RMS Titanic Manual: 1909-1912 Olympic Class

The authors are qualified engineers with a great deal of experience in ship design and construction and marine machinery. Most of the text is taken up with clearly-explained and factual descriptions of the ship, her systems, and their operation. Since the publishers haven't taken the trouble to include a table of contents in their description, I have: INTRODUCTION 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 THE TITANIC STORY 11 Harland & Wolff’s Olympic Class 12 The Titanic is born 15 Entry into service 18 Maiden voyage 21 ANATOMY OF THE TITANIC 37 Hull 39 Framing 42 Plating 43 Water ballast 44 Watertight bulkheads and doors 45 Superstructure 47 Expansion joints 47 Decks 47 Passenger accommodation 57 Lifeboats 61 Davits 61 Engines 61 Funnels 61 Propellers 64 Rudder and steering engines 68 Anchors, capstans and windlasses 70 Electric plant 73 Refrigeration 74 Olympic Class waterworks 74 Ventilation 74 Radio and navigational aids 74 PROPULSION 77 Scotch boilers 80 Raising steam 84 Inspection, common defects and repairs to Scotch boilers 88 Main propulsion machinery 90 Low-pressure exhaust turbine 96 Condensers 100 Thrust collars and blocks 104 Generators 106 LIFEBOATS 109 Construction 116 Inspection 117 VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE 123 Control of the steering gear 126 Navigation and wireless equipment 127 ENGINEER'S VIEW 133 Management and working of the engines 135 Management of boilers 137 Propellers 137 Electric light 138 Fuel consumption 138 Administrative duties 138 Hydraulic machinery 139 Refrigerating machinery and cold chambers 139 Aspects of main engine operation 139 POSTSCRIPT 144 The Titanic Rediscovered 144 APPENDICES 150 Appendix 1 Glossary 150 Appendix 2 Where Titanic-related artefacts can be seen 155 Appendix 3 Useful Titanic-related contacts 156 Bibliography 157 Index There are several hundred illustrations. Some are pretty shopworn, but that's inevitable. It wasn't a time when everyone carried a high-rez camera around in his cell phone, and photographing action scenes was nearly impossible. In a good many cases well-known photos are explained better and more clearly than elsewhere. There are some things the authors don't cover that would be relevant, and a few things they don't get quite right, but not too many. Take it for what it is and it's a lot of book for the money, a lot more than you get from many others.

I have purchased several of the "Haynes" phaux-manuals ("B-17", "Apollo 11", "NCC-1701", e.g.) but this is the one I pick up again most often. The detailed photos and exploration of the center-shaft turbine system was amazing, I had no idea the center propeller was turbine driven! A thoroughly engrossing book, with intriguing comparative photography between the sisters. Complete with deck plans, this is one of the best of this imaginative series of books. (And they appear so authentic, they're the perfect gift for that automotive genius who has a secret jones for a B-17 and about five or twelve Haynes manuals on his shelf ... how long would it take him or her to notice?)

If you already own the massive "Titanic: The Ship Magnificent," you don't really NEED to buy this book, but it's nonetheless an effective single-volume distillation of what made the famous ship tick. It has lots of very nice photographs and diagrams, semi-detailed technical explanations of the ship's machinery and arrangement, and some interesting insights into early 20th-century shipbuilding. I didn't notice any serious mistakes, beyond a set of plans of the Olympic captioned as being of the Titanic. You don't need to be a steam engineer to follow this book, but a more than casual interest in naval architecture would be helpful. I wouldn't describe this book as a particularly groundbreaking piece of Titanic research, but it's pretty enjoyable and better than I'd expect from a $20 novelty title.

This was recommended by my friend and I ordered the book at once. It has really interesting details and nice drawings published in the papers those days. They are large and sharp enough to examine all the decks of this wonderful ship. There could be more of these detailed drawings but when we think about those who buy this kind of book, they probably don't want a book having only technical drawings but they want to see nice photos too. To me this book is just the one I was looking for. Well, I could buy more of this kind of info about The Titanic but because of the age, there is a limited supply. So I am quite astonished of this book having so much real Titanic photos. I am very technically oriented person myself but like nice, glossy photos too.

Bought this on a whim after reading about it on another site. Fascinating insights into the construction of the Titanic and its sister ships, the Britannic and Olympic. Great detail, fantastic pictures and illustrations. Give a true sense of the scale of these huge machines, and how the builders overcame design hurdles with basic technology. Explains each of the ship's systems function and purpose. Did you know they had refrigeration technology in 1912? My only issue is with some of the narrative - sometimes the descriptions are circular - revisiting the same facts multiple times. I would have preferred the authors focus on new information on each page.

As someone who has always been fascinated with the ship (not so much her end, with the tragic loss of life), this was an incredible look into the design and inner workings of the ship. Amusing that it comes from the same company that produced the repair manuals I've favored for my cars over the years. There is a huge amount of detail, probably nearly enough to maintain and repair an Olympic class vessel. If you had access to the resources required. The graphics were excellent. The tips made it feel very real, even if there are longer any of the three vessels that would need it. All in all, a very innovative way to see the ship from a different perspective than it's normally presented

It comes through loud and clear that the authors of this book know ships from stem to stern, from design build and staffing, to operations. Simply scanning this book, the reader will be impressed by massive size of the scantlings, propulsion system, machinery, coal-fired boilers, etc., of RMS Titanic as well as the very large lathes, boring mills, and forge presses needed for Titanic's construction. A unique point of this book is the descriptions of the labour-intensive operation, continuous maintenance, and repair of the aforementioned systems aboard Titanic. Even the design and the detailed explanation of the construction of Titanic's lifeboats is included. The description of the tranquil atmosphere and aromatic smell of the boat shop brought back memories to this reader. The glossary of shipbuilding terms and the list of pertinent websites are welcome additions for the Titanic buff as well as the interested reader.

This is a good book for someone interested in the Titanic. Not exhaustive; go to the Harland and Wolfe files for that (or something). A comment on the two-star review of this book makes a pretty strong statement that the "last picture of the Titanic" is actually of the Olympic. It isn't, as the Olympic's A-deck promenade never had the forward section enclosed as the one in the picture. It is really too fuzzy to make any strong statement about it, but I'd say it's the Titanic. One mistake that is in there, though, is the picture of the Titanic's officers. I only noticed this as I have Mark Chirnside's worthwhile book "R.M.S. Olympic" which has the same picture noted as the officers of the Olympic on her maiden voyage. Captain Smith, First Officer Murdoch, and Chief Purser McElroy are on the picture and correctly noted, as they transferred to the Titanic the following year. It wasn't hard to confirm; Henry T. Wilde had no mustache. This doesn't make me hate the book; it's just intriguing.

Very good book to learn the mechanics of the time and how fesait work on the construction and operation of such steam machinery. Very interesting book! I recommend it to fans of the Titanic and steamship fans.

chi l'ha ricevuto è rimasto molto contento! le immagini e le spiegazioni sono molto belle e lo consiglio agli appassionati

It was truly a 'Titanic surprise' when I opened up the package to find The RMS Titanic Manual and there was the very familiar Haynes style manual - and it works. I was expecting lots of smaller photos and a sort of instruction on 'how to' . . . - but found big photos and great diagrams with a very authoritative text. Most of it is familiar - BUT surprise surprise - there are lots of 'builders' gems which are little known or recently researched - and this makes it more of the 'manual' that is the surprise. I have a collection of over 150 books on the 'Titanic' and still I sat right down and enjoyed reading the Haynes version end to end. I don't agree with some reviews that its a bit light - sure it is not a definitive work - its not meant to be and I think the 'tongue in cheek' approach is what makes it worthy of addition to any enthusiasts or first time 'Titanic' readers library. Congratulations on an enjoyable and illuminating work.

excellent , good book

Parfait!