Heres Kens response to the letter...

1. What was the interior color of the different types of ventilators on the Titanic?

1) White inside, goosenecks and stokehold vents included, according to the clearest, first-generation photos. They only appear a darker shade because of the deep shadowing within. (See p. 103 of Titanic: An Illustrated History and p. 30 in David Hutchings’ Titanic softcover; also the Odell photos on pp. 42 [left and bottom center] and 163 of Discovery of the Titanic––note the structural detail visible inside the stokehold vents. These would look just black if they were painted red in there. Note the aft-facing vents on the 2nd- class entrance house seen on pp. 32 and 44 of Thomas Bonsall’s book, and the cowls on the lounge roof on p. 62––no way they’re red. Also note the cowls of Suevic’s vents on p. 20 of Titanic Voices.)

2. There is a rounded moulding around the poop deck below the vessel and port names. Was this moulding painted a different color than the hull?

2) No, the knuckle around the counter only appears lighter because the light of the sky or sun is reflecting off it.

3. Located on both well decks there appear to be objects which flank the "mushroom" ventilator that was located between the two cargo hatches. What was the structure and function of these objects?

3) These are pedestal fairleads. At their tops were “spindles” similar to the fairleads around the forecastle and poop, only with “hooks” at the sides to hold ropes in place above the deck. (You can see them in my paintings on pp. 44 and 45 of the kid’s book Exploring the Titanic.) They were higher and thinner in the forward well deck and lower and much fatter (greater diameter) in the aft one. (I forgot the aft ones in the cutaway seen in Ill. History, but I corrected this mistake in Inside the Titanic.) The forward ones can be seen reasonably well, by the way, in that oft-aired 1911 Olympic newsreel showing the steamer trunks being lifted aboard in New York and lowered into the hatch. (They're both still standing proud on the wreck today, though the mushroom vent between them has had its top knocked off in recent years.)

4. Since it is not shown clearly in photos, what source did you use to determine the structure of the wheelhouse of the Titanic including doors and windows?

4) This comes from many sources, knowledge of how Olympic was modified after her first year of service (reflecting the improved design of Titanic), deck plans, photos, etc. Titanic’s officers’ quarters was extended forward by several feet beyond Olympic’s and the bridge wings extended, after which the earlier vessel followed suit. Titanic’s wheelhouse was square-fronted, narrower (the roof overhung the port and starboard sides of the house by a few feet), and the five front windows were the same spacing as the bridge-front ones. Good, clear photos show one window and a door with a circular port, on the port and starboard sides. The redrawn Harland & Wolff plan seen in the endpapers of Triumph & Tragedy is essentially correct for the wheelhouse/bridge area (also seen larger on p. 157), except that Eaton/Haas didn’t extend the bridge wings.

5. There is a controversy regarding the outboard supports for the aft end of the Boat Deck. Were the supports ladders or was there a pole support outboard of the ladders?

5) Yes, there were steel pillars just outboard of the ladders. (See p. 26 of Ill. History, p. 73 of Ed O’Donnell’s Last Days of the Titanic, pp. 32 and 44 of Bonsall, p. 42 of Titanic––Legacy of the World’s Greatest Ocean Liner by Susan Wells, and p. 128 of Falling Star by Eaton/Haas.)

6. To what structure on deck did the port and starboard block and tackle of the forecastle anchor crane belay?

6) "Regarding those "belaying points" for the anchor crane tackle: I did some checking with a magnifying glass: They attached to a bracket (or whatever you call it) that was bolted onto the inboard vertical side of the outboard "wall" of the gutter, just under the rails. Hope this makes sense."

7. Besides the red and green navigational lights and the docking lamps on the mainmast,and the foremasthead light what other lights were employed at night on the masts, rigging or flagstaffs?

7) The only “running” light you missed mentioning is the stern lamp, located on the railing just below the jackstaff. It looked just like all the rest of the overhead promenade and boat deck lights. Bizarrely, there was no electric lamp permanently mounted to the mainmast as there was forward, but maritime law demanded a light up there. It must have been the oil lamp hoisted aloft and described by a few survivors to be the only light still burning at the end, after the ship’s lights went out.

8. Were either of the domes over the first class staircases backlit at night from inside the skylight covers?

8) I’m assuming yes, but I have no proof. Mauretania is known to have lights behind her lounge dome, so I’d assume that five years later Titanic would use such lighting. It’s the showpiece of the ship’s interior, and I can’t imagine the designers would want this big, dark void up there at night. You’d want the fancy wrought-iron design to show up to best advantage, to be backlighted.

9. Were the funnels illuminated at night?

9) No, no flood or spot lights on the funnels, just ambient light reflected from the decks. I’d have noticed such lights in photos by now, a few of which look down on the decks from masts or funnel tops, such as on p. 62 of Bonsall’s book.

10. What was the box like structure on the boat deck next to the starboard wall of the aft 2nd class entrance at the forward corner of this deckhouse?

10) Don’t know, off hand. It was only on the starboard side. There’s an electrical conduit going into it. Haven’t researched it rigorously.

11. What were the dark colored box like structures on the port and starboard walls of the forward skylight cover over the first class entrance?

11) Can’t help you, but assume it had to do with the ventilation of the housing. Olympic had a few ports along those sides where Titanic had those dark structures (forward dome only). Your guess is as good as mine. The ports would seem to allow more light in, a sensible feature, so I don’t know why they were dropped. It's another one of those hundreds of differences between Olympic and her sister.

12. Related to question #11 is a question about the aft skylight cover over the first class staircase. Were the same box-like structures found on the port and starboard sides of this cover?

12) No. See that Cork Examiner photo again, p. 30 of the Hutchings book. You’re high enough to see over the smoking room roof and see that there’s nothing along the side of the skylight housing, not even a bench, where Olympic had ports and a bench. Go figure.

13. In some photos, flag haliards to the mastheads are seen. Where on deck did these belay?

13) Complicated and guesswork in most cases. It appears that the halyards attached at varying points throughout Olympic’s career, at a crewman’s whim. For the foremast, it seems they come down and tie to the aft port and/or starboard corner of the forecastle rail, or below that point, to the well deck area. The signal halyards above the bridge attach to the short fore-and-aft bulwark rails just outside the wheelhouse, next to the life rings there, port and starboard. And the mainmast––I think it’s down at the base of the ratline area somewhere, it appears. Check the H&W rigging plan, but always confirm with the photographic record.

14. Did the stairway cover over the stairway aft of the deckhouse under the third funnel open to port or starboard?

14) The door was on the starboard side, and the cover curved down to the port side. (See p. 62 of Bonsall.)

15. Were outboard gripes (chain tie-downs) installed on the lifeboats of the Titanic?

15) No.

16. Was there a "curl" ventilator located at the aft port corner of the deckhouse under the third funnel of the Titanic as there was on the early Olympic?

16) Sure. (It’s obvious on p. 291 of Titanic Voices, p. 48 of Triumph & Tragedy, and p. 46 of O’Donnell’s Last Days....)

17. When the wire cargo spans were rigged but not in use, where were both ends of each span belayed?

17) The cargo spans abaft the foremast attached above the bridge, I believe, at a double-bracket just forward of the first stokehold vent, amidship. (See painting on p. 44 of Exploring the Titanic. Ignore the curved stair covers in the painting, however––I later made them accurate, as seen on pp. 18-19 of Inside the Titanic.) Though the rigging plan calls for such spans aft, I’ve never been able to make them out in photos, not anything like what they had up forward.

18. Did the aft skylight cover over the first class stairway and dome have round windows on its sides. 19. Were there deck benches on the sides of the aft skylight cover over the first class stairway and dome?

18 and 19) No. See answer #12 above.

20. Wreck photos and your paintings depict two "channels" between the anchor tracks on the forecastle. What was the function of these and was there originally a cover over them? Olympic photos suggest that there was a metal plate over this area.

20) Can’t help you here––not that mechanically or engineeringly minded. If I recall my research, I think you’re right––there appears to be a cover over the “channels” on Olympic, perhaps blown off from pressure when Titanic sank.

Here’s another good foc’sle mystery: Why is Titanic’s anchor crane facing forward today? The result of the sudden braking force when she plowed into the bottom? I don’t think so. There are several photos showing Olympic’s crane in the same attitude while in the graving dock at H&W, etc. (see inside the cover of Simon Mills’ Olympic: The Old Reliable). It was clearly a working or stowed position for the crane, at times. Did Titanic’s crew realign it purposely during the voyage at some point? Why? Are all my sinking paintings screwed?!

21. Do you know of a good paint match for "White Star Buff"?

21) I have no paint chip from a White Star funnel of that period, though I’ve long yearned to see such a sample. There is often significant paint left deep in the edges of steel plating on wrecks, and there are known funnel sections out there in the debris, not to mention a large portion of the base of No. 1 still fitted to the wreck. I wish someone would try to take a scraping and bring it up.

Your best bet for White Star funnel color is to examine cleaned (but not drastically restored) White Star builders’ models in museums, and average out the color seen in as many old post cards, paintings, etc., as you can. The color is described in period journals as everything from “buff” to “tawny brown,” to “flesh.” The paint formula I supplied for the original Entex Industries 1/350 kit instructions is too light, I now believe, and a bit too “peachy.” I think it should be darker and a bit more brownish. Whatever you do, don’t make the color too yellow or mustard yellow, as my painted funnels often look in books (see p. 70 of Ill. History!). For some reason the color often goes lemon-yellow, even chartreuse, when published, and it just kills me. For a few samples of some decent color, see pp. 54, 60-61, and 67 of the new book Art of Titanic.

If any of you modelers find yourselves in the Los Angeles area, you must check out the 1/48-scale cutaway model at the L.A. Maritime Museum in San Pedro, built by Father Roberto Pirrone. He’s always updating it in little ways as new info comes along, and although not absolutely fine and perfect (what is?), I helped him with the research, and it’s got virtually all the detail (starboard side) you’d want.

Hope all this helps you folks. Best of luck!

Ken Marschall