The RMS "Titanic" was one of three Olympic-Class steamships offering a trans-Atlantic passenger service from Europe to the United States. When launched, "Titanic" was the largest moving object in the world (882' 9"), taking the title from her sister ship, the RMS "Olympic." The two ships were built side by side in Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast, Ireland. Alterations were made to the shipyard to accommodate the large size of the two ships.

The White Star Line, Cunard's rival, intended to overshadow their competition. In the summer of 1907, Joseph Bruce Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line, met with Lord William Pirrie at Downshire house (Pirrie's London home at the time). Pirrie was the current chairman of Harland and Wolff shipyards, which built the ships for the White Star Line.

During this dinner, Ismay and Pirrie decided that they would have two ships built; 'Olympic' and 'Titanic,' with a third ship coming later (this would be the 'Britannic,' which was originally named 'Gigantic'). They decided, however, that speed was not their concern; they wanted to create the two largest and most luxurious ocean liners on the water.

Titanic was designed to be 882'9" in length, with a beam (width, and sometimes known as breadth) of 92'6" and a draft (or draught) of 34'7." She had a gross tonnage of 46,328 tons upon completion.

She was a triple-screw steamer, meaning that she had a total of three propellers. Driving these propellers were two four-cylinder triple expansion reciprocating steam engines, which ran at 75 RPM producing 30,000 horsepower. The exhaust from these engines lead to a low pressure Parsons steam turbine driving the central propeller, spinning at 165 RPM and producing 16,000 horsepower. Her propellers were made of bronze. The central propeller was 17 feet in diameter. and her two wing propellers were 23'6" in diameter. The exhaust from the turbine was fed into condensers and put back into the boilers. Titanic had 24 double-ended boilers and five single-ended boilers, all of which were fed an exhaustive amount of coal.

Titanic's hull had a double bottom construction, which not only served as a safety feature in case a bottom plate was breached, but also could be filled with water to provide ballast to the ship. Additional safety features were sixteen watertight compartments complete with watertight doors that could be open and closed from the bridge.

Titanic had a total of ten decks, which included the boat deck, decks A-G, Orlop deck and "tank top."

She was equipped with four funnels (smokestacks), though only the first three were operational. The fourth one was a dummy, serving only for ventilation and aesthetic purposes.

In all, Titanic's lifeboats could carry 1,098 people. This, however, was only about a third of Titanic's total capacity of 3,547. Titanic was originally designed to carry twelve more wooden lifeboats (which would have resulted in a total lifeboat capacity of 1,878 people), but they were later excluded from the design to prevent deck clutter.

However, Titanic was breaking no regulation laws. The British Board of Trade required that any ship over 10,000 tons to carry at least sixteen lifeboats, so Titanic truly exceeded the regulations. However, this law was implemented in 1894, when the largest ship in the world was Cunard's RMS 'Lucania,' which was 622' in length with a capacity of 2,000 passengers. Ships had grown in size over the next decade and a half, which made these laws out-dated for a ship of Titanic's size.

Over 3,000 men were employed to construct the liners. Titanic's construction took a total of three years. She was launched on May 31st, 1911. Titanic's sister Olympic, however, was launched months earlier on October 20th, 1910. Olympic's maiden voyage took place on June 14th, 1911; about a month after Titanic's launch. Olympic's hull was originally painted light gray for the launch for publicity purposes. Titanic's hull, however, was kept black.

The ships were constructed from iron, held together on a large frame by about 3 million rivets. After the launch, Titanic was fitted out over the course of a year, and was completed on March 31st, 1912; less than two weeks before her maiden voyage.

Despite being sisters, Titanic and Olympic shared some differences, though very minor. The most noticeable one is the A Deck Promenade on both ships; Olympic's is kept fully open, while Titanic's is partially enclosed for the purpose of allowing passengers to get fresh air even in bad weather. Other minor differences include an extra porthole, and Titanic was larger by only a few inches.

Neither Titanic or Olympic were christened; but then again, none of the White Star Line ships were christened upon their launch.

Construction costs totaled to be $7,500,000, which is equivalent to about $450,000,000 today.

Titanic's second class was simply the middle class of Titanic; it was comprised of people who wanted a nice voyage, or immigrants who had enough money to afford a nicer cabin. They enjoyed many luxuries, but did not have nearly as much luxury as Titanic's first class had.

Titanic's third class- also known as "steerage" (this is the traditional name, since third class accommodations on older ships were often located near the steering mechanisms on ships)- was mainly comprised of immigrants who lived in the very bowels of the ship. However, third class life on Titanic was very good compared to other ships; in fact, Titanic was so luxurious that a third class ticket on Titanic was, in the most part, equal to having a second class ticket on any other ship.

These three classes were kept strictly separated from one another for a variety of purposes, one of which was prevention of spreading disease or parasites from third class passengers.

Most of Titanic's amenities, however, were only available to first class passengers. On board Titanic, the first class enjoyed a wide variety of activities. Those who were athletic or wanted to shed some pounds from the great food served were offered athletic services; a squash court (complete with an area above for observing), gymnasium, a Turkish bath and a heated salt-water swimming pool. Titanic was one of the first ships to ever have a swimming pool on board.

When the weather was nice, there were several deck games available for passengers such as a ring toss or shuffleboard. For indoor activities, Titanic had a fully stocked library, and board games such as chess were available when requested.

There were a variety of cafés and lounges on Titanic which served beverages and small snacks. Titanic's meals, however, were large social gatherings where first class passengers dined in opulence. While first class meals were included with their ticket, some passengers chose to dine in a deluxe restaurant with a "pay-as-you-go" plan. After dinner, men would retire to the smoking room and lounges, while women retired to reading rooms and other lounges. In the smoking room, men would enjoy cigars and fine liquor while discussing business and games of chance. However, betting on card games was widely discouraged. One form of betting was where passengers would place bets on how many miles the ship would travel in the next 24 hours; those who were closest won the "ship's pool," with about ten percent going to charity.

During the voyage, a ship's concert was held where passengers who could sing, tell jokes or had other talents could perform for their fellow passengers.

Other entertainment on board was Titanic's orchestra, which consisted of a quintet and a trio. Titanic's orchestra is famous for continuing to play music until the very end of the sinking in an effort to help calm passengers.

Titanic had eight senior officers; this included the Captain, Chief Officer, and 1st-6th Officers.

Titanic's Captain was Edward John Smith, a man of 62 who had been at sea since about sixteen, and forty years of piloting experience under his belt. He had worked his way through the royal navy, and eventually up through the White Star Line. During this time, Smith was White Star's commodore, and as a reward for his hard work and dedication, was payed £105 pounds a month, resulting in a little under $100000 annually in today's standards; not including an occasional bonus. Apart from a decent pay, Smith was also automatically in command of every new White Star Line vessel, and he had piloted Titanic's sister, Olympic, prior to Titanic's completion. Smith was an extremely kind, flamboyant and avuncular man, and was often at ease with the rich and famous.

Titanic's other senior officers were Chief Officer Henry Tingle Wilde (39), First Officer William McMaster Murdoch (39), Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller (38), Third Officer Herbert John Pitman (34), Fourth Officer Joseph Groves Boxhall (28), Fifth Officer Harold Godfrey Lowe (29), and Sixth Officer James Paul Moody (24).

Titanic's sea trials had only a handful of the crew normally on Titanic, as there was no need for a full domestic staff. This included 78 crew members operating the boilers, and 41 members of the other crew consisting of engineers, deckhands and officers.

Among the crew was Thomas Andrews and Edward Wilding, who were representing Harland and Wolff, as Lord Pirrie couldn't attend the trials due to illness. Harold A. Sanderson from the International Mercantile Marine (IMM) also attended, along with Harold Bride and Jack Phillips. These two were the telegraph operators on Titanic, and they made sure that all of the radio equipment was in full working order.

Titanic's sea trials were a success, and included a variety of tests; making numerous "S" turns, turning by putting one wing propeller ahead and another in reverse, as well as stopping from full speed; Titanic could stop from 20 knots in only about 850 yards (a little under half a mile).

Among those at the trials that day was Mr. Carruthers, who was surveyor from the British Board of Trade. He signed an "Agreement and Account of Voyages and Crew" after the trial, deeming Titanic as a seaworthy ship. This was valid for twelve months.

Before departure, Titanic sounded her whistles (triple chime steam whistles) three times, and tugs carried her away from the dock. When Titanic reached the River Test, the tugs departed, and the great ship was now under her own power. The engines were started and she began her voyage.

Titanic's sheer size caused a great deal of turbulence around her, including a large amount of displacement. This affected one liner, which was the New York. The New York was docked next to the Oceanic, with the New York being on the outermost side of the two. The water displaced by Titanic caused the New York to rise high in the water, and then was forced back down again when the water receded. This created enough force to snap the stern lines of New York; and now the liner's stern was heading near Titanic! If the liner hit Titanic, the maiden voyage would have been delayed for repairs.

Quick thinking prevented the liners from colliding. A nearby tug, the 'Vulcan,' managed to get lines aboard both the New York and Titanic. On Titanic, Captain Smith ordered the ship full astern in an effort to get rid of Titanic's drawing effect. The liners eventually became within about four feet of one another, but thankfully, Titanic was saved from a collision.

However, while this was a good thing at the time, if Titanic and New York had collided, it may have been a saving grace; preventing the Titanic disaster entirely.

But the disaster had been averted, and Titanic continued to Cherbourg on her doomed maiden voyage.