Titanic's bow name plates

[Parks Stephenson]

David,

Yes, it's a good picture of what you were describing in the other thread about how the plates in a strake were knuckled and joined up.

Parks

 

[Nicolas Roughol]

Back to Nomadic, and it is Ken's latest post that made me think of this: was her name incised on the bow as well? We have a photo of the stern that leaves no doubt about it, but as close as I've been to Nomadic several times, I've never paid too much attention to both bow names. Letters were not raised for sure, but today those bow names look like simple brownish paint and appear to be as flat as can be.

One photo 5 years ago (again, courtesy of Fabrice V.): perso.wanadoo.fr/dominator/nomadic/rub-photos/bigimages04-00/2000-07.htm
(and damn, did the railing already look bad then...sigh)

Any evidence to support either possibility? Maybe stern and bow had different methods of bearing the ship name.

 

[Paul Lee]

Gosh, my mind is atrocious! Didn't someone say that the stern plates were engraved too during the launch? Why engrave the stern and not the bow?

 

[david wilson]

Parks,type in"titanic construction photos"go to wolfgang abratis'all things titanic,click thumbnail construction & the most beautiful photo of her port bow appears.Now,if you ever go across the sea to ireland,you have to visit that tropical paradise you call belfast.Tescos super market in east belfast has that 12'x12'on the wall of their liquor dept.You can see all the butt breaks.
regards.
dw.

 

[Paul Lee]

In an 1987 Titanic Commutator, Dr.Niedner, with a collection of original glass plates, also found the mention of Titanic's names troubesome. A relative had takne a photo when the two ships were in Belfast, probably when the Olympic was having a screw replaced.

Niedner thought that Titanic's name had been white-washed onto the hull, and only properly painted on before the maiden voyage. A relative had photographed Olympics hull from a greater distance away:

PS To my mind, the poorer legibility of Titanic's name is due to (a) the poorer quality of the glass plate and (b) Titanic being end-on, meaning less clarity on the plate.

 

[david wilson]

A comedienne has just returned from a holiday in belfast.She says she was amazed at the way the people there were celebrating the 90th anniversary of the titanic.The first thing that came to mind was "these people don't know,nobody's told them that there's been an accident at sea".
regards.
dw.

 

[Parks Stephenson]

David,

When I do make it over to Belfast, I believe that I will instead spend my time searching for traces of my ancestors, who lived around Belfast for a couple of generations after fleeing Scotland and before they emigrated to America. It is because of that ancestry that I fly the yellow-and-red flag of Ulster from my house on St. Patrick's Day, when everyone else is decked out in Irish Green. But if I chance to see a butt break there, I will remember that it was you who told me where to find one.

Parks

 

[Ken Marschall]

Re: Nomadic, Nicolas wrote:

"...was her name incised on the bow as well? We have a photo of the stern that leaves no doubt about it, but as close as I've been to Nomadic several times, I've never paid too much attention to both bow names. Letters were not raised for sure, but today those bow names...appear to be as flat as can be."

Nomadic's bow letters are engraved in the steel the same as those on her stern. The numerous layers of paint have somewhat obliterated the sharp "cut" of the letters, but they're there.

Ken

 

[Nicolas Roughol]

Ken,

Thanks for you answer

It also means that when Nomadic was renamed Ingénieur Minard in the 1930s, the old name Nomadic must have stayed visible under the paint...

 

[david wilson]

Just to get off the name thing,can anybody tell me if the olympics had tumble home & rise of floor?
regards.
dw.

 

[David G. Brown]

All of the discussion above leads me to believe that the assumption the name was retouched into the photo of the bow may be in error. The various arguments here favor that a hasty job of freehand lettering was done to get "Titanic" on the bow for the ceremonies.

Later, the proper incising of the metal was done and the area replainted black (explaining the boxed area around the name) and the lettering filled in with gold.

-- David G. Brown

 

[david wilson]

Parks,don't waste your time looking for ancestors,you will end up chasing your own tail.The street I was reared in had 6 houses with wilsons in them & 2 with stephenson.H&W employed more wilsons,thompsons & stephensons than you could poke a stick at.Stick to the pubs,more fulfilling & you will more than likely meet a few relatives.After all,everybody in ireland has a relation whose's a septic!lol.Keep flying that flag,cause you have more right to fly that flag,than to fly the other one.Sixteen presidents of USA can trace their ancestory back to NI.
I have a few rellies(2nd cousins),living in warroad minnesota & kenora canada,just across the lake.
If you get to belfast,give me a shout & I will point out a few good pubs.
all the best.
dw.

 

[Scott R. Andrews]

David,

Yes, the Olympic-class ships had both rise of floor and tumble home. I don't recall the exact amount of tumble home specified (it scales at 9 inches at the sheer line, but you know the rule about scaling prints...), but the rise of floor was 15 inches. The rise of floor figure and the scaled measurement come from the body plan.

Best,
Scott Andrews

 

[Parks Stephenson]

David,

Of course, there's no way that I would go to Belfast and not first strike out on a pub crawl. You'll be the first person I contact to find the best place to start.

I'm curious about your comment about the number of Stephensons in Belfast...I wonder how many relatives stayed behind when my direct ancestors departed Belfast for Phildelphia back in 1745. Maybe through the shipyards I do have a family connection to Titanic, but that really doesn't matter in a true practical sense. There's no sense in claiming a personal connection if you have to maneouvre around your own arse to come up with one. If I had a distant relative work on the hull while in the stocks, he didn't pass anything down to me. Still, it's nice to be able to contemplate the possibility that a Stephenson from my original family helped to build Titanic.

Parks

 

[Ken Marschall]

David writes:

"All of the discussion above leads me to believe that the assumption the name was retouched into the photo of the bow may be in error. The various arguments here favor that a hasty job of freehand lettering was done to get "Titanic" on the bow for the ceremonies.

"Later, the proper incising of the metal was done and the area replainted black (explaining the boxed area around the name) and the lettering filled in with gold."


Well, I can only refer you to my earlier posts.

1) If the name were painted crudely on the hull for the launch ceremonies, then wouldn't it be there in the photos showing the ship floating moments later?

2) The retouched photos clearly show hints of the actual engraved letters underneath the retouching, as has been pointed out.

3) No gold. Yellow paint.

Ken