Mark Baber
RIP
The Times, 8 May 1922
WORLD'S LARGEST LINER
---
THE MAJESTIC AS BIG AS 400 HOUSES
---
The Majestic, the largest vessel in the world, is due to start on her
maiden voyage across the Atlantic on Wednesday next, when she will take
her place with the Olympic and Homeric to give a weekly service between
Southampton and New York via Cherbourg; and on Saturday her owners, the
White Star Line, provided an opportunity of inspecting her as she lay
alongside the quay. Among those present were:---
Lord Devonport, Sir William W. Portal (deputy chairman of the London and
South Western Railway), the Mayor of Southampton (Councillor F. Bath),
Sir Samuel Waring, Sir Robert Baird, Sir Alexander Birket, Sir R. R.
Linthorne, Sir Henry Crichton, Mr. C. F. Torrey, and Mr. L. A. P. Warner
(general manager of the Mersey Docks), together with Mr. Harold A.
Sanderson (chairman), and Colonel Concanon and Mr. A. B. Cauty (joint
managers of the White Star Line), and Sir Bertram Hayes (Commodore of
the Line, and captain of the ship).
Built by Blohm und Voss on the Elbe and launched as the Bismarck a few
weeks before the outbreak of the war, the Majestic has a length over all
of 956ft., a beam of 100ft., and a gross tonnage exceeding 56,500 tons,
her displacement when loaded to her marks being 64,000 tons. Her nearest
rival in size is the President Harding, launched as the Vaterland and
afterwards re-named Leviathan, which is a few feet shorter, a few inches
broader, and some 2,000 tons less in measurement. The Berengaria follows
with a length of 919ft., a beam of 98ft., and a tonnage of a little over
52,000, but no other ships in existence reach 50,000 tons, the Olympic
and Aquitania, which come next, being both of about 46,000 tons.
As illustrating her size it may be said that the Majestic is longer than
the river front of the House of Commons, and that if she were stood on
end she would tower to more than twice the height of St. Paul's; and it
has been calculated that in tonnage she approximates to the aggregate of
the 135 ships of the Spanish Armada, and that the apace inside her is
equivalent to 400 detached suburban residences of eight rooms each. One
consequence of her great length and beam is that at the moment there is
no dry dock in this country that can hold her. She is too big for the
dry dock at Southampton, into which the Berengaria can just be squeezed,
and the Gladstone Dock at Liverpool, which is large enough, is not
available for use at present. Mr. Sanderson, however, was able to
announce that, thanks to the enterprise and good will of the London and
South-Western Railway, a provisional agreement had been made whereby
within the next 12 months a floating dock will be provided, adequate, he
hoped, for the purpose.
An interesting feature of the architecture of the ship is that the
boiler casings, instead of passing up the centre, in the usual manner,
are divided and placed toward the sides, the two parts uniting above the
top deck to form a central superstructure for the funnels. This
arrangement is adopted for two of the three funnels (the third is not
used for conveying smoke away from the furnaces), and its effect is
apparent right through the six decks on which first-class passenger
accommodation is provided. On the lower decks it permits the cabins to
be grouped on each side of a broad central passage; two separate main
staircases, one port and the other starboard, rise from deck F to deck
A; and on deck B, which contains most of the public rooms, the lounge is
entered through what is virtually an arch formed by the two casings
leading to the middle funnel, and there is a clear vista, 250ft. long,
from the stage at the forward end of the lounge through the main
entrance to the palm court and the raised restaurant at its after end.
The lounge, with an area of 4,000 sq. ft., is laid with a parquet floor
for dancing, and is remarkable for the fact that no internal pillars are
used to support the roof and its great glass dome. On the same deck
there is a card room aft and a drawing room forward, and the smoking
room above the latter commands an impressive view over the bows of the
ship through a curved front with plate-glass windows. The dining saloon
on deck F has an area of 11,350 sq. ft., and the dome over its middle
portion rises through the two decks above to a total height of 31ft.
Opposite the doors of the saloon is the entrance to the swimming bath,
where a lady instructor is to be in attendance, and on deck A there is a
gymnasium.
The full complement of the ship is over 5,000 persons, including 850
first-class passengers, 545 second-class, and 2,392 third-class. On her
run from Cuxhaven to Southampton she reached a speed of over 25 knots.
Steam is supplied from 48 water-tube boilers fired with oil fuel, of
which sufficient can be carried for the round voyage to New York and
back. There are four screws, and the turbine machinery is capable of
developing up to 100,000 h.p.
At the luncheon given on board, Mr. HAROLD SANDERSON proposed the toast
of the guests, to which the MAYOR OF SOUTHAMPTON replied. He pointed out
that as the workshop of the world, this country could maintain its
position only if it produced more cheaply than its competitors, and he
asked what was to be gained by a disturbance that had for its object a
scale of wages at which employment could not be found or by a dispute as
to who was to manage the workshops. Unless a basis could be arrived at
which would enable the affairs of the workshops to be carried on
successfully it would be a case of unemployment without any prospect of
improvement.
In proposing success to the Majestic, SIR WILLIAM PORTAL concluded with
the lines:---
Majestic both in name and form,
Serene in calm, secure in storm,
We wish you each succeeding year
The best of luck, the best of cheer.
In response, Mr. A. B. CAUTY said that during the completion of the ship
they had met with uniform courtesy from the builders, and their first
anxiety as to having her ready to sail on Wednesday arose on her arrival
at Southampton, where they met with chaos in the labour world.
-30-
WORLD'S LARGEST LINER
---
THE MAJESTIC AS BIG AS 400 HOUSES
---
The Majestic, the largest vessel in the world, is due to start on her
maiden voyage across the Atlantic on Wednesday next, when she will take
her place with the Olympic and Homeric to give a weekly service between
Southampton and New York via Cherbourg; and on Saturday her owners, the
White Star Line, provided an opportunity of inspecting her as she lay
alongside the quay. Among those present were:---
Lord Devonport, Sir William W. Portal (deputy chairman of the London and
South Western Railway), the Mayor of Southampton (Councillor F. Bath),
Sir Samuel Waring, Sir Robert Baird, Sir Alexander Birket, Sir R. R.
Linthorne, Sir Henry Crichton, Mr. C. F. Torrey, and Mr. L. A. P. Warner
(general manager of the Mersey Docks), together with Mr. Harold A.
Sanderson (chairman), and Colonel Concanon and Mr. A. B. Cauty (joint
managers of the White Star Line), and Sir Bertram Hayes (Commodore of
the Line, and captain of the ship).
Built by Blohm und Voss on the Elbe and launched as the Bismarck a few
weeks before the outbreak of the war, the Majestic has a length over all
of 956ft., a beam of 100ft., and a gross tonnage exceeding 56,500 tons,
her displacement when loaded to her marks being 64,000 tons. Her nearest
rival in size is the President Harding, launched as the Vaterland and
afterwards re-named Leviathan, which is a few feet shorter, a few inches
broader, and some 2,000 tons less in measurement. The Berengaria follows
with a length of 919ft., a beam of 98ft., and a tonnage of a little over
52,000, but no other ships in existence reach 50,000 tons, the Olympic
and Aquitania, which come next, being both of about 46,000 tons.
As illustrating her size it may be said that the Majestic is longer than
the river front of the House of Commons, and that if she were stood on
end she would tower to more than twice the height of St. Paul's; and it
has been calculated that in tonnage she approximates to the aggregate of
the 135 ships of the Spanish Armada, and that the apace inside her is
equivalent to 400 detached suburban residences of eight rooms each. One
consequence of her great length and beam is that at the moment there is
no dry dock in this country that can hold her. She is too big for the
dry dock at Southampton, into which the Berengaria can just be squeezed,
and the Gladstone Dock at Liverpool, which is large enough, is not
available for use at present. Mr. Sanderson, however, was able to
announce that, thanks to the enterprise and good will of the London and
South-Western Railway, a provisional agreement had been made whereby
within the next 12 months a floating dock will be provided, adequate, he
hoped, for the purpose.
An interesting feature of the architecture of the ship is that the
boiler casings, instead of passing up the centre, in the usual manner,
are divided and placed toward the sides, the two parts uniting above the
top deck to form a central superstructure for the funnels. This
arrangement is adopted for two of the three funnels (the third is not
used for conveying smoke away from the furnaces), and its effect is
apparent right through the six decks on which first-class passenger
accommodation is provided. On the lower decks it permits the cabins to
be grouped on each side of a broad central passage; two separate main
staircases, one port and the other starboard, rise from deck F to deck
A; and on deck B, which contains most of the public rooms, the lounge is
entered through what is virtually an arch formed by the two casings
leading to the middle funnel, and there is a clear vista, 250ft. long,
from the stage at the forward end of the lounge through the main
entrance to the palm court and the raised restaurant at its after end.
The lounge, with an area of 4,000 sq. ft., is laid with a parquet floor
for dancing, and is remarkable for the fact that no internal pillars are
used to support the roof and its great glass dome. On the same deck
there is a card room aft and a drawing room forward, and the smoking
room above the latter commands an impressive view over the bows of the
ship through a curved front with plate-glass windows. The dining saloon
on deck F has an area of 11,350 sq. ft., and the dome over its middle
portion rises through the two decks above to a total height of 31ft.
Opposite the doors of the saloon is the entrance to the swimming bath,
where a lady instructor is to be in attendance, and on deck A there is a
gymnasium.
The full complement of the ship is over 5,000 persons, including 850
first-class passengers, 545 second-class, and 2,392 third-class. On her
run from Cuxhaven to Southampton she reached a speed of over 25 knots.
Steam is supplied from 48 water-tube boilers fired with oil fuel, of
which sufficient can be carried for the round voyage to New York and
back. There are four screws, and the turbine machinery is capable of
developing up to 100,000 h.p.
At the luncheon given on board, Mr. HAROLD SANDERSON proposed the toast
of the guests, to which the MAYOR OF SOUTHAMPTON replied. He pointed out
that as the workshop of the world, this country could maintain its
position only if it produced more cheaply than its competitors, and he
asked what was to be gained by a disturbance that had for its object a
scale of wages at which employment could not be found or by a dispute as
to who was to manage the workshops. Unless a basis could be arrived at
which would enable the affairs of the workshops to be carried on
successfully it would be a case of unemployment without any prospect of
improvement.
In proposing success to the Majestic, SIR WILLIAM PORTAL concluded with
the lines:---
Majestic both in name and form,
Serene in calm, secure in storm,
We wish you each succeeding year
The best of luck, the best of cheer.
In response, Mr. A. B. CAUTY said that during the completion of the ship
they had met with uniform courtesy from the builders, and their first
anxiety as to having her ready to sail on Wednesday arose on her arrival
at Southampton, where they met with chaos in the labour world.
-30-