102 Years: Day 6 – Ireland 2014

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14 April 2014 – 102 Years since the sinking of Titanic

Thompson Dry Dock and Pump House

Our day of remembering Titanic started with a visit to the Thompson Dry Dock. It was the biggest dock in the world when it opened in 1911 and had been specifically built for the Olympic class liners. It was in service until 2002 and is now open as a visitor attraction. Of the many ships that passed through, Titanic was notably the most famous.

Looking out over the empty dry dock is nothing short of breathtaking. It’s a massive, gaping hole that once held the biggest ships in the world. In a line down the middle of the dry dock are the heavy steel and wooden blocks that the keel of the ships rested on. At the far end is a massive steel gate where the ships would enter. Two modern staircases flank the gate, allowing access to the floor of the dry dock.

The dock measures 100 feet wide at the floor. When Titanic docked here, she only had 2 feet of clearance on either side at her widest point. Maneuvering her in must have been careful, tricky business. Making it even trickier is that the caisson gate only measures 96 feet wide, leaving 1 foot 9 inches of margin on either side as Titanic and Olympic came into dock.

The dock is 850 feet long and 44 feet deep. It’s the only place I’ve ever been that truly gave me a sense of the Titanic’s size. Our guide turned our attention to the huge steel gate behind us when we reached the floor. The metal is rusted and cracking on the surface. When Robert Ballard visited, he said that this is exactly what Titanic looked like when he found her resting on the ocean floor. In fact, the steel plates and rivets are identical to those used to build Titanic. Standing there, gazing up to the sky, I felt like I was poised next to the great ship, looking up along her massive hull.

Echoes From The Past

The flood gates and the original stairs for the workers are still there. There is a ramp next to the stairs where materials and tools could be winched down to the floor. The keel blocks are also there, forming a skeletal spine down the center of the dock. It is mind-blowing to stand there, trying to image Titanic taking up every inch of the dock while towering above.

There was one other thing that made it easier to try and gauge her size. Near the dry dock is a modern building filled with rows of windows. When it was built, it was done with a wonderful nod to Titanic. The roofline of the building is the same height as Titanic’s deck when she was sitting in dry dock. Looking up at the building from the bottom of the dock gives you the exact reference to Titanic’s height from keel to open deck.

Inside the Pump House

The pump house was originally built to serve the Alexandra Graving Dock, but when the Thompson Graving Dock was built, the pump house was extended and upgraded to serve both.

Today, visitors can tour the pump house and see all of the original equipment that is still in place. There is a slew of history to look over and there is a café as well. Our tour through the pump house was short, as we’d spent most of our time down in the dry dock, but it was still neat to see the innards of the place.

Standing in the Footprints of Giants

After we toured the dock and pump house, Billy and I broke from the group and decided to walk back over to the slipways behind Titanic Belfast. We’d glimpsed them the day before, but we didn’t have much time to really take them in.

The slipways are where the Titanic and Olympic were actually built, raised from the ground up. Titanic Belfast has done an amazing job with the slipways. They offer so much more information if you know how to look for it. Both of the outlines of the ships are embedded in the ground of the slipways and they light up in blue at night. This gives you the true size of the ocean liners. The lamp posts stand in for the stanchions of the Arrol Gantry, although the actual gantry was more than three times higher than these posts. It was one of the world’s largest cranes.

Within Titanic’s outline, a life-size plan of the promenade deck is laid out in white stone. If you take a seat on any of the benches there, you’ll be sitting in their exact location on Titanic’s deck. A memorial garden is laid out in the Olympic slipway, which represents those that perished versus survived for each of the classes and crew aboard. It’s a very touching place to visit, and we walked among the footprints of giants in silence.

A Walking Tour of Belfast

We met back up with some of our group that afternoon for a walking tour of Belfast. Even looking back at my pictures, I don’t really remember a whole lot about this hour or so of the day. Thank goodness I captioned some of my photographs, or I’d have had no idea what I was looking at. The one thing I do remember learning about was the Entries, a series of close-knit passageways that wind through Belfast. They are small and cramped and filled with some of the best gems of the city.

The Entries were at one time bustling residential and commercial alleys in the heart of the city. Today, they are still bustling but are not as well known. Hidden among them is White’s Tavern, the oldest tavern in Belfast, dating back to 1630, and many other historical sites. Keep an eye out for these small inlets to Belfast’s past.

Robinson’s

We met back up with our group for dinner at Robinsons Bar, which has been serving the good people of Belfast since 1895. The dinner was fabulous and the craic was even better. We had a delicious 3-course dinner and celebrated the birthday of one of our members, followed by a raffle. This was the first year we did it, but the raffle has become a tradition for our reunions. Each person who attends brings something unique to where they are from. We all buy raffle tickets and the proceeds go to benefit a maritime charity. It’s great fun and we always support a great cause.

After all of the festivities were over, we had ample time to explore the restaurant. Down in the saloon, Robinsons boasts a rather large collection of Titanic memorabilia. Not only is it great food, but it is also great for Titanoraks! You can see more reviews here.

A Night To Remember

When the frivolity came to a close at Robinsons, we all bundled up and walked over to Belfast City Hall. I feel like our journal entry sets the scene perfectly, so I’ll end this post with my words from that night.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy

After dinner, we all walked to Belfast City Hall for the memorial service at 2AM. It was lovely and very moving. The choir was wonderful and I could hardly sing two words of Nearer My God To Thee. It was beautiful. There was a full moon, plenty of stars, and two seagulls that flew in a silent vigil overhead. Clear and calm. We gathered at the memorial statue for the service and it couldn’t have been a better night for it.

~Lydia