About
Take a walk along the birth place of the RMS Titanic. The Thompson Dry Dock, or Thompson Graving Dock, is located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Built in 1904, the then biggest in the world dock is best known for having accommodated the RMS Titanic during her fitting-out. The dock is 415 feet long, 46 feet wide and 21 feet deep. The Dry Dock is located on Queen’s Island, an area of land at the entrance of Belfast Lough which was reclaimed from the water in the mid-19th century. It was used for many years by the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, who built huge slipways and graving docks to accommodate the simultaneous construction of the Olympic and Titanic.
At the Dry-Dock where she was finished, Titanic spent her final days in Belfast. Here, at this very place, workers put the final touches on the most luxurious liner ever built. And it was here that engineering brilliance reached new heights as great minds applied themselves to the gargantuan task of building such a grand vessel.
Titanic’s Dry-Dock was the largest dry dock ever constructed, and it represented the pinnacle of Edwardian engineering. Because it is still in near-perfect original condition, you have a unique opportunity to see Titanic’s birthplace just as it was when she was here, to see just what her builders would have seen as they stood here. From Titanic’s physical footprint in history, the huge Thompson Dry Dock to the stunning Pump-house with the original engineering works that operated the dock, everything here is almost exactly as it was when Titanic glided in to the dock almost a century ago.
Our expert guides will lead you back through history, to the days in 1912 when Titanic made her way majestically in to this dock for her final fittings. Through original photographs and the latest audio-visual technology, you will be taken on a journey through time to experience this place when Titanic was here, to witness the incredible technological achievement that came to life here at the dry dock. In the pump-house, you can see the original, massive machines that worked the mighty dry-dock as well as the tools used by the workers here to bring the world’s largest ships to life.