Just a Bit More Steam - An Alternate Titanic Disaster

[HerbertVonKarajan]

Just a Bit More Steam
What if Boiler Room 1 had been lit during the Titanic's Maiden Voyage?
​

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An Introduction​

For many of us who enjoy to look into the subject of the world's most infamous ocean liner, many questions to come to mind when discussing the life and death of the Titanic crew, passengers, and own being... if one were to describe her in such a manner. With said fascination... many ideas and topics have sprung up over the ages regarding many of the aspects surrounding her maiden voyage, or more specifically... her sinking. Some of these range on from the state of the ship's electricity during the sinking towards the subject of her break-up... all of which have provided some form or manner of both fruitful, and downright odd discussion and discourse.

Steering off that more objective avenue, we go into the realm of theoretical studies regarding the ship, whether it be us all asking questions as to how more lifeboats would've effected the passenger survival rate, or if certain steps or decisions made had been committed in a different manner though. While most of these can be both minute or extremely lifechanging (in terms of their effect on the sinking or outright survival of the ship), very few go well into depth regarding not only the many characters on board the ship, but also those outside the "ground zero" area of the ship.

As such, this little project I have decided to dive into shall not be one of the more typical over-arching timelines one usually sees with this subject, but rather a story that is changed due to the base factors that have been kept the same or changed. So while Titanic will inevitably strike her 'berg, the means of her state and the state of other ships in the area changes entirely due to the circumstances which will be revealed within the story.

So while this is to be a story of my own creation, I will encourage any and all reader input with regards to the subject for while I am a buff regarding the subject, I will definitely have shortfalls with regards to certain details, whether it be things regarding the engineering of Titanic and other ships, or the character aspects of the men, women, and children involved within the sinking.

I do hope that this project bares some fruit for all who are interested and provides an interesting subject to be discussed for all on the forum.

-HerbertVonKarajan (Not the conductor )

 

[Ogrebear]

Interesting idea.

Would Titanic be going faster? Or have more power to the props when the turn came?

Or just more power to the pumps?

 

[mattep74]

Does she hit a later iceberg that have the POD that the radio operator on Carpathia gone to bed? Does she hit a earlier berg that mean that the radio operator on the Californian NOT going to bed. Will she have no coal fire that mean a stronger hull?

 

[Kloka]

Aren’t you supposed to be off conducting? 😃

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

A Haddock and a Storm

Herbert Haddock
Captain of the RMS Olympic
​

Before 1912, Herbert Haddock is more or less an obscure, yet respected figure. For a man who's sideburns were his most defining feature, Captain Haddock was one of the most capable skippers on the North Atlantic Route. As such, come 1912, Haddock would be the first man posted as Captain of his employer's newest vessel, the RMS Titanic.

Of course, this appointment would only last a few days, for his duties were to merely prepare the ship for the skipper who would be taking Titanic on her maiden voyage, Edward John Smith. However, despite that underlying fact... Haddock's time on Titanic was fruitful, for it prepared him for his next true command, the RMS Olympic, Smith's former command.

Come April 10th, Haddock had completed his first crossing with Olympic, from Southampton to New York, without issue. Fully coaled and loaded, Olympic sailed out of New York at 3pm on the 13th, back towards Southampton. The first hours of the crossing had been quite smooth, but as the night fell and the barometer began to drop, the Olympic sent out a wireless regarding the upcoming squall. As it just so happened, at that time, the wireless operators on Titanic had managed to mend the wireless system which had broken down a few hours earlier, and forwarded Olympic's message towards the bridge.

Haddock never knew it, but at that moment, he was sailing towards destiny.

...---...
​

The decision to light Boiler Room #1 is one that many find to be quite controversial to this day. Despite the fact that many circles ridicule it, over the years, there has been a consensus regarding the reasoning behind lighting it.

When Olympic's message regarding the upcoming squall come over the wireless, certain things that had been planned for Monday the 15th had to be rescheduled. For one, the planned lifeboat drill was pulled back to be on the morning of the 14th, but the more important change that had occurred was the speed run that was planned on the 15th.

Despite the many claims at the time that Captain Smith and his officers were intentionally running the ship at full speed to beat a speed record at the behest of Joseph Bruce Ismay, there are a many certain realities that had been overlooked. While the Hearst machine worked to push this narrative (with later disastrous results), the simple fact of the matter was that on such voyages, it was normal to do a speed run. Concerning the Ismay issue, the simple fact of that matter was that Ismay wasn't even informed about the speed run until the morning of the 14th, just before the lifeboat drill. By the time the decision was made the previous night, Ismay was fast asleep in bed.

As 2nd Officer Lightoller recalled during the American Inquiry:

"Despite the claims that have been made within certain editorials, I can attest towards the fact that Mr. Ismay by no means had influenced the speed and course of the Titanic. I had been on my morning watch when he had first come to the bridge and the Captain had informed him of the change. Despite the fact that yes, he was the managing director of the line, Mr. Ismay was still a passenger, a fact he very well understood on every voyage he had taken. I do not say this on the fact that he is my employer, but the fact that this is inherently the truth."

Come 11 A.M., Boiler Room 1 was warmed up enough to begin providing steam to the engines.

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

A Folly with Wireless

Jack Phillips and Harold Bride
Wireless Operators of the RMS Titanic​

The subject of Titanic's wireless operators is one of legend within our time. For hours, two young men worked the wireless messaging anyone who could listen. However, while society focuses on their actions during the night, the actions that they had undertaken the days before the sinking are areas which not a lot of research and thought has been put towards, especially given the circumstances of what could've occurred on April 15th.

Just two days before Titanic had met destiny, the wireless system itself had broken down. Under normal circumstances, the wireless operators were by no means allowed to try and repair the Marconi set, as per Marconi Company rules. However given the circumstances, as well as the growing backlog of passenger messages that needed to be processed and sent out, Phillips and Bride endeavored to fix the wireless set, both of them working well into the evening before the issue was found and resolved.

As Titanic began to once again speak over the wireless, the now infamous Olympic message had been one of the first messages received by the two worn out wireless operators, who dutifully passed it onto the bridge. This however all occurred on the 13th of April.

Come the 14th of April, Bride and Phillips were once again on shifts as each tried to get some rest while the other tried to burn through the backlog of messages. In the midst of this back and forth, ice messages had been received. Many of them mentioned individual sightings, but as day turned into night, and Titanic sailed in excess of 21 knots, a message had come from the steamer Mesaba regarding a large icefield which it had spotted. At the time, Jack Phillips was operating the wireless set and while he acknowledged the message as received, it was never passed onto the bridge given the still large amount of passenger messages that he needed to transmit.

Mesaba sent her message at 9:40 P.M. ship's time. Within about than an hour, Titanic would meet destiny.

Just a little north, a little steamer sat still, yet still awake... unware of what was to come.

...---...​

In the story of the Titanic, one cannot discuss the events of the night of the 14th without discussing the build up during the day from morning to dusk.

On a normal voyage, usually boiler rooms 2-6 would be the ones fully lit up, providing steam for the propulsion and lighting. However, given the change to accommodate the ship for a speed run throughout the day, Boiler Room 1 was also lit up. When lighting up a boiler, typically this action will take well between 7-12 hours, as to do it safely in order to not damage the actual boiler itself.

When the order was given to prepare the boilers for a speed run throughout the day, Titanic's stokers and engineers worked to ensure that the boilers themselves would be able to be added to the main steam line just after the morning's lifeboat drill.

As the clocks struck 11 A.M., Boiler Room 1 was added towards the main steam line, and Titanic began to sail in excess of 21 knots. From the time of her reaching full steam output up until the collision, Titanic had averaged around 23 knots throughout the journey. During that time, it was noted by both Thomas Andrews and Chief Engineer Joseph Bell, that Titanic was not suffering from any vibrations or cavitation, as opposed to Cunard's Lusitania when it ran at speed.

Such a thing was a testament towards the ship's construction, that would prove so vital come nightfall.

 

[Ogrebear]

So Titanic is still going down? Well I guess we will see how much difference the extra boiler room makes when it happens - can she stay afloat longer by powering more pumps? Is there an explosion and she sinks faster?

"Mesaba sent her message at 9:40 P.M. ship's time. Within about than an hour, Titanic would meet destiny." - iceberg at 10.40ish? That might change who responds since California has not hoved up for the night yet, and Carpathia is closer to Titanic than at 11.40....

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

So Titanic is still going down? Well I guess we will see how much difference the extra boiler room makes when it happens - can she stay afloat longer by powering more pumps? Is there an explosion and she sinks faster?

"Mesaba sent her message at 9:40 P.M. ship's time. Within about than an hour, Titanic would meet destiny." - iceberg at 10.40ish? That might change who responds since California has not hoved up for the night yet, and Carpathia is closer to Titanic than at 11.40....

I cannot spoil anything and only allow for speculation....

HOWEVER-

Lightoller and Murdoch proceed pull me aside to keep my mouth shut.

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

Does she hit a later iceberg that have the POD that the radio operator on Carpathia gone to bed? Does she hit a earlier berg that mean that the radio operator on the Californian NOT going to bed. Will she have no coal fire that mean a stronger hull?

The Coal Fire thing has an effect but not by weakening the hull (which it never did). To put it lightly, during the voyage, the neighboring bunker in boiler room 5 was emptied as to not have the heat from the bunker in boiler room 6 cause a coal fire there.

The coal of course had to go somewhere...

I shall leave it at that.

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

Aren’t you supposed to be off conducting? 😃

A slight break from that profession is in order.

 

[RanulfC]

So Titanic is still going down? Well I guess we will see how much difference the extra boiler room makes when it happens - can she stay afloat longer by powering more pumps? Is there an explosion and she sinks faster?

"Mesaba sent her message at 9:40 P.M. ship's time. Within about than an hour, Titanic would meet destiny." - iceberg at 10.40ish? That might change who responds since California has not hoved up for the night yet, and Carpathia is closer to Titanic than at 11.40....

I'm kinda wondering about that as I'll note two things from the last update:

Just a little north, a little steamer sat still, yet still awake... unware of what was to come.

​

As the clocks struck 11 A.M., Boiler Room 1 was added towards the main steam line, and Titanic began to sail in excess of 21 knots. From the time of her reaching full steam output up until the collision, Titanic had averaged around 23 knots throughout the journey. During that time, it was noted by both Thomas Andrews and Chief Engineer Joseph Bell, that Titanic was not suffering from any vibrations or cavitation, as opposed to Cunard's Lusitania when it ran at speed.

Such a thing was a testament towards the ship's construction, that would prove so vital come nightfall.

Maybe just my suspicious mind but...

A question on part of that update:

A Folly with Wireless
​

Just two days before Titanic had met destiny, the wireless system itself had broken down. Under normal circumstances, the wireless operators were by no means allowed to try and repair the Marconi set, as per Marconi Company rules. However given the circumstances, as well as the growing backlog of passenger messages that needed to be processed and sent out, Phillips and Bride endeavored to fix the wireless set, both of them working well into the evening before the issue was found and resolved.

IIRC at this point weren't the wireless operators EMPLOYED by the Marconi Company not White Star? So wouldn't they be 'authorized' to try and fix the set if need be? Or am I misremembering?

Randy

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

IIRC at this point weren't the wireless operators EMPLOYED by the Marconi Company not White Star? So wouldn't they be 'authorized' to try and fix the set if need be? Or am I misremembering?

Marconi Company Rules at the time actually warranted that if the wireless broke at sea, it was not to be repaired until docking at port in order for a company specialist to repair it themselves.

 

[Bahamut-255]

From what I gather here - and recall from OTL...

Titanic was cruising about 2.5Kn faster than OTL, which over the course of several hours will have a significant impact on its location, given the OTL 20.5Kn put it right on course for that Iceberg.
Assuming the course is changed further to make sure the impact still happens (perhaps not delaying the turn made in the day which Cpt Edwards did as a safety measure to avoid Ice IIRC), that means even less time to turn if Titanic maintains 23Kn.

Clearly a lot of variables...

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

A Matter Between Mates

A young Charles Lightoller and William Murdoch
SS Medic, 1902​

For all intensive purposes, William Murdoch and Charles Lightoller should not have been friends. Where Murdoch could be starkly professional with a good sense of humor, Lightoller on the other hand could simultaneously be goofing off while still performing his duties. The people of Sydney got a brush with Mr Lightoller's sense of humor with the Fort Denison incident a few years prior back in 1900.

Yet somehow, it seemed as if opposites do attract, and the men became quite good friends throughout their time together on the Australian run. Incidentally as well, they both shared the distinction of having met their spouses on the Australian run as well, though as opposed to Lightoller, Murdoch seemed to had taken a more subtle route in courting his wife Ada, as opposed to Lightoller's more "spur of the moment" way he had with his wife Sylvia.

Still though, over a decade of friendship and now both men found themselves to be stationed aboard the Titanic as Chief and First officer... or at least in the beginning...

We do of course have the official reasoning as to why Henry Wilde was selected last minute to be transferred over to Titanic by Smith, but a man like Lightoller was a very opinionated man. One who had the tendency to not know when to shut ones mouth at times (as shown later... though thankfully much to many people's benefit during the infamous Hearst lawsuit). Murdoch took it with stride, as no doubt Wilde would most likely be transferred over after the maiden voyage, but in Lightoller's defense, he was taking quite a pay cut with the temporary demotion.

Nevertheless, both men settled back into their new duties, and by the time of departure, things were moving quite smoothly.

As the days passed on, things were moving quite smoothly, but come the night of the 14th, this friendship would become a source of controversy for some.

As established earlier, Lightoller was a man with a big mouth while Murdoch was a man who had a sense of self preservation when it was his turn to open his mouth. Despite having gotten off watch duty at 10:00 PM, Lightoller had made his way back to the bridge in order to check some of the charts. However, by 10:35 he says he was speaking with Murdoch on the bridge before he was going back onto his rounds. 5 minutes later, the bell from the crows near would ring.

There are some who wish to try and paint Lightoller as distracting Murdoch from his watch due to this incident, but as testimony from those on the bridge say, Lightoller had essentially joined up with Murdoch's watch while he was on the bridge. When the bells did ring, Lightoller sprung into action along with Moody and Boxhall in order to stop the ship.

Evidently though, to this day, despite even Murdoch's own testimony... some still wish to paint Lightoller as a scapegoat for the disaster that was just about to happen.

*** *** ***
​

Curiously, the only man out of Titanic's compliment of officers who was not aquatinted with anyone was 5th Officer Lowe. 3rd Officer Pitman, 4th Officer Boxhall, and 6th Officer Moody were all essentially Lightoller's ducklings who followed him off from the Oceanic, while Smith had Wilde and Murdoch follow him off from the Olympic.

A man of Welsh origin, Lowe was by far quite an experienced seaman for a 29 year old man, but for him, coming off from sailing cargo vessels and tramp steamers all the way to Titanic was quite a jump.

Though he did not know it, one of his first duties on board would be crucial in the coming days during the maiden voyage.

While in Belfast, before Smith would arrive to take over from Haddock, Lowe and the other junior officers would be in charge of "overhauling the boats" as he said in his own words. This essentially meant that they were in charge of making sure that the boats had proper provisions, were sound, and of course, would pass inspection. The actions of Lowe during the night of the 14th and morning of the 15th were of course admirable, but it deserves to be said that him and the other junior officers helped ensure that the boats themselves could be safe refuge for those in the days to follow.

 

[Kurt_Steiner]

It's back. Excellent news.

 

[Ogrebear]

Interesting changes on the bridge there.

Did Lightoller or Murdoch spot the ‘haze’ of ice before the bell rang?

 

[HerbertVonKarajan]

Interesting changes on the bridge there.

Did Lightoller or Murdoch spot the ‘haze’ of ice before the bell rang?

All shall be explained in the coming chapters.

 

[Pax_Nihil]

Intriguing presentation and I want more....