 On May the 31st 1911 at the shipyard in Belfast, on the same day the Olympic
completed her sea trials and was handed over to White Star Line,Titanic, with
the help of twenty two tons of tallow, soap and oil, became the largest	      
moveable, man-made object in the world. In keeping with White Star Line 
tradition, she was never christened, sliding into the River Lagan with  
surprisingly little wake, coming to rest in less than her own length. It had
taken over two years from the laying down of the keel to the launch, and almost
another year would pass before she emerged from the fitting-out basin as the
most luxurious ship ever built.      	       		     	  	 
      	 	     	    	       	       	      	  	    	    
 Titanic was equipped with four 400 kilowatt electrical generators, which meant
that passengers could use electric lamps and heaters in their rooms. This was a
luxury that very few of them would have in their own homes, and when we talk of
the steerage passengers today, it must be remembered that their cabins and   
accommodation were exceptionally good for the time, as was their food. The
gymnasium had an electric camel; electric lifts took passengers and crew       
between decks. The power was also used for the loading cranes, cooking in the
galley, refrigerating the huge stores of fresh food down near the orlop deck,
lighting and heating the public  areas, the ventilation fans, operating the
watertight doors, the telephone  system and the Marconi 'wireless' equipment.
The Titanic engineers were lost to a man whilst keeping the generators	      
going, providing light to help others escape right up to within minutes of when
she sank. 	 				

 The Titanic was originally meant to sail in March 1911, but the collision
between the Olympic and the cruiser, Hawke, and  the need to repair the hull and
replace one of the Olympic's propellor shafts delayed the completion of the
Titanic because Harland and Wolff had to carry out the repairs. Titanic began
her maiden voyage at noon on April the 10th, 1912. Even that date had been in
doubt, because a coal strike meant that the White Star line had to appropriate
coal from other ships to use on Titanic. Perhaps the rush for fuel contributed
to the spontaneous coal fire that started in number 10 bunker, boiler room 6.
The whole Titanic story seems to be strewn with "what if .." scenarios. There
are many links along the "causality chain" which, if broken, might have saved
the ship.

 Though it was registered in Liverpool, Titanic began her maiden voyage from
Southampton on that Wednesday Spring morning. As a result of the recently ended
coal strike, much of her fuel had been taken from other White Star ships, whose
passengers had been transferred to Titanic at no extra cost. Many of the
passengers had taken the Boat Train from London's Waterloo station, down to
Southampton, no doubt looking forward to being the first paying passengers on
the grandest ship afloat. From Southampton, Titanic crossed to Cherbourg,
France, and anchored a mile offshore so that the purpose-built tenders Nomadic
and Traffic could bring more passengers on board, Cherbourg not having a pier
large enough for the Olympic class liners. That evening Cherbourg was left
behind as the ship headed for its next, and as it turned out, final port of
call. By lunchtime on April 11th, Titanic was anchored off Queenstown (now known
by its former name of Cobh) in Ireland. Fortunately for history and himself, it
was here that Father Francis Brown, the Jesuit priest, got off the ship, taking
his camera with him. The Odell family had similar good fortune, and from their
album comes the picture seen in many books, simply captioned "The last known
photograph of the Titanic".

 That same afternoon, Titanic weighed anchor, steamed along the coast of
Ireland and on out into the Atlantic, with Captain Smith's blue ensign on the
rear flagpole, the White Star flag on the main mast, and the stars and stripes
of her intended destination, New York, U.S.A., fluttering on the foremast.
