FROM THE ARCHIVES:The liner Olympic was the world's largest when launched in Belfast in 1910, shortly to be joined by its sister ship Titanic which was already under construction alongside. This report described the launch of the Olympic. – JOE JOYCE
THE WORLD’s largest liner now floats on the water of the River Lagan. The Olympic, which succeeds to that title with a considerable margin over the giant Cunarders which have held it recently, was successfully launched to-day from Messrs. Harland and Wolff’s yard. Many distinguished and favoured guests assembled in the yard for the event, and were accommodated on stands beside the vessel as she rested on the ways; but the launch was also witness by many thousands of the populace. Carried out in delightful weather, the launch was an entirely successful operation.
The perfection of the operation was particularly gratifying to all concerned, having regard to the anxiety connected with the commission of the unprecedented weight and bulk of this mammoth vessel to the water. The launching weight was 27,000 tons, which is, of course, quite the heaviest weight ever transferred from land to water.
Their Excellencies the Lord Lieutenant and the Countess of Aberdeen travelled by special train from Dublin, and were interested spectators of the event.
The persons most concerned, however, were Lord Pirrie, the head of the great shipbuilding firm, and Mr. J. Bruce Ismay, the head of the White Star Line, for which the Olympic has been constructed.
On the new ocean monarch, the final cost of which will be about £1,500,000, there will be accommodation for about 2,500 passengers in all, and she will carry a crew of 860. There will be over 2,000 sidelights and windows in the ship; and, needless to say, the luxurious and splendidly-devised character of the appointments in every department will be in keeping with the traditions of the line. The entrances, the magnificent staircases, and other features will be on a scale of unrivalled magnitude and excellence, to say nothing of such features contributing to the pleasure and convenience of the ocean-going passenger as the swimming bath, gymnasium, palm court, etc. Other arrangements include the provision of a nursery, a floral cafe, lifts between the various decks, a racquet court, roof garden, Turkish bath, and a ballroom and skating rink.
The machinery of the Olympic consists of reciprocating engines, with a low-pressure turbine, this arrangement having proved satisfactory from an engineering point of view, and, at the same time, the most beneficial to passengers, retaining for them the most perfected reciprocating engine on the “balanced” principle, eliminating vibration, and thus securing the utmost comfort.
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