A Special Kind of Locker
In 401 v1.5 (release date still unknown), you'll have a few odd places to explore. If you head all the way forward and into the Trimmers' Glory Hole (or "dormitory" in less colorful terms) on E Deck, you'll find some strange tubes angled through the room, and then a small hatch in the floor between a couple of bunks. The hatch leads to one of the weirdest spaces on Titanic: The Chain Locker.
Anchors are attached to long lengths on chain. In Titanic's case, these were monster-sized chain links forming a chain some 165 fathoms long. When the anchors weren't in use, this chain had to be stored in the Chain Lockers. These are common spaces, pretty much on any ship or boat that has anchors, and they vary. In Titanic's case, what we know of the locker comes from iron plans, spec books, and few other sources. A relatively large compartment divided down the middle most of the way up, with wood battens lining much of the compartment to reduce potential damage and noise from the chains.
Aside from being weird, chain lockers are also dangerous, and not just because of the big heavy chains. In 1998, a crewman lost his life after attempting to inspect a chain locker on a stern trawler, and another almost had the same fate after trying to go into the locker to help. The cause was a lack of oxygen inside the chain locker, with all the oxygen having been removed as the chain links rusted. This oxidation process is common in chain lockers and potentially deadly atmospheric conditions can form in any such confined spaces, so special precautions are necessary when inspecting them.
Luckily there will be no risks to exploring Titanic's chain locker from the comfort of your home.
Comments (9)
was the access hatch to the chain locker on E-Deck bow section? It doesnt show on the deckplans in my hands.
Thanks for including this area and for the pictures and explanation. One of the things I'm loving about this project is how much I'm learning through following and supporting 👍
Thank you and lack of oxygen is also true for other compartments and tanks that can rust inside and have bad ventilation.
It's like a hidden treasure for me all these unseen room's I never new existed. just WoW
I never even thought about how the anchor worked. I followed it on the blueprints. It's fascinating how the chain goes from the locker, up the tube, around windlass, down forecastle deck, then back down again to the anchors. How much water would get in there? Like rain or ocean spray in stormy weather.
A fair amount to be sure and in normal conditions, the bilge pumps would be able to pump it all out.
Thank you for that interesting tidbit, as well!
Great work! Oh man, the titanic was dragging the anchor the whole time with all the chain run out in that side locker?
Thank you guys so much for including all these extra crew spaces into the demo! It's really interesting seeing the behind the scenes stuff passengers wouldn't normally see. Makes the ship really feel like a ship lol