Titanic

Friday Titanic News:White Star Flag To Fly Over Albion House, New Brittanic Book and Brittanic Artifacts for Titanic Belfast, and Titanic Artifacts to China?

White Star Flag Image:Yar(Wikimedia)
White Star Flag
Image:Yar(Wikimedia)

1. The Liverpool Echo reports that for the first time in 80 years, the flag of the White Star Line will fly over the former headquarters in Liverpool. Albion House, which was last opened to the public in 1898, will be open to the public on 1 Mar 2014 to mark the 80th anniversary of White Star Line’s demise in 1934 when it was merged with Cunard. The flag will be flown above the James Street entrance and was donated by Titanic historian Paul Louden-Brown, who paid for the flag as a goodwill gift to the company’s former headquarters.
Source:White Star Flag To Fly Again Over Titanic Hotel(17 Jan 2o14,Liverpool Echo)

2. Simon Mills has published a new book on Brittanic, Unseen Britannic: The Ship in Rare Illustrations, the shows the wreck of the ship. While Brittanic sank faster than Titanic (possibly due to a German mine), she sank mostly intact and is the most complete Olympic class liner. According to News Letter, an excavation is being planned for this summer. Paul Louden-Brown states the idea is to bring up artifacts and display them in Titanic Belfast. Bringing up the  propeller blades and a 16-ton anchor is being considered and would be put on the slipways at Titanic Belfast.
Source: Taking A Fresh Look At Titanic’s Sunken Sister(16 Jan 2014,News Letter)

3. A commenter at the financial site The Street writes that Premiere Exhibitions the company ought to consider selling the artifacts to the Chinese theme park that will house the Titanic replica that will simulate the sinking. Chris Katje writes:

Before you criticize whether this theme park or boat should be constructed, think about the possible winner in Premier Exhibitions. Premier has more than 5,500 artifacts from the actual Titanic that it has been trying to sell for years. Last year, the company called off a possible deal to sell its Titanic artifacts. Premier executives should be on the phone with Seven Star Energy Investment Group CEO Su Shaojun to make a deal happen. Imagine a life-size Titanic with real artifacts and authentic items from the maiden voyage.

Kotje opines since Premier stock hovers around $1.00 these days, a sale to the Chinese would give the shareholders a lucrative return.
Source:Premier Exhibitions Should Sell Titanic Artifacts to New Theme Park in China(14 Jan 2014,The Street)

Titanic

Belfast Lord Mayor Calls Chinese Titanic Simulator “Disgraceful”

Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
Titanic Wreck Bow
Image: Public Domain (NOAA)

Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers says the Chinese idea of a Titanic simulator is a step too far reports the BBC. He went further stating:

The ship was perfect when it left these shores in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and unfortunately it struck an iceberg, but for people to try and make money out of that is disgraceful and shameful.

According to press reports, the replica Titanic will allow people to experience the collision and will use sound and light effects to simulate water coming into the ship.

We will let people experience water coming in by using sound and light effects … They will think, ‘The water will drown me, I must escape with my life.(Su Shaojun, chief executive of the Seven Star Energy Investment Group).

Actor Bernard Hill, who played Captain Smith in Cameron’s Titanic, says it is not inappropriate but had to admit his expenses in flying to Hong Kong were paid by the Chinese (but he did not receive an appearance fee for appearing at the public event).

At any event, wags are starting to speculate was to which Hollywood celebrity will race over to China when it is complete to stand on it and give an enthusiastic thumbs up. T-shirt makers will probably now have to come up with a new shirt: “I survived Chinese Titanic!”

Source:Titanic Iceberg Simulator In Chinese Theme Park ‘In Bad Taste’(15 Jan 2014,BBC)

Titanic

Cameron’s Titanic: Could Jack & Rose Both Survive?

Okay for those who did not see the movie, Jack and Rose both initially survive the sinking and cling to a piece of wood. But Jack decides to allow Rose to live by dying since both clinging to the wood might result in both dying. Was this right or wrong? It appears many out there believe that both could have lived. Time to call the dynamic duo! No, not the one with the bat as an emblem, but those clever guys at Mythbusters.

What did they find out when the put it to test (with James Cameron looking on)? Here are two clips from the show from YouTube on what they find out.

Titanic Miscellaneous

Travel To China And Experience Titanic Sinking!

RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912.
RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912.

What beats seeing the Great Wall or the Forbidden City while in China? Why going to a Chinese theme park where a life sized replica of Titanic will allow visitors to see and feel what it was like on the doomer liner that night. Reuters reports:

The replica ship will cost $165 million to build and simulation technology will allow several hundred people at a time to feel what the shipwreck was like. Su Shaojun, chief executive of the Seven Star Energy Investment Group that is funding the project, said: “When the ship hits the iceberg, it will shake, it will tumble. “We will let people experience water coming in by using sound and light effects. “They will think ‘The water will drown me, I must escape with my life’.”

Bernard Hill, who played Captain Smith in Cameron’s Titanic, was flown to Hong Kong to announce his support for the project saying it does not belittle the disaster. No, it just now puts in the same category of a carnival event albeit more expensive and with lots of publicity.

More curious is the statement by Shaojun about why they needed a Titanic museum:

“We think it’s worth spreading the spirit of the Titanic,” he said. “The universal love and sense of responsibility shown during the Titanic shipwreck represent the spiritual richness of human civilisation.”

Okay but it sounds like marketing to me, just words strung together that mean nothing. I doubt the Chinese will pass up the opportunity to remind visitors (in a polite way of course) that the disaster was caused by decadent western capitalists and such things would never happen in the enlightened middle kingdom.

Sources:
1. Titanic Museum, Shipwreck Simulator To Anchor Chinese Theme Park(13 Jan 2014,Reuters)
2. China To Build Titanic Theme Park With Life-Sized Replica Of Doomed Ship That Will Simulate Its Sinking!(13 Jan 2014,Mirror Online)


Titanic II

Titanic II: A High Priced Nightmare?

RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912.
RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912.
Photo: Public domain

Michael Madigan writing for Australia’s Courier Mail wonders whether Titanic II will be a luxury cruise or a high priced nightmare. As currently planned, Titanic II will (except for modern safety features and other things)be faithful to the design of the original ship. That means first, second, and third class will be fitted out as they were on the original Titanic. Madigan notes that means being accurate for the wealthy and poor. It also means an opulence no longer seen on modern day cruise ships.

Can mahogany lined ships make money? Likewise will people want to pay money to sleep in cramped third class quarters as they did back in 1912 with sharing bathrooms with fellow third class travelers? Apparently Palmer is so intent on creating the Titanic experience that they are using training manuals from the period to train silver service waiters. It likely means that men and women will have to dress up for dinners as they did back in 1912 and retire afterwards to separate areas. Third class passengers probably do not have to dress up but will get more simple fare. Even breakfast on Titanic was grand by today’s standards.

Madigan really has no idea, and really no one does, whether or not Titanic II will make money. It will certainly draw a lot of wealth for its initial voyage but since money has shifted away from London and New York since 1912, I speculate Titanic II will be marketed to Chinese, wealthy Arabs, Hollywood and political celebrities. Ordinary folks will likely have to stick with cruise ship trips to Mexico, Hawaii, or Alaska.

Source: Will Clive Palmer’s Titanic Ii Be A Luxury Cruise Or Titanic-Sized Nightmare?(13 Jan 2014, The Courier Mail)

Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Albion House Update:Construction Begins On Rooftop Bar Named For Titanic Rescue Ship

Photo:public domain
Photo:public domain

The Liverpool Echo reports that construction has begun on the rooftop champagne bar on top of the former Liverpool home of White Star Line. The bar will be called Carpathia Champagne Bar & Restaurant. According to the Echo “guests will have breath-taking views along The Strand, overlooking Albert Dock , Canning Dock and the Pier Head’s Three Graces.” Albion House is undergoing a major transformation of the structure that had been derelict for a decade. This transformation includes turning it into a apartment-hotel but the crown jewel will be the Carpathia bar.

Aimed at the weddings market, the first two floors will have a specific Titanic theme including the First Class Lounge. Other floors will be decorated with White Star Line motifs and names. The lower ground floor rooms will be styled as cabins. A swimming pool is being inserted into the basement and the building’s original water tank will be converted into a whirlpool bath. The boardroom in which many White Star ships were conceived, including Titanic, will become a suite’s sitting room.

Sounds great but better bring a credit card with a large credit line. I doubt this place will come cheap for weddings-or for eating at the restaurant.

Source: Liverpool’s First Rooftop Champagne Bar Set To Offer Breathtaking Views Over City(10 Jan 2014,Liverpool Echo)

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Titanic, Titanic II

Titanic News: Exhibits Coming To Toledo & Israel;Titanic II Update;Faulty Rivets and a Kosher Butcher

1. The Blade reports that Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition will be coming to Imagination Station on 15 Feb and runs till 15 June 2014. A number of special events are planned including a visit by Molly Brown’s great-grandaughter Helen Benziger. For information and tickets, go to imaginationstationtoledo.org.
Source: Titanic Display To Dock In Downtown Toledo(7 Jan 2014,The Blade)

2. Shalom Life reports a deal has been struck to bring Titanic artifacts to Israel Trade Fairs Center in Tel Aviv for about three months. Further details as to the date of the exhibition has not yet been disclosed.
Source:The Titanic Sets Sail for Tel Aviv(27 Dec 2013,Shalom Life)

3. Cruise Ship News reports that if all goes on schedule, the keel will be laid for Titanic II in March. So far it has all been model testing and using various companies that will contribute to its construction and outfitting.
Source: Titanic 2 Ship Progress Leap In March(6 Jan 2014,Cruise Ship News)

4. Willamette Week has an interview with Jennifer Hooper McCarty, a metallurgist who helped study 48 rivets pulled from Titanic. In her book What Really Sank the Titanic, her findings were that some rivets contained poor quality iron. These rivets in the bow and stern had excessive slag contributing to weak regions. However this was not detectable during normal safety checks but later resulted in rivet failure.
Source:Voices 2014: Faulty Rivets Sunk the Titanic:Jennifer Hooper McCarty, metallurgist
(31 Dec 2013,Willamette Week)

5. The Coventry Telegraph reports that the last living contact with J. Bruce Ismay passed away at age 100. Agnes Thwaite worked as a cook and kitchen maid at the household of Bruce Ismay in London. Despite the public perception of Ismay, she recalled he was kind and generous to his staff.
Coventry Woman Who Worked For Builder Of The Titanic Dies (31 Dec 2013,Coventry Telegraph)

6.Haaretz reports that the Kosher butcher shop that supplied Titanic will be preserved thanks to funding from late Jewish philanthropist Sir Isaac Wolfson. The iconic green-tiled Galkoff’s had been designated for demolition and building a new research wing for Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
Source: Iconic Kosher Butcher Shop That Supplied Titanic To Be Preserved(30 Dec 2013,Haaretz)

An interview with Rob Galkoff about the history of the butcher shop can be viewed at YouTube.

Caltrain, SamTrans

Update:SamTrans Changes To 140,141 and Others Coming 26 Jan

[Off topic but important info for those who live in, near, or around San Bruno,CA]

Well it is a New Year and time for SamTrans to implement changes to routes on 26 Jan. Some changes are going to be major while others are tweaks to service.

140
Sam Trans busThe 140 will begin servicing the AirTrain station (near the car rental area) at SFO and it means altering the entire schedule to make this possible. Just about the entire schedule has been changed except for the school bus trips in the morning and afternoon to Parkside Intermediate. However to make the route streamlined for the airport run, service on San Bruno Avenue between Huntington and El Camino Real is being dropped. That means the eastbound stop by the Wash N’Dry and the westbound stop by the Green Valley Market are going away. The 140 will turn left on El Camino after the stop on San Bruno (west side) and El Camino. There is an ECR stop on El Camino at the gas station which the 140 will stop for people wanting to get off there. The 140 will turn right at Sneath and El Camino to San Bruno BART and after dropping off passengers there, heads off to the AirTrain station. For those wanting to use Caltrain when that station opens, both eastbound and westbound buses to/from AirTrain stop nearby. Eastbound the closest stop is at Chuy’s deli. Hopefully they will move this further south since you nearly always get off right in front of parked cars. The westbound stop does not have that problem but could be moved further south to be closer to the station (not that far away right now but pulling it back would make it more convenient)

A major change is also the start times of most routes. Currently westbound buses from San Bruno BART leave at 20 after the hour outside of commute hours. That changes to 41 minutes after the hour for most runs since the run starts earlier at AirTrain. Most eastbound runs will start earlier with some exceptions so check the schedule because it is likely your favorite bus time has changed. On weekends both east and westbound runs start on the hour from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The last bus in both directions on weekdays is 11:00 p.m.

You can view the new schedule here.

141
I think they cannot make up their mind about this route at SamTrans. First they wanted to eliminate San Mateo Ave and 3rd Street along with dropping most of Jenevein and running the bus more on San Bruno Ave. Then that changed and then they were going to keep San Mateo Ave (going all the way to BART) and Jenevein and drop the crossover to Angus & Third except for school runs. The current description of the change is “Realign route via San Bruno Avenue to improve direct service to San Bruno BART; only serve San Mateo Avenue on select trips. ” However the map you bring up for the new schedule shows something different. What is dropped is the Angus crossover and the bus will go to San Bruno BART via San Mateo Avenue to Huntington. Unless there is a correction made, this is the final schedule for the 141 beginning 26 Jan. If you take this frequently, be sure to check the schedule as many times of bus runs have changed.

ECR
Once again San Bruno BART is being serviced by an El Camino bus. Previously the 391 had done this but was discontinued when the ECR was implemented for weekday runs. Beginning 26 Jan, the ECR now will go into San Bruno BART. Because the ECR consolidated two bus routes, it now runs more frequently than either the old 390/391. You can view the new ECR schedule here. The downside is that Millbrae BART has been downgraded to stops on El Camino rather than going into the transit area.

398
This limited route will run between Redwood City Transit Center (where Caltrain stops) and San Bruno BART via SFO daily and on weekends. You can view the schedule here.

Other important route changes/modifications:

123-Eliminated. This route went from Colma BART to Skyline. The 121 services Colma BART so students and others going to Skyline can catch it. Eliminated because it was redundant.

133-As of 26 Jan, this route will no longer serve Serramonte and drops service on Huntington between Spruce and Sneath. This bus will run from San Bruno BART via El Camino Real and Spruce to Airport/Linden. People wanting to go to Serramonte from San Bruno BART can transfer to 131 at Airport/Linden.

Source:SamTrans

Holidays

Epiphany Sunday

Wise Men Adoration(Bartolomé Esteban Murillo) Photo: Public Domain (This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923.)
Wise Men Adoration(Bartolomé Esteban Murillo)
Photo: Public Domain

Epiphany Day occurs on 6 January and marks the end of the Christmas season except for Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar. In England it is celebrated as the Twelfth Night (remember the song the Twelve Days of Christmas?). Many cultures celebrate it with special foods and it is considered unlucky by many to leave Christmas decorations up after the Epiphany. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates it on 6 Jan but not as a day of obligation. Usually it is celebrated in a Sunday mass that falls before or just after the date (2-8 January).

Titanic, historic ship, and general history news.