The Titanic’s propulsion was driven by three propellers, two of which were powered by two 30-foot steam engines, and the third by a turbine. The steam engines were fed by the ship’s 29 boilers, which in turn were powered by 159 furnaces. These furnaces guzzled 660 tonnes of coal a day, all of which needed to be shovelled by hand by a team of 176 firemen employed around the clock.

The Titanic’s maximum speed was 24 knots or 28 mph. She was believed to have been travelling at just under this speed when she collided with the iceberg. Of course, building a ship of this scale was both a difficult and dangerous undertaking. There were very few safety precautions in place to protect shipyard workers, and during the Titanic’s construction, 246 injuries were recorded. There were also eight recorded fatalities, although only five names of the deceased are known.

How the Titanic was built: inside the luxury world of the 'Ship of Dreams'