Titanic was created at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, United Kingdom. It was designed to compete with the rival Cunard Line’s Lusitania and Mauretania. Titanic is one of the most luxurious ships ever to sail. The designers were Lord Pirrie, Thomas Andrews, and Alexander Carlisle.
Construction of the Titanic was funded by the American J.P. Morgan and his International Mercantile Marine Co., began on March 31, 1909. Titanic’s hull was launched at 12:13 on May 31, 1911 and its outfitting was completed by the 31st day of March 1912.
The ship’s length overall was 882 feet 9 inches, the moulded breadth 92 feet, the tonnage 46,328 GRT, and the height, from the water line to the boat deck, 59 feet. It was equipped with two reciprocating four-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines and one low-pressure Parsons turbine, each driving a propeller.
Titanic could carry a total of 3,547 passengers and crew.
There were 29 boilers fired by 159 coal burning furnaces that made possible a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). Only three of the four 62 foot (19 m) funnels were functional: the fourth, which only provided ventilation, was added to make the ship look more awesome.
Of the two steam-powered steering engines installed, one was kept in use and one kept in reserve; the engines could be slid away and disengaged when not required.
A quarter-circle rack-and-pinion drive was connected to the short tiller through stiff springs, to isolate the engines from any shocks in heavy seas or during fast changes of direction. As a last resort, the tiller could be moved by ropes connected to two steam capstans