:30 PM: Air temperature drops ten degrees to 33ºF.

First Class Dining Saloon

    5:50 PM: Captain Smith alters ship's course slightly south and west of normal course - possibly as a precaution to avoid ice.


    6:00 PM: Second Officer Lightoller relieves Chief Officer Wilde on the bridge.


    7:15 PM: First Officer Murdoch orders forward forecastle hatch closed to stop the glow from inside interfering with crow's nest watch above.


    7:30 PM: Three warning messages concerning large icebergs intercepted from the Californian (42º 3' N, 49º 9' W). Message delivered to bridge. Captain attending dinner party below. Ice now only 50 miles ahead.

Harold Bride, Marconi Wireless Rm

    8:40 PM: Lightoller gives order to look after ship's fresh water supply, as outside seawater is now close to freezing.


    8:55 PM: Captain Smith excuses himself from dinner party, goes directly to bridge, and discusses calm and clear weather conditions with Lightoller, as well as visibility of icebergs at night.


    9:20 PM: Captain Smith retires for the night with the order to rouse him "if it becomes at all doubtful..."


    9:30 PM: Lightoller sends message to crow's nest to watch carefully for icebergs until morning.


    9:40 PM: Heavy ice pack and iceberg warning received from the Mesaba (lat. 42º N to 41º 25' N, long. 49º W to 50º 30' W). Message overlooked. Wireless operators busy with passenger traffic. Altogether the day's six ice warnings show a huge field of ice some 78 miles long directly ahead.


    10:00 PM: Lightoller relieved on bridge by First Officer Murdoch. Lookouts in crow's nest relieved. Warning to watch for icebergs passed between the watches. Temperature is 32º F, sky cloudless, air clear.


    10:30 PM: Sea temperature down to 31º F.


    10:55 PM: Some 10 to 19 miles north of Titanic, the Californian is stopped in ice field, and sends out warnings to all ships in area. When the Californian's wireless operator calls up Titanic, his ice warning is interrupted by a blunt "Keep out! Shut up! You're jamming my signal. I'm working Cape Race." The Californian's sole operator listens in to Titanic's wireless traffic and then at 11:30 turns off his set and retires for the night, as is the custom.


    11:30 PM: Lookouts Fleet and Lee in crow's nest note slight haze appearing directly ahead of Titanic.

Iceberg seen near sinking.  Had strip
of red paint near water.  Commonly
believed to be berg which TITANIC
collided with.

    11:40 PM: Titanic moving at 20½ knots. Suddenly, lookouts see iceberg dead ahead about 500 yards away towering some 55-60 feet above the water. They immediately sound the warning bell with three sharp rings and telephone down to the bridge: "Iceberg right ahead." Sixth Officer Moody on bridge acknowledges warning, relays message to Murdoch who instinctively calls "hard-a-starboard" to helmsman and orders engine room to stop engines and then full astern. Murdoch then activates lever to close watertight doors below the waterline. Helmsman spins wheel as far as it will go. After several seconds Titanic begins to veer to port, but the iceberg strikes starboard bow side and brushes along the side of the ship and passes by into the night. The impact, although jarring to the crew down in the forward area, is not noticed by many of the passengers. Thirty-seven seconds have elapsed from sighting to collision.

TITANIC TIMELINE: Southampton to Queenstown

TITANIC TIMELINE PART THREE: Arriving in Southampton through final departure from Queenstown

April 2:
8:00 PM: Leaves Belfast (under Captain Bartlett) for overnight trip to Southampton, her port of  embarkation (about 570 miles).


Dressed in flags at Southampton



April 3: Arrives port of Southampton just after midnight to begin provisioning and staffing for maiden voyage.

April 5: Good Friday: Titanic is "dressed" in panoply of flags and pennants for a salute to the people of Southampton. Only occasion she is ever "dressed."

April 6: Recruitment day for remainder, and majority, of crew. General cargo begins to arrive. The final total cargo includes 559 tons and 11,524 separate pieces. As well, 5892 tons of coal are loaded on board.

April 8: Fresh food supplies taken on board. All final preparations overseen by ship's builder Thomas Andrews down to the tiniest detail.

John Jacob Astor arrives on Boat Train

April 10, Wednesday - Sailing Day:
7:30 AM: Captain Edward J. Smith boards Titanic with full crew. Officers have spent the night on board. Smith receives sailing report from Chief Officer Wilde.

8:00 AM: Entire crew mustered, followed by brief lifeboat drill using only two starboard boats,   No's 11 and 15.

9:30 to 11:30 AM: Second-and-third-class boat-trains arrive and passengers board ship.


Near collision with liner NEW YORK

 11:30 AM: Arrival of first-class boat-train from London at dockside. First-class passengers board and are escorted to cabins.

Noon: Titanic casts off and is towed from dock by tugs.  


Steaming down River Test

During downstream passage into River Test under her own steam, the water displaced by Titanic's movement causes all six mooring ropes on the New York to break and her stern to swing toward Titanic. Quick action narrowly averts a collision by only four feet. Departure delayed for an hour. This incident (along with the Olympic-Hawke collision) indicates unfamiliarity with ships of this size by those handling them. 

1:00 PM: Titanic resumes 24-mile trip downstream to English Channel en route to Cherbourg,  France.

  
4:00 PM: Boat-train from Paris arrives Cherbourg. Late arrival announced.
 5:30 PM: Cherbourg - passengers finally board tenders and wait to be ferried out to Titanic.


TITANIC at Cherbourg, France



6:30 PM: Titanic rides at anchor in Cherbourg harbor, all lights ablaze. Twenty-two cross-Channel passengers disembark, and some cargo is unloaded.

8:00 PM: 274 Cherbourg passengers are all aboard and tenders return to shore.

8:10 PM: Anchor raised and Titanic leaves for Queenstown, Ireland, taking her through the English Channel and around England's south coast.

Passengers & baggage at Queenstown

April 11, Thursday morning:
Captain Smith takes Titanic through some additional practice turns en route to Queenstown to test maneuverability.

11:30 AM: Titanic rides at anchor in Queenstown harbor, about two miles from land. 113 third-class and seven second-class passengers board from tenders with 1385 bags of mail. Seven passengers disembark.

  

Last known picture taken of TITANIC
as she steams away from land.



1:30 PM: The starboard anchor is raised for the last time and Titanic departs on her first Trans-Atlantic crossing for New York. Estimated total number of passengers on board: 2227. (Exact total unknown due to discrepancies in passenger/crew lists.)

NEXT:  Voyage to Impact with Iceberg

TITANIC TIMELINE Part Two

TITANIC TIMELINE: CONSTRUCTION TO SEA TRIALS



TITANIC (l) and OLYMPIC (r)

1910 October 20: Olympic hull successfully launched. 

TITANIC after launching



1911
May 31: Titanic hull successfully launched, witnessed by more than 100,000 people. At the time, (together with Olympic) she is the largest man-made object ever moved. Twenty-two tons of tallow, soap, and train oil are used to grease the slipway bed to coat and protect against the enormous three-tons-per-square-inch pressure of the freshly painted hull. Titanic towed by tugs to fitting-out basin. Outfitting begins.



June: Olympic leaves on her maiden voyage.

July: First projected date agreed on by White Star and Harland & Wolff for Titanic's maiden voyage - March 20, 1912.

September 20: Olympic (with Captain Edward J. Smith who would later captain Titanic) has her hull badly damaged in collision with Royal Navy cruiser Hawke. Titanic's maiden voyage delayed due to necessary diversion of workers and materials to repair Olympic.


TITANIC in dry dock

 October 11: White Star officially announces new date for Titanic's maiden voyage in the London Times - April 10, 1912.

1912 

Work crews at Harland & Wolff

January: Sixteen wooden lifeboats are installed on Titanic under Welin davits (designed to handle two or three boats). The original designer, Alexander Carlisle (who was no longer in the employ of Harland & Wolff) had suggested davits capable of carrying more boats, but presented it as an economy measure, and not in the interests of increased safety. Outdated British Board of Trade regulations mean that Titanic's 20 lifeboats (including four "collapsible" canvas-sided lifeboats) actually exceed requirements by ten percent capacity.



February 3: Titanic successfully dry-docked at Belfast's Thompson Graving Dock.

March: Engineering crew begins to assemble in Belfast, some actually living on board ship.



OLYPMIC & TITANIC in dock



March 25: Lifeboats are tested; swung out, lowered, and hoisted back into position under davits.

 

TITANIC's sea trials begin



March 31: Except for a few minor details in some passenger staterooms, the outfitting of Titanic is complete. Her capacity includes a size of 46,328 gross tons, with approximately 52,250 tons of displacement, 46,000 horsepower with 29 boilers, 159 furnaces, and funnels 73 feet above Boat Deck. She has three propellers and is estimated to be able to make some 24 knots full speed (although this is never put to the test). Although Titanic and her sister ship Olympic are identical in dimensions, more staterooms and suites were added to Titanic (plus structural additions) making her the heavier of the two. Titanic is now the largest ship in the world.



April 1: Sea trials delayed due to high winds.

April 2 - 6:00 AM: Sea trials begin. Titanic assisted by two tugs through Victoria Channel to Belfast Lough. All equipment tested, including wireless. Speed and handling trials undertaken, including various turning and stop-start maneuvers. Major stopping test conducted: runs full ahead at 20 knots and then stops full astern.

April 2 - 2:00 PM: Running test conducted. She travels for about two hours (about 40 miles) out into the open Irish Sea at an average speed of 18 knots, and then returns in two hours to Belfast. All tests meet Board of Trade standards. Trials have lasted less than a day.

Next: TITANIC's Maiden Voyage: arrival in Southampton to departure from Queenstown, Ireland

TITANIC TIMELINE - PART ONE

Presenting background information on the TITANIC, from the inspiration to the sinking and more.   

Part One - Pre-Construction History

1867

Thomas Henry Ismay purchases the White Star Line, a line of sailing vessels, originally founded about 1850 and mainly engaged in trade centered on Australian goldfields.

1869

Ismay forms the Oceanic Stream Navigation Company in order to establish White Star as a high-class steamship service in the Atlantic passenger trade.



1869-1870

First ships built for White Star by Belfast shipbuilders Harland & Wolff.

1891



Lord W.J. Pierre

J. Bruce Ismay admitted to partnership of the White Star Line. He takes over after his father's death in 1899.

1894

William J. Pirrie becomes chairman of Harland & Wolff.

1898

 American author Morgan Robertson publishes the novel Futility in which a British passenger liner called the Titan hits an iceberg and sinks on her maiden voyage without enough lifeboats in the month of April in the North Atlantic. The fictional ship is eerily similar to the yet-to-be conceived Titanic in size, speed, equipment, numbers of passengers (both rich and poor), and those lost.

1902

The White Star Line purchased by the International Mercantile Marine Company, a shipping trust headed by U.S. financier J. Pierpont Morgan. While White Star ships will still fly the British flag and carry British crews, the company is essentially controlled by American interests.

1904   

J. Bruce Ismay

J. Bruce Ismay, age 41, with Morgan's full support, becomes president and managing director of International Mercantile Marine with complete control. As well, Harland & Wolff chairman William J. Pirrie becomes a director of Mercantile Marine.

1907

At a dinner party in William J. Pirrie's London mansion, Ismay discusses the construction of two huge ships (with a third to be added later) to compete with the luxury, size, and speed of rival lines. These ships are to be known as the Olympic class of liners, and are intended specifically to beat out the Cunard Line for the Atlantic luxury passenger trade.

1908

July 29: White Star owners, including Ismay, approve in principle the design plan for the Olympic class ships prepared by builders Harland & Wolff under direct supervision of Lord Pirrie, with the assistance of his nephew Thomas Andrews.
 

Harland & Wolff Drafting Room



July 31: A contract letter is signed for construction in the Belfast shipyards of Olympic, Titanic, and a third sister ship (Britannic) to follow. Ultimate decisions of design, equipment, and decoration are to be made by J. Bruce Ismay. The size of Titanic will be 882 feet 9 inches long, 94 feet wide, and 100 feet high to the bridge level. Final cost: £1,500,000 or approx. $7,500,000. New docks have to accommodate the size of these ships. Harland & Wolff build specially strengthened slips to take their weight, and a new gantry under which the will be built.

December 16: Keel laid down for Harland & Wolff yard number 400 - Olympic construction begins.



1909

March 31: Keel laid down for Harland & Wolff yard number 401 - Titanic construction begins.

 Part Two: Titanic Construction to Launch & Final Outfitting

Inspiration for Auditions

Intro to the movie RAISE THE TITANIC released in 1980 and starring Jason Robardsand Robert Jordan.   Movie was released five years before the TITANIC was discovered.   Opening sequence is inspiration for upcoming auditions and production at the Barrow-Civic.

TITANIC Character Breakdown

Listed below is a list of major characters in the production of TITANIC.  In addition, there is a large ensemble chorus of characters supporting this show.   From the opening boarding and launch, to the Third Class Dining Room to the lifeboat scenes, a large cast is needed to fill the stage and portray the scene.

Titled charater parts include:

Thomas Andrews: Titanic’s Designer/Builder (sings In Every Age, Andrew’s Vision, The Blame)

J. Bruce Ismay: The Owner. Formidable. (sings The Blame)

Captain E. J. Smith: Titanic’s Captain, making his last voyage for White Star. (sings The Blame)

Third-Class Passengers:

The Three Kates:

Kate McGowan: Young, Irish. Brazen. Pursues Jim Farrell. (sings Lady’s Maid)

Kate Mullins: Irish. A little older and wiser than McGowan. (sings Lady’s Maid)

Kate Murphy: Irish. The youngest of the three. (sings Lady’s Maid)

Jim Farrell: Irishman seeking a new life in America. Falls for Kate McGowan. (selected solos)

Second-Class Passengers:

Alice Beane: Longs to rub elbows with the rich. (sings First-Class Roster, I Have Danced)

Edgar Beane: Alice’s No-nonsense husband. (sings I Have Danced)

Charles Clark: Young British Journalist, in love with Caroline. (selected solos)

Caroline Neville: Young British Aristocrat, in love with Charles. (selected solos)

First-Class Passengers:

Isador Straus: The owner of Macy’s Department Store. (Sings Still)

Ida Straus: Isador’s Wife. Devoted. (Sings Still)

John J. Astor & Medeleine Astor: An American Millionaire and his young wife.

Benjamin Guggenheim & Mme. Aubert: An American Millionaire and his mistress.

John B. Thayer, Marion Thayer & Jack Thayer: Prominent Pennsylvania Family

George Widener & Eleanor Widener: The Richest Man in Philadelphia and his wife

Charlotte Cardoza: a mysterious millionaire widow.

Others: Edith Corse Evans, J.H. Rogers, The Major

Officers, Crew and Serving Staff:

First Officer Murdoch: A Scottsman. Overwhelmed by his duties. (sings To Be Captain)

Harold Bride: Radioman. Soft-spoken, good-natured. (sings The Night was Alive)

Frederick Barrett: Stoker. Young, headstrong. (sings Barrett’s Song, The Proposal)

Frederick Fleet: Lookout. Young, eager. (sings No Moon)

Henry Etches: Senior First Class Steward. Stuffy. (sings What A Remarkable Age)

Wallace Hartley: Bandmaster. Violin/Piano playing preferable. (sings Autumn, The Latest Rag)

Bandsmen Taylor and Bricoux: Cello/string players preferable. (sing The Latest Rag)

Stewardess Hutchinson & Stewardess Robinson: First Class Staff. (sing Dressed in Your Pyjamas)

Others: Second Officer Lightoller, Third Officer Pittman, Quartermaster Hitchens, Bellboy, Stevadore, Joseph Bell, etc.

Audition Packet Ready for Download

The audition packet for TITANIC at the Barrow-Civic Theatre is ready for download.

Click HERE to download the packet before auditions.   You can also pick one up at auditions or from the theatre Box Office beforehand.

A note on auditions:  this production has school shows scheduled for April 12th during the day.   I do however encourage everyone to audition, even if they are unsure about the school shows day, as our school show has not yet been formatted and there is room to wiggle.

Thanks.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD AUDITION PACKET