Titanic Engine Room and Crew

With all the writings, video and photographs of the Titanic's passengers and main crew such as Capt. Smith, wireless operators, etc., not much has been said about, perhaps, the most important crew members of the ship...the engine room staff. After all, these are the men who made the ship go. Working long hours in dirty, hot and uncomfortably conditions, it was these heroes who stayed at their posts and kept the lights on all the way to the end of the disaster in the attempt to get the passengers into life boats and off of the sinking ship. Most of them were down below in the bowls of the Titanic working hard in the engine room and coal bunkers trying desperately to keeping the lights burning. Once the lights went out and darkness fell over the listing ship, all hell would break loose on decks. So it was important to keep the ship well lit to aide in the rescue attempts. The workers down below made this happen as long as possible.

But through their efforts, many of them have been forgotten in the telling of the accident. And that's just a shame. We read about the heroes topside who helped women and children into the boats. But we forget that there was nearing 1,000 crew members on the ship, with many of them deep down below. Once the ship was listed down in the water, it was nearly impossible for them to escape and reach the outer decks. And all of them knew it. But they stayed down there, working hard, knowing it would probably be their last acts on earth. They worked for two and a half hours while the lifeboats were loaded with others.