How Did They Keep Titanic's Lights On So Long?

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  • Опубликовано: 25 янв 2025

Комментарии • 796

  • @TheDman52
    @TheDman52 Год назад +2059

    All those electricians and engineers who stayed and fought below deck to try to stop the sinking and to keep the lights on are all heroes! I wish more of there story would be told!

    • @sjc4
      @sjc4 Год назад +74

      There's a fantastic fictional portrayal of these men and their final moments that you can find here on youtube. It's well done and heartbreaking.

    • @turbofanlover
      @turbofanlover Год назад +60

      Agreed. I would have abandoned my post long before the final breakup of the ship. These men did not...to their credit. RIP.

    • @leerogish7223
      @leerogish7223 Год назад +40

      There is a movie about them called saving titanic

    • @Mike-ie5xu
      @Mike-ie5xu Год назад +48

      @@tinetannies4637 And why would anybody? To save the billionaires who could afford to work on those laborers' backs, and save the financial butts of the corporation(s) who own the ship(s)? If you want things "back in the good old days", you need to go back and get rid of Reaganomics and the capitalist catastrophe we have today. The rich aren't worth saving at the cost of human lives.

    • @andrewdoubtfire4700
      @andrewdoubtfire4700 Год назад +5

      100% this

  • @MarcusBritish
    @MarcusBritish Год назад +491

    Nice timing. I watched the 2012 TV drama "Saving the Titanic" only yesterday, which focused purely on the firemen, engineers and electricians who literally sacrificed their chances of survival to keep the ship afloat for longer by maintaining power to the pumps, radio and lights, maximising the time available to launch the lifeboats and hope another ship would come to their aid. It was a unique portrayal of the lower decks crewmen whose role is not often shown in Titanic films in much detail and was well portrayed without too much dramatisation apart from a bit about the politics at the time regarding Irish divisions leading up to "the Troubles" era.

    • @johnburns4017
      @johnburns4017 Год назад +43

      There is a memorial in Liverpool that looks like Cleopatra's Needle. It says on one side
      _In honour of_
      _All heroes of the_
      _Marine Engine Room_
      _This Memorial_
      _Was Erected by_
      _International Subscription_
      _MCMXVI_
      The south side says:
      _The brave do not die_
      _Their deeds live for ever_
      _And call upon us_
      _To emulate their courage_
      _And devotion to duty_

    • @colinmontgomery1956
      @colinmontgomery1956 Год назад +19

      It's terrific, isn't it? By far, the best Titanic docudrama I have ever saw. Always get quite choked up at the end.

    • @Xpwnxage
      @Xpwnxage Год назад +6

      I can't think of something much more admirable than sacrificing your life just to give others a chance to survive.

    • @LydiaTarine12
      @LydiaTarine12 Год назад +12

      They're not just neglected in films. They're too often left out of documentaries as well, by my memory. Most documentaries I remember about the Titanic focus on the passengers and bridge and deck crew. "Saving The Titanic" is such a lovely tribute to the engine crew that is all too often merely touched on at best. This documentary is legally posted on RUclips, btw.

    • @MarcusBritish
      @MarcusBritish Год назад +11

      @@LydiaTarine12 I expect it's because we don't really know a lot about what really happened or was said down there, because there were no high-rank survivors and few witnesses compared to those on the upper decks. A lot of "Saving the Titanic" dialogue has been written by modern writers just to give us some insight, whereas every other Titanic film relies on evidence and actual quotes or events that happened based on witness testimony or because those people survived to tell their tale. All in all I think the show did a very good job of giving us a general idea of what happened during those last few hours but will always lack the finer details that would portray a more accurate picture, sadly.

  • @WyFoster
    @WyFoster Год назад +626

    I'm constantly impressed by just how well built this ship was. Especially considering the time period. It's beyond impressive.

  • @GomZilla1985
    @GomZilla1985 Год назад +475

    One of the reasons was because of the actions of the brave men working to keep the ships lights on and tried to save the people of the Titanic may they rest in peace 🌹

    • @carloslara5989
      @carloslara5989 Год назад +8

      A women would never do that

    • @dafyddthomas7299
      @dafyddthomas7299 Год назад +7

      agree - thanks to Michael OD for including a worthy note to the brave men and crew who sacrifice their selves in helping others.

    • @terminalfrost3645
      @terminalfrost3645 Год назад +7

      @@carloslara5989 yea they would

    • @JasonMcCord-qk3yb
      @JasonMcCord-qk3yb Год назад +2

      @@carloslara5989 Mmmmmm, Maybe. If she was thinking of the children on the ship, that her actions could save….. The maternal instinct is one of the most powerful forces in the world.

    • @JP-uk9uc
      @JP-uk9uc Год назад

      @Auschwitz Soccer Ref. Only God is good. Mark 19:18, Luke 18:19

  • @Alphie_G
    @Alphie_G Год назад +241

    I’m a formerly licensed 3rd Assistant Engineer Steam & Motor of any horsepower/any ocean; much of my career was spent in power plant construction, maintenance, and operation.
    I knew the Titanic’s lights stayed on because the engineers & electricians stayed at their posts. In addition to keeping the lights on they kept pumps operating in a vain struggle against progressive flooding.
    What I’d never seen nor heard before were the details discussed in this video of Titanic’s electric generators and circuit design. Thank you for a very informative video!

    • @taras3702
      @taras3702 Год назад

      When Titanic broke in two the side shell was ripped away from the inner structure all the way to the generator room, opening it directly to the ocean. If they were down there, they died when the space rapidly flooded with icy cold seawater. Today the starboard side of the stern section is missing, exposing the turbine and generator room to the surrounding water. Nobody has risked sending an ROV into the stern section because the interior is completely destroyed when water blasted through it during the very rapid fall to the sea bed. The risk is too great of the ROV getting trapped.

  • @AceofAces777
    @AceofAces777 Год назад +88

    It’s pretty amazing how advanced the electrical technology of ocean liners was even 112 years ago!

    • @wayneantoniazzi2706
      @wayneantoniazzi2706 Год назад +16

      I learned a long time ago never underestimate the sophistication of the old-timers of any age, they'll surprise you every time.

  • @kentslocum
    @kentslocum Год назад +74

    This is the first time that I've heard anyone talk about Titanic's electrical system or the courageous engineers that operated it. I had no idea that the Titanic had so much electrical generation capacity, nor that it all ran on DC.

    • @jaredchampagne2752
      @jaredchampagne2752 Год назад +5

      Alternating current was in the very beginning stages back in those days, much of the power grid even still ran on DC. AC is very complex and brings on many more challenges and engineering problems, so the fact that it was DC was very unsurprising, considering all vehicles still use DC power to this day.

    • @petertrznadel8107
      @petertrznadel8107 Год назад

      DC powered ships were being built up until the 1960s, the Medic and the Megantic of the Shaw Savill line were DC and with open fronted switchboard, but with a pair of converters in the funnel to provide AC for lighting.@@jaredchampagne2752

  • @virtuatom93
    @virtuatom93 Год назад +278

    I have to say i learn more about the titanic watching you,than i do watching the history channel.it's amazing how in depth your research goes from a design point of view.Very few people stop to actually look at how the titanic actually worked they're more focused on the story of the tragedy.

    • @philips3066
      @philips3066 Год назад +15

      If there's one thing we can say about The History Channel, it's that it has little to do with (accurate) history.

    • @irefusetoaskmydoctorifyour6401
      @irefusetoaskmydoctorifyour6401 Год назад +9

      @@philips3066 'History' Channel? You mean the 'Ancient Aliens' 🤣🤪😂 Channel?

    • @mapesdhs597
      @mapesdhs597 Год назад +4

      What I find interesting is the way understanding more about how the ship functioned helps to comprehend the overall 'tragedy' narrative in terms of what happened to the people as they were trying to escape, in this case just having lighting so they could see what they were doing.
      There is I think a degree of modern tech arrogance that implies events such as the Titanic's sinking were only because the technology back then was 'primitive', but the reality is very different, what was built was actually very impressive.

    • @mehere8038
      @mehere8038 Год назад +2

      yup, no idea why this video appeared in my recomended, but it's a good one. I was facinated to hear they had electronic winches to hoist the lifeboats back up to refill. I've never heard that before!

    • @3UZFE
      @3UZFE Год назад +3

      Passion makes the difference. Cable TV is dead now.

  • @operationthrash9645
    @operationthrash9645 11 месяцев назад +9

    Is anyone else just amazed to learn about all the technology they had in 1912?

  • @patrickryan6065
    @patrickryan6065 Год назад +122

    Can you imagine the army of electricians (when electricity was still young) wiring this ship from top to bottom, front to back, and all perfectly. Totally amazing and just goes to show the quality of these amazing men doing the work.

    • @trteeerryfse-wy2ww
      @trteeerryfse-wy2ww Год назад +4

      Ikr?

    • @larrytate5605
      @larrytate5605 Год назад +4

      you are correct,.an army of master craftsmen worked on this ship,..woodworkers,...plumbers, electricians, metal fabricators, mechanics,.the list goes on.

  • @connorredshaw7994
    @connorredshaw7994 Год назад +103

    May the bravery of the men in the engine and boiler rooms never be forgotten may they rest in peace. 😢

  • @daniellclary
    @daniellclary Год назад +45

    You may have done alot of vids on this ship. But every vid shows some incredible new infomation that I never before. Such a testament on how well thought out and brilliant this ship truly was.

    • @wayneantoniazzi2706
      @wayneantoniazzi2706 Год назад +8

      As the Ulstermen and women say today:
      "There wasn't a bloody thing wrong with Titanic when she left Belfast!"

  • @hyett1954
    @hyett1954 Год назад +23

    As an electrician, I always wondered how they managed to keep the lights on as long as they did. This video answered a lot of questions I had, The Titanic's band is always credited as the heroes of the Titanic and rightly so, but the electricians played a much more vital role and deserve much recognition. Thanks, Mike, for an excellent video.

  • @coalfacechris1336
    @coalfacechris1336 Год назад +138

    Hi Mike. Great segment. Normally I wouldn't comment. Though being an electrician, and also my dad back in the 60's an electrician for ANL, found this very interesting. Those "sparkies" down below showed some serious ticker to manage that doomed ship's power distribution, while confronting what they knew would surely come. RIP those brave souls.

    • @OceanlinerDesigns
      @OceanlinerDesigns  Год назад +39

      Agreed mate! Its hard to imagine a scarier place than down in the electric engine room towards the end. Cheers!

    • @coalfacechris1336
      @coalfacechris1336 Год назад +11

      @@OceanlinerDesigns Appreciate the incredible amount of work you put into these mini-movies. Cheers!

  • @tommeakin1732
    @tommeakin1732 Год назад +37

    Thank you for saying the names and showing pictures of a few of those men. I'd happily see far more of that. It's heart wrenching to think of all of those who stayed at their stations to give others the best chance possible. It's easy to overlook that electricians can be lifesavers in situations like this. I feel proud of them though, even though I have no personal connection.

  • @Paydayfanpage
    @Paydayfanpage Год назад +119

    There was acually a documentory paying tribute to how the crew below the Titanic fought to keep the ship in steam to keep the lights and electrics going for as long as they could so others could escape and be able to call for help.

    • @WeaselKing1000
      @WeaselKing1000 Год назад +10

      If you mean 'Saving the Titanic', yes, good docudrama. Really moving towards the end. A *little* off that they made leading fireman Barrett Irish when he wasn't, and heavily implied at one point that the coal bunker fire was partly to blame when it wasn't, even partially. Thankfully that point wasn't laboured, and it's possible to enjoy/learn from the doc without writing it off, as I was nearly about to with gritted teeth when I saw the fire being dwelt on for a few minutes.

    • @TheDman52
      @TheDman52 Год назад +7

      Yes there was! I believe its called "The Titanic's Lost Crew Who Died To Keep The Lights On | Saving The Titanic | Absolute History"

    • @Iarnród_Eire
      @Iarnród_Eire Год назад +2

      Saving the titanic

    • @WeaselKing1000
      @WeaselKing1000 Год назад +1

      @@Iarnród_Eire *facepalm* Thanks, that's the one I meant in my comment. Edited.

    • @N.i.l
      @N.i.l Год назад

      ruclips.net/video/xsbthm1ocjY/видео.html

  • @OriginalFrozenJoe
    @OriginalFrozenJoe Год назад +12

    When I was in elementary school and learned about the Titanic, all the material about the ship appeared biased against WSL/HW for their apparent disregard for human life/safety; including from my teachers. Not enough life-rafts, favoring 1st class lives over 2nd/3rd, lack of safety preparedness, not fully loading life-rafts, etc. etc.
    I have long since learned this really was far from the truth and that in reality things were much more complicated. Your video today is further proof they certainly gave more thought to safety than what we are/were(?) taught. Look at how much care and forethought went into its electrical system. I had no idea it was that complex and had that much redundancy.
    Your videos are amazing, your Titanic content is really great. Keep up the great work! I'll watch every video you make about this fascinating topic.

    • @chendaforest
      @chendaforest Год назад +1

      Yup, there's a lot of myths around the Titanic.

    • @liamkirkpatrick3073
      @liamkirkpatrick3073 Месяц назад

      Seriously, everything I learned about the Titanic in school was just slander to WSL and how modern oceanliner safety was learned solely after the sinking which is so completely untrue as you pointed out.

  • @Dakiraun
    @Dakiraun Год назад +22

    The design of the Olympic class was really brilliant. I hope history always remembers the bravery of the engineers who did their best to keep the lights on for so long.

  • @thoughtful_criticiser
    @thoughtful_criticiser Год назад +28

    The amazing thing is not the building but the designing a few years before the keel was laid down. There is a memorial to the 253 engineering department crew and officers, who stayed at their posts, keeping the lights on. They were real heroes that night.

  • @AdVapidKudos
    @AdVapidKudos Год назад +67

    The Costa Concordia documentary by the Internet Historian referenced how much effort was put into keeping the lights on. An engineer was manually keeping the breaker from opening with a screwdriver while simoultaiously trying to keep the generators from overheating all while standing in rising water.

  • @LAGoodz
    @LAGoodz Год назад +20

    Just recently found your channel, it’s excellent! My high functioning autistic 8 year-old nephew is obsessed with all things Titanic, he knows all about the ship in mind blowing detail. I recently showed him your videos and he is completely spellbound! Your presentation and narrative are so concise, educated and classy. It’s refreshing to see a young guy with pride in his appearance too.
    Thank you for making these mate, really appreciated. I’d love to gift him one of your prints. I made him a Revell kit of Titanic. It took about 5 weekends to make, but I loved doing it and he loved it. Best from cousins 🇬🇧🇦🇺

    • @animasternorris6508
      @animasternorris6508 10 месяцев назад +1

      Nice. I hope he's allowed to talk about it all he wants.
      (My parents put a limit of how many times a day I could talk about Titanic.

  • @jamesgroccia644
    @jamesgroccia644 Год назад +70

    One reason was the generators were in one of the ship’s aftmost compartments, as the stern rose higher and higher all of the steam escaping from the boilers and engines ran through the turbo-dynamos and kept the lights on. When the ship broke the last of her steam was hissing through the dynamos and her lights finally went out as her dynamos stopped turning, her pressure finally fell, and water surged into the torn-open steam pipes

    • @jdrhc63we67
      @jdrhc63we67 Год назад +6

      The steam pressure required to turn those things is big enough to makes the difference in pressure from elevation negligible

    • @hunterbear2421
      @hunterbear2421 Год назад

      @@jdrhc63we67 not really add on the boilers that were underwater were still producing some steam due to the fact the majority of the boilers fireboxes were shut tight in order to keep the water out.

    • @jdrhc63we67
      @jdrhc63we67 Год назад

      @hunterbear2421 the turbines operat at hundreds of psi steam pressure the change in pressure from height would be less than 1 psi steam is not very versatile dense so the weight of the column does not increase quickly like it does for liquid water

    • @hunterbear2421
      @hunterbear2421 Год назад

      @@jdrhc63we67 What i mean is that it didn't matter, yes but the psi from the boilers being fully filled and even the ones underwater having there fireboxes sealed shut. some did explode during the break up i heard tho but by that point the 50psi to 100psi of steam pressure was plob all it was gettting and when it broke up it was done anyway.

  • @ninatiels
    @ninatiels Год назад +10

    As a navy vet, the people working in engineering are true hero’s for any ship

  • @altermike3197
    @altermike3197 Год назад +18

    Every single time I watch a video about the Titanic, I learn something new while empathising with the people on board more and more

  • @TheSportscar86
    @TheSportscar86 Год назад +63

    Fantastic Job Mike! Always giving a monumental amount of details & dedication to every subject you speak on. Keep Up the Great Work!

  • @jameswright4420
    @jameswright4420 Год назад +12

    These electricians were absolute heroes. It’s hard to imagine what would’ve happened if they would have let the lights go out even 30 minutes sooner than they did.

  • @SeanStevens24
    @SeanStevens24 Год назад +16

    That piece of information at around 4:25 to 4:30 about boiler room 1 being used in port answered a question I've had for so long, but could never find an answer to. I always wondered why so many images of Olympic and Titanic in port had smoke coming out of just the third funnel, and you finally answered my question.

  • @jetsons101
    @jetsons101 Год назад +18

    Sure is nice to have a video about the crew that stayed below deck at their posts so that others could live, sometimes the forgotten heroes. Thanks for sharing their story.

  • @trevorhaddox6884
    @trevorhaddox6884 Год назад +5

    Thanks for finally putting to bed the "lights on stern after breakup" myth. I keep hearing it and knew it was impossible outside maybe an oil lamp or something on fire. I do think the emergency lights faded out last as the ship broke and lost steam, but yesh, only a few seconds. We do know at least an extent of the power loss up to a point in the wireless room due to the settings of the regulators for the rotary spark gap motor.
    Also Titanic used a single wire system, IE hull as ground, likely to save on wiring costs (and space for thick DC wires), and AFAIK some large motors like elevators and blowers recieved 200V from 2 of the dynamos in series (similar to how we have split phase power in NA). It used mostly tantalum lights, outside of some Linolight lamps in the windows which went tungsten after 1910, which, while brighter than carbon, were much more yellow/pinkish-orange than tungsten lamps. You can still get similar bulbs, though tunsten, as Mazda lamps, about 2300-2400K color temp is right (real filament not those fake LED things). You can also replicate the dull red glow with a dimmer on those, it does look like a very evil red glow unlike more modern tungsten, like hot metal from a forge that has started to cool (since it literally is hot metal). Saw it happen in person when a hardware store display for retro lamps malfunctioned and went that nasty red, even pointed out that it must have been what the sinking Titanic looked like.

  • @wayneantoniazzi2706
    @wayneantoniazzi2706 Год назад +12

    Another great presentation Mike, and a FAST 13 minutes!
    I'll tell you, Titanic had one TOUGH electrical system and some outstanding men who kept it going. They oblviously knew there was no easy way out but they stayed at their posts. One can only hope that when the end came it came quickly for them.
    Did you know that in tribute to the engineers, both mechanical and electrical, lost on Titanic King George V ordered engineering officers of the Royal Navy to wear purple "light's (or fillers) in the gaps of their rank rings as a sign of mourning and a permanent reminder of their sacrifice? They wear them to this day, and I believe engineers of the Merchant Navy do as well. In fact, back in the 1990s I met an engineer officer of the Canadian Coast Guard and he had those purple "lights" as well.
    Thanks again!

  • @Phaaschh
    @Phaaschh Год назад +96

    Mike, thank you so much for answering a question which has always bugged me about the Titanic's lights. I'd heard about the rusty red hue that the lights dimmed down to, and always figured that it was current bleeding off into the water which caused it, rather than loss if steam pressure which of course makes sense.
    Either way, the ships electricians deserve a special accolade for their heroic efforts. Without them, the death toll would undoubtedly have been much higher, as panic would have set in much earlier.

    • @quillmaurer6563
      @quillmaurer6563 Год назад +7

      I wouldn't be surprised if there was some of both factors - current bleed in the water and steam pressure loss. The steam pressure loss was probably bigger though, as the electricians could shut off a part drawing too much current, and a short would hopefully trip a fuse or circuit breaker cutting off power to that part rather than bleeding current. It does make me wonder about the scene in the movie though - we see overloading circuits blowing and the whole ship suddenly going dark, if it lost steam pressure the lights would have faded out over at least a couple seconds. Which did survivors report seeing? I'd imagine the sudden darkness and dramatic short circuits is cinematically more exciting but I wonder if it's historically accurate? Though I do recall descriptions of the lights "flickering out" rather than "fading out," so maybe the movie was accurate.

    • @Phaaschh
      @Phaaschh Год назад +5

      @@quillmaurer6563 I wonder, too. It's frustrating that none of the reconstructions, even Mike's, have featured the fade. I could imagine that the gradual turning of the lights to blood red would make a very disturbing visual.

    • @quillmaurer6563
      @quillmaurer6563 Год назад +3

      @@Phaaschh True - given that he makes his own animations from scratch I'd think he could have shown that easily. Likewise in the video where he talked about how dark it was in reality, survivors barely able to see the ship after the lights went out (unlike in movies that have lighting for the audience to see what's going on). That could have shown the reddish lights and fade out, but if I remember right just showed them the usual slightly orangeish white until they went out.

    • @trevorhaddox6884
      @trevorhaddox6884 Год назад

      @@quillmaurer6563 It was probably both, main power flickering out due to failing wiring, then the rest, likely the emergency sets, just fading away when the steam went.

  • @TopHatTITAN
    @TopHatTITAN Год назад +23

    Anyone who've seen more movies than just Titanic 97 would know that many other films have depicted the lights failing towards the end. The most accurate depiction is A Night to Remember, where the lights just shut off. The chaotic flashing seen in more recent animations of the ship sinking just prior to the breakup didn't really happen. Once those lines from the boilers failed and steam pressure dropped quickly, the lights would've just shut off, like turning off a light switch in a room.
    Edit: Should've mentioned the dimming. The lights dimmed before flicking off, no flashing.

    • @funnelvortex7722
      @funnelvortex7722 Год назад +14

      They would first have dimmed as the dynamos lost momentum and THEN turned off.

    • @jdrhc63we67
      @jdrhc63we67 Год назад +2

      It depends on if the switches were maned if thy were thy would have stayed full brightness and shut off insections if thy were un maned thy would have dimmed as speed was lost I do not know the exact machines but the ones I have worked with can run for a pretty good bit with low steam pressure before completely stopping. It would also make a big difference if the feed line or the steam line ruptured first

    • @crazyleyland5106
      @crazyleyland5106 4 месяца назад +1

      Walter Lord, in his excellent book "A Night to Remember," said "The lights went out, flickered briefly on again, and then went out for good. This is soon before the terrible crashing, rumbling noise which was thought at the time to be everything that wasn't fixed down crashing towards the prow, but was actually the ship breaking up. 2 minutes later, the rear of the ship foundered.

  • @toddbracik485
    @toddbracik485 11 месяцев назад +1

    Mike Brady, I am really enjoying the knowledge you share of your passion for ocean liners!

  • @dishsoap1
    @dishsoap1 Год назад +18

    Thanks Mike. Your work on Titanic is always top notch. I’ve been a Titanic enthusiast since I was a kid. I always look forward to everything you put out.

  • @andyp9203
    @andyp9203 Год назад +4

    Saving the Titanic is a fantastic depiction of the brave heroes below deck

  • @donalddodson7365
    @donalddodson7365 Год назад

    Thanks! Excellent analysis and well presented. Thank you.

  • @Daniel_Huffman
    @Daniel_Huffman Год назад +11

    It should also be noted that the engineers and electricians did not die at their posts, as they made their way topside when it became clear that nothing more could be done to delay the sinking or the power from failing. Second Officer Lightoller saw many of these men emerge up on deck shortly before the bridge submerged, and he recognized some of them, as they had sailed alongside him aboard the RMS _Oceanic_ before transferring to the _Titanic._ These men also had families to go back to, especially as many of them were the only members of said families with paying jobs. Neither of these facts make them any less heroic, though.

  • @Hydrogenblonde
    @Hydrogenblonde Год назад +14

    This was a fascinating video. Often the technical details of a ship's functionality are overlooked. It's great to understand how things were made and how they worked. Great video.

    • @frantiszek9433
      @frantiszek9433 Год назад

      This is exactly what I wanted to write in my comment. With one exception. The technical details of a ship's functionality are often overlooked because authors do not have time to tell them in one film. And I'm afraid, not all people are interested in them. But we totally need such videos because it gives us an idea how creative engineers could be and how devoted to a cause crew could be.

  • @auntbarbara5576
    @auntbarbara5576 Год назад +26

    Thank you for saying their names.
    And explaining who they were and what they did for others.
    You are a good man Mr Brady 🚢

  • @HyperVegitoDBZ
    @HyperVegitoDBZ Год назад +5

    I don't think I will ever stop being dumbfounded how smart these people were to built all this without a computer to help them.

  • @russellpuff1996
    @russellpuff1996 Год назад +4

    Just imagine the realization that you’re probably not going to make it out of this mess alive and deciding that you’re gonna continue to keep the lights on for everyone else. I think I would have gone insane, cried, froze up before I could muster the will to keep pushing forward. Those folks are truly the embodiment of selflessness, strong will, and courage.

  • @davidrubin8228
    @davidrubin8228 Год назад +2

    Mr. Brady, thank you for this. I have been studying Titanic on and off for over 50 years and I now know something else. These men deserved all the credit due to them and their profession. Thank you for another informative episode.

  • @jaredchampagne2752
    @jaredchampagne2752 Год назад +1

    I’m a lineman (work on and build power lines) and I understand all of how this works and why it works, but wow it doesn’t make sense to me that they got all of this to work efficiently in 1912, that is extremely complex engineering that is even hard to build in 2023, even 10x harder without modern circuit boards and computers, its crazy to me that this was all analog and powered off of steam. For the time period, this type of technology must’ve been absolutely earth shattering and jaw dropping. I cant comprehend how they figured out all out with their current technology!!!

  • @rolanddunk5054
    @rolanddunk5054 Год назад +1

    I am a retired marine engineer of over 40 years.I have been watching your channel for some time,as a subscriber i find your description informative,clear and to the point with just the right amount of humour,cheers Roly 🇬🇧.

  • @tavi9598
    @tavi9598 Год назад +3

    The Olympic-class ships were truly modern for their time, and the men who crewed them were in a class of their own. The engineers were the heroes on board Titanic, and they died nearly to a man. Whether it was shoring up the damage in boiler room 5, battling the flooding with the pumps, keeping the boilers stoked in boiler room 1 or keeping the power on, these brave souls all battled diligently to keep Titanic afloat. And indeed their diligence kept her afloat longer than even Thomas Andrews believed possible. The man who designed the ship was quoted as saying "An hour. Two at the most."
    And while Titanic's engineers did everything they could think of to keep her dry and powered, Carpathia's engineers were busy overclocking her engines and hoping the boilers wouldn't explode.

  • @TracyA123
    @TracyA123 Год назад +5

    This is beyond fascinating to me! I'm an electrician and I've always been interested in how the electric dynamos distributed power throughout the Titanic. Mike just taught me more in one video than I've been able to learn in 40 years!😂 The systems were so well designed and built! Think about how thick a 2 3/4 cable is and imagine how much current those dynamos were putting out to require that thick of a cable! It's immense amounts of power! All direct current too at 100 amps?!?!? Wow!! Trust me people that's ALOT of power!!!! Insane!😂 Great video Mike!!!👍

  • @m.streicher8286
    @m.streicher8286 Год назад +3

    Props for coming up with titanic content focused around an original topic

  • @BiosElement
    @BiosElement Год назад +1

    Thanks for highlighting the bravery of those who held at their posts when none would blame them for leaving.

  • @laratheplanespotter
    @laratheplanespotter Год назад +7

    Hello!!! Love this channel, Mike! Thanks for reigniting my Titanic obsession! Brilliant content!

    • @wayneantoniazzi2706
      @wayneantoniazzi2706 Год назад +3

      Once you let Titanic into your life she never leaves, trust me.

    • @laratheplanespotter
      @laratheplanespotter Год назад

      @@wayneantoniazzi2706 that is very true! I admit it was the 1997 movie that first got my interest. But then she pulled me in. Without giving my life story, someone pulled me away. But Mike here dragged me back in. And here I will stay!

    • @wayneantoniazzi2706
      @wayneantoniazzi2706 Год назад +1

      @@laratheplanespotter Oh, I've been a Titanic junkie ever since seeing "Titanic" with Barbara Stanwyk and Clifton Webb on TV in 1963! The wife's the same, although we didn't know each other at the time. (I was 10 years old, she was 9, and we lived on opposite sides of town.)
      Titanic will slip to the back of your mind of course but there's always something that brings her back, like a blast of cold wind, a walk by the sea, or a picture of an iceberg, and then there she is!

  • @carlmontney7916
    @carlmontney7916 Год назад +3

    This was a very excellent video. Well done sir. With all the focus on the passengers who perished when the titanic sank, it is good that someone like yourself is bringing appreciation of the heroes behind the scenes that did their part and paid the ultimate price for it in order that others might live. That is a true hero.

  • @natefmx333
    @natefmx333 10 месяцев назад +1

    What a great video, It's incredible those men were willing to give their lives to continue to do there jobs and save lives.
    Your videos are very informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work!

  • @timkirk4021
    @timkirk4021 Год назад +7

    Just as an aside; the generator sets were built by W. H. Allen, Sons and Co in Bedford, the company where I served my apprenticeship and worked in the 1980s (sadly now defunct). The Titanic sets were an important part of Allen folklore.

  • @radiosnail
    @radiosnail Год назад +3

    Glad the electricians got a mention. A bit surprised the generators ued reciprocating engines, as turbines were being used to generate electricity befor they powered ships. Thankyou for another interesting video.

  • @doobat708
    @doobat708 Год назад +3

    Wow, I'd never even considered all of that! Thank you for including visuals and diagrams, it made it so I could follow along!

  • @gingerladyaubern
    @gingerladyaubern 10 месяцев назад +1

    The company who built those electrical generators was W.H.Allen 'Queen's Engineering Works' based in Bedford, England. The company no longer exists today, but was around for over 100 years. I was an apprentice engineer there in 1979. I wasn't aware of its connection to the Titanic initially, but learned of it a few years later.

  • @ardiffley-zipkin9539
    @ardiffley-zipkin9539 Год назад +5

    Well done, Mike. RIP to the electricians & engineers and their families and descendants.

  • @DerpyPossum
    @DerpyPossum Год назад +4

    An often overlooked subject, your coverage of which I’m grateful for! :)
    Keep it up 👍

  • @dan1elhalas
    @dan1elhalas Год назад +2

    No matter how much I think I know about this ship, all of these videos still teach me something new. Great content!

  • @jimbeaux89
    @jimbeaux89 9 месяцев назад

    What an incredibly thorough explanation of the ship’s electrical systems.
    This is why it’s hard to watch anything else on this app.
    Because of Mike Brady’s incredible work on this channel.

  • @treywhitten12
    @treywhitten12 7 месяцев назад

    I am so glad there is a community of people that are just randomly fascinated by Titanic for some reason just like me.

  • @FrederickTheAnon14W
    @FrederickTheAnon14W Год назад +7

    Not all heroes wear capes, Some just keep the lights on. 💡

  • @A.Netizen.Since.2010
    @A.Netizen.Since.2010 Год назад +1

    ..Titanic's electricians are the unsung heroes...My respect for them won't ever fade out....Your incredible depth of knowledge always stuns us dear Mike...Thank you for your honest hardwork... . 👏🏼👌🏼👍🏼💙

  • @BentleythegamerYT
    @BentleythegamerYT Год назад +8

    Awesome video Mike I love the way you explain things unlike certain people who are so unenergetic but you have so much energy and passion in what you do

  • @matthewgriffin7857
    @matthewgriffin7857 Год назад +1

    This is such a great channel!

  • @lancelovecraft5913
    @lancelovecraft5913 Год назад +1

    Amazing brave men worked so hard to keep the lights on

  • @richierich8555
    @richierich8555 11 месяцев назад +1

    This site is as good as anything the Discovery Channel ever put out. Well done!

  • @matthewmoore5698
    @matthewmoore5698 Год назад +1

    My dad was an electrician ( born 37 ) some or the old bits he had in his sheafs looked like they came directly from Frankenstein’s castle

  • @aaronparsons5201
    @aaronparsons5201 Год назад

    What's most incredible about this is a circuit that was this redundant, this well designed, and this carefully laid out was done at the beginning of electric lights becoming available

  • @NonsensicalNauticalRambings
    @NonsensicalNauticalRambings Год назад +1

    Great topic to go in depth about. Nice video as always!

  • @danielberman8758
    @danielberman8758 Год назад +1

    What an amazing video, one of your very best!

  • @jwjeepx
    @jwjeepx Год назад

    Excellent presentation Mike, even better than usual. 👍

  • @BeeEmmW
    @BeeEmmW 8 месяцев назад

    G’day from Melbourne but currently Belfast doing my own titanic research. This topic was actually a question I had posted to members of the archives. A huge important part of why the lights stayed on was what happened in the breaker room, as salt water started to short out the circuits the main breakers started to pop and the fuses started to blow too. There were engineers in that room jamming tools into the fuse sockets to bridge the connections and using brooms and man-power to hold the tripping breakers closed. If you could enter the breaker room now you’d probably see screw drivers and tools melted into the fuse sockets in a heroic attempt to keep the lights and pumps going.

  • @skougi
    @skougi Год назад

    This video really helped me understand why the sinking was so crazy. Look at the engineering that went into just the electrical system. Against all odds and the best engineering of the day, Titanic still went down. I never believed the whole “unsinkable” tag line, but their confidence wasn’t misplaced. Thanks for posting.

  • @Real_Moon-Moon
    @Real_Moon-Moon 9 месяцев назад +1

    As someone fascinated by electrical infrastructure, I found this video incredible.

    • @Real_Moon-Moon
      @Real_Moon-Moon 9 месяцев назад

      ruclips.net/video/xZwzqmRJB4I/видео.htmlsi=fBOL9M9fFnZfHVj1

    • @Real_Moon-Moon
      @Real_Moon-Moon 6 месяцев назад

      The engineers that night were underrated heroes that went down with the vessel doing all they could to keep the lights and vital systems functioning. Of all 25 engineers, 8 electricians, 2 boilermakers, and 2 plumbers, none of them survived.
      These are the men. They're not in any real order, and hopefully I got them all correct, the list was hard to track down.
      Chief Engineer Joseph Bell
      Junior 3rd Engineer Edward Dodd
      Junior Assistant 3rd Engineer Francis Coy
      Junior Assistant 4th Engineer Henry Dodds
      Senior 2nd Engineer William Farquharson
      Junior Assistant Third Engineer James Fraser
      Assistant Second Engineer Norman Harrison
      Junior Assistant Second Engineer Herbert Harvey
      Junior Second Engineer John Hesketh
      Senior Assistant Third Engineer Charley Hodge
      Senior Fourth Engineer Leonard Hodgkinson
      Senior Third Engineer George Hosking
      Senior Assistant 4th Engineer Henry Dyer
      Assistant Fourth Engineer Thomas Kemp
      Junior Fifth Engineer William Mackie
      Junior Sixth Engineer William McReynolds
      Extra Fifth Engineer Robert Millar
      Assistant Deck Engineer Thomas Millar
      Senior Sixth Engineer William Moyes
      Senior Fifth Engineer Frank Parsons
      Junior Assistant Second Engineer Jonathan Shepherd
      Junior Fourth Engineer Muil Smith
      Junior Assistant Fourth Engineer Arthur Ward
      Senior Assistant Second Engineer Bertie Wilson
      And Writer/Engineer's Clerk William Duffy
      Chief Electrician Peter Sloan
      Electrician Alfred Allsop
      Electrician William Parr
      Assistant Electrician Albert Ervine
      Assistant Electrician Boylett Jupe
      Assistant Electrician William Kelly
      Assistant Electrician Alfred Middleton
      And Electrician's Apprentice Ennis Watson
      Plumber Arthur Rous
      Plumber Francis Parkes
      Boilermaker George Chisnall
      Junior Boilermaker Hugh Fitzpatrick

  • @Yassified3425
    @Yassified3425 Год назад +3

    Takes only a heartbeat for me to click on one of your videos when they pop up.

  • @Historymaker-2001
    @Historymaker-2001 Год назад

    Power engineer in training and longtime IT engineer with a comprehensive understanding of electrical engineering here.
    I have long stated that the likely reason that Titanic’s lights stayed on as long as they did was due to the ship’s very design, which you so brilliantly detailed here, along with the steadfast work of her engineers/electricians. I have also stated that the likely reason that the lights failed when they did was because the steam lines feeding the dynamos severed.
    Titanic’s dynamos we’re not equipped with a gear train to increase rotational speed, nor did they have flywheels, both of which are standard in many such designs today. This means that when steam power was lost, the dynamos would have come to a stop fairly quickly rather than a long process of losing energy.

  • @GillianFisher-i8j
    @GillianFisher-i8j Год назад +3

    I appreciate the amount of research and planning you put into your videos. You have a genuine passion of your content and it shows. ^.^ Excellent content. Many thanks.

  • @vinny142
    @vinny142 Год назад +2

    People have this idea that water causes instant shorts and will blow every fuse with a huge display of sparks, but this is not the case. Even salt water is quite a crappy conductor compared to a lamp or a heater and there where no ground-fault-interruptors back then, the fuses where there to prevent fires. All the wires would have been insulated because they have to me, all outside lamps would be waterproofed because... well they are outside. I'd say it's very possible that the entire bow remained lit when it went under. There wss simply nothing stopping power being generated, nothing damaging enough to trip the breakers

  • @Gravko5000
    @Gravko5000 Год назад +1

    Hi mike after I seen your videos for a long time you got me into old and modern ship’s I just wanted to say thank you❤

  • @vanillasuncherries
    @vanillasuncherries 25 дней назад

    Happy New Year Mike 🎉❤

  • @Designandrew
    @Designandrew Год назад +4

    11:56 just because the steam pressure dropped doesn't mean instantly no power, the dynamos would have spun down for quite some time and still generated power while doing so, depending on their mass etc, it may have been 30 seconds or more

    • @Lev_i1334
      @Lev_i1334 3 месяца назад +1

      But why did the main lights did go off but only the emergeny lights remained burning, i mean would they have be burning for 30 Seconds or so too?
      Or did they have a generator trip System or smth like that🧐

  • @Lew747
    @Lew747 Год назад +1

    Fantastic video Mike. Very interesting and I learnt a lot. Keep up the great work. Greetings from the UK!

  • @adriandunne4382
    @adriandunne4382 Год назад +2

    Titanic also had a diesel emergency generator and batteries for the Marconi equipment adjacent to the equipment cabin.

  • @OrijitKar
    @OrijitKar Год назад

    Exceptionally well done video - with such rare, very illustrative photographs!

  • @tobiasstergaard6662
    @tobiasstergaard6662 Год назад +1

    your videos is the few i can whatch from start to end whait out skipping :D

  • @smileyeagle1021
    @smileyeagle1021 Год назад +1

    It is kind of amazing, given some of Titanic's other fatal design and build flaws, that the electric system was designed and built so well .

  • @michael-carnes
    @michael-carnes Год назад

    I love your channel so much!!!! Great job!!!

  • @MisterOcclusion
    @MisterOcclusion 8 месяцев назад +1

    What i find amazing is that enough of the boilers remained unflooded to that point to keep things going

  • @fastfiddler1625
    @fastfiddler1625 Год назад +1

    It's amazing how complex and redundant of a system they designed in what were really the early years of electricity. I love these documentaries. Those books and cable TV shows never scratched that itch of how things actually worked or happened.

  • @heavy_chevy.0194
    @heavy_chevy.0194 Год назад +1

    It’s amazing to think that Titanic’s electric system had more output than most land based generators of the time. I would’ve liked to see how many people had never seen electric lighting before when they boarded Titanic.

  • @cherry55108
    @cherry55108 11 месяцев назад

    1:15 my takeaway from the video: ELECTRIC TATER PEELERS??
    Awesome video as always! Been binging them! You make everything so interesting and easy to understand! Thank you for making these!

  • @KiowaOH58
    @KiowaOH58 Год назад

    Great segment! Very informative and interesting. Thanks for the videos

  • @samsiklas8088
    @samsiklas8088 Год назад

    Nice explanation of the Titanic's electrical system and how it continued to function until her hull gave way and split apart. Well done, Mike!

  • @danrichman1
    @danrichman1 Год назад

    You do an amzing job on these videos. Thanks!

  • @bradleyokane
    @bradleyokane Год назад

    Great video as always, the engineering is simple amazing!

  • @flohwald
    @flohwald 9 месяцев назад

    I love your documentaries about Titanic. What I missed so far: What about Titanic's cargo? Was there something valuable? What about the cars? Was something saved before sinking?

  • @sheilan6235
    @sheilan6235 Год назад +1

    The electricians and everyone who worked to keep the ship lit up were incredibly brave men.

  • @sifridbassoon
    @sifridbassoon Год назад

    It's mind-blowing to comprehend how complicated the mechanics of that ship were.

  • @GodzHammer
    @GodzHammer Год назад

    This is so well done thank you Mike!!! Great work! 👏👏👏🎬

  • @talldarkmann
    @talldarkmann Год назад

    An amazing video explaining the Titanic was in fact, really well built and designed!....