Hello All:

It seems awful quiet around here! It's about to get alot louder. Note the below...

ST. PAUL, Posted 10:25 p.m., February 4, 1999 -- The steam whistles from the Titanic could sound again for the first time since 1912.

A 750-pound set of whistles from the infamous oceanliner that sank in the north Atlantic was temporarily removed from the Titanic exhibit in St. Paul on Thursday.

Tests on the whistles, involving X-rays and a structural examination, will be conducted at Kahlenberg Brothers Co., Two Rivers, Wis., to see if they can be blown again.

"For the first time in almost 100 years, the voice of the Titanic will be heard again if they work," said Erich Mische, executive vice president of Media Rare, Inc., the Minnesota group co-sponsoring the exhibit of Titanic artifacts taken from the ocean floor.

Promoters of the exhibit say the whistles appear to be in good condition, but the tests are needed to determine if air or steam can again be moved through them.

"We know visually that the whistles are in good condition," said George Tulloch, president of RMS Titanic, Inc., co-producers of the Titanic exhibit.

"What we don't know is if the whistles have any hidden structural issues that we cannot see with the naked eye," he said.

If the tests are positive, the whistles could sound for the first time since the Titanic's maiden voyage in April 1912 from England to New York City. More than 1,500 of the 2,224 people on board died after the huge ship hit an iceberg and sank.

"Titanic -- The Exhibition" opened Jan. 1 and runs through April 30. It also has visited Boston, London, Memphis, Tenn., and St. Petersburg, Fla.

-- Peter Nivling (pcnivling@capecod.net), February 07, 1999

Answers

{Note changes in times!}

Plans are for the whistles to sound at {3:04 PM}, Minnesota local time (21.04 UT/GMT), which I believe is a reference to the shipyard build number for Titanic: No.404.

The direct link for the live webcast requires RealPlayer to be installed on your computer.

According to a spokesperson, the only scheduled public re-sounding of the whistle will be recorded and preserved as part of the exhibition, which has already visited Memphis and Boston.

-- Thomas M. Terashima (tom@nucleus.com), February 19, 1999.

I have learned that the above will take place on Saturday, 2/20 at 4:00 p.m. in St Paul MN. I assume that is Central Time but not sure and I also don't know what media coverage there will be. I certainly hope it will be broadcast somewhere!

Regards, Peter

-- Peter Nivling (pcnivling@capecod.net), February 10, 1999.

www.titanic- online.com will webcast the event live from St. Paul, Minnesota, starting at approximately 3:45 EST (2:45 p.m. St. Paul time; 20:45 GMT) on Saturday, February 20, 1999.

More info as it develops.

-- Thomas M. Terashima (titanicshack@yahoo.com), February 18, 1999.

Are these the whistles that were placed atop the smokestacks and blew when they let off steam? If not, then where were they on the ship?

Just curious. Thanks.

-- Kelly (kelly_rose1@hotmail.com), February 18, 1999.

Hi Kelly:

Yes, they are the steam whistles that you can see at the top of the stacks. I saw these whistles in Boston and they are quite a site and look in pretty good condition. It should be an interesting and somber event this Saturday. My only hope is that they don't have a circus atmosphere when this takes place.

Regards,
Peter

-- Peter Nivling (pcnivling@capecod.net), February 18, 1999.

The rebroadcast of the live event has speeches at the beginning; there is a moment of silence starting at around 53:00 minutes, with the actual sounding at around 55:00 minutes, with two blasts seperated by a few minutes.

-- Thomas M. Terashima (titanicshack@yahoo.com), February 21, 1999.

Being 23, and a Titanic Buff, long before the movie, I have connected with the past on a level I thought never possible. Hearing "her voice." Is a level of connection, I never though possible. It's like stepping back in time, to that morring, when ever one was boaring her, its very very moving, to say the very least

-- Adam (the_geat_washu@hotmail.com), October 07, 2004.