PAPERSPAST

LARGEST SHIP AFLOAT.

TRIUMPH OF SHIPBUILDING

LAUNCH OF THE TITANIC

Sister ship to the Olympus; the new White Star liner Titanic was launched at Belfast in the; presence of a huge concourse of sightseers. The gigantic monster, which assures with the fi.rst-m.mod tlio distinction oi: being the largest ship in _ the world, bad a launching weight ot between 25,000 and1 26,000 tons, and, like the Olympic, will have a gross tonnage of 45,000. Their© was .w christening ceremony" when the Titanic left the yai'd' of Messrs Harland and Woolf, the famous shipbuilding firm, of Belfast. A couple of rockets were fired as the signal for the. release of the latest leviathan of the ocean, and with the failing of the supporting timbers she glided gracefully-into the sea, Directly the valve of the hydraulic machinery Avhich held her in position was opened, loud chjoering broke out on every sid©, arid the vessels in the lough sounded their syrens. Theday was a perfect one, and the yard' was crowded by privileged' persons to the number of many thousands.' On the owners' stand were many distinguished people, among them Lord and Lady Pirrie, who were celebrating thoir birthdays, Mrßruoo J.omay (of Messrs Jsmay ; Imirie, and Co.), and Mr Pierpont Morgan, head of the International Mercantile Marine. The time of the launch, was much quicker than when the Olympic , left the famous yard in November last ; in fact, it occupied only two seconds over a minute. So perfect wore the arrangements that the Titanic came to a dead stop in almost her own length. The Titanic and Olympic are both triple screw steamers ,_ >and they represent the highest attainment in naval architecture- and_ marine engineering. They stand in a class by themselves, being not only much larger th.-m any vessels previously constructed, but also embodying the latest developments in modern propulsion. The shell - plating of the

manic is unusually-heavy* being <or the most part of plates 6ft. -wide Mid 30ft. in length. The, two •decks forming the superstructure o.t .the ship and thie navigating 'bridge are built .to ensure 'a high degree of 'rigidity. The following are a few .of the dimensions of the Titanic:—--; Length, 882 ft. '; hyeadth, 92ft. 6m.; height from bottom of keel to top of captain's house, 105 ft. 7in,; . height from keel to top of funnel,' 175 ft. lOin. The number of steel decks is 11 and the component parts are well in keeping with."the dimensions. The rudder weighs 100 tone, and the weight of'the ■casting comprising the stern fromo, rudder, and brackets amounts to 280 tons, being 60 tons more than those1 of any other steamer. The largest/ beam weighs more than four tons, and measures 92ft. The longest s^eel plates are 36ft., and there ere two and a-half million rivets in the ship. JSvcfa. engine crank shaft weights 118 ton.?; bed1 plates, 195 tons; each column, 21 tons.; the heaviest cylinder, with liner, 50 tons-; and the wing propeller, 38 tons; . Ono hundred und sixty-three tons is the weight of f-he casting for the turbine cylinder, and 22 tons of the propeller, which is of solid bronze. ' ' . •

Tho Titanic will be propelled by a combination of , turbine, and reciprocating machinery, and hor. speed will be 2J knots—a speed which the Olympic developed on her trial runs. She will have a crew of 850, and be able to accommodate nearly 3000 passengers. Core fort 'rather than speed h&s been the aim of the owners, and it is understood that tho internal ~r-rrjigements will, aa is t.ho case of rhe 'sister ship, be. of fl most, .gorgeous kind For the saloon passenger,^ there wall b-> a verandah restaurant with the lattice-work cunningly entwined with tropical creepers; tiiere^ vaJl be nui-series for the children, a riding school, % a swimming bath, aroade (while* millinery, jewellery, and every'other dionraud mil be mot), a roller-skating rink, a, gymnasium, -a. fish-pohd fov the ardent angler, a ballroom, a thebtre, a, fine lounge, and si pretty garden. Tho launch'""of this gieat liner of 45,000 tonsi is another epoch-making event, and suggests that in one direction ,at least the command of the sea is v'he unchlallehged property of the Anglo- Saxon race. . .» ,'

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