Building the Titanic

220 - the height of the gantry built over the two ships (RMS Titanic and her slightly smaller sister, Olympic), in feet - fittingly the largest gantry in the world at that time.

3 - the number of years it took to build the RMS Titanic.

$7,500,000 - the cost of building the Titanic (£1.5 million).

3,000 - the approximate number of men employed in the construction of the Titanic, around 20% of the Harland & Wolff workforce.

8 - the number of construction workers killed during the build - keel laying to launch (there was an unwritten expectation in shipyards at the time of 'one death for every £100,000 spent, so at a build cost of £1.5, the Titanic's toll was less than the 15 deaths that might have been expected).

3,000,000 - the number of rivets used in the construction of the hull, a mix of iron and steel.

200 - the number of rivets that a 4 man riveting crew could complete per day (assuming dry weather conditions).

15,000 - the number of days work this rate of riveting would have represented for a 4 man crew.

20 - the number of horses needed to transport the main anchor.

Who Built the Titanic

401 - the yard number within which the Titanic was built, at the Hartland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

14,000 - the number of men employed at the Harland & Wolff shipyard.

49 - the average hours worked per week at the shipyard.

£2 - the weekly wage of a Harland & Wolff construction worker.

Read about the launch of the Titanic, her maiden voyage, or for many more Titanic facts why not visit the home page.


© 2011-2013 Dave Fowler. All third party trademarks are hereby acknowledged.

All of the facts and figures displayed on are correct to the best of my knowledge, however myths and misinformation about the Titanic abound and so the accuracy of the information presented cannot be guaranteed. In using any of the Titanic Facts or images from this website you do so entirely at your discretion. If you use this material on another website please link back.

If you spot an entry that you believe requires correction do please let me know - I do not wish to perpetuate inaccuracies. You can contact me at 'thebridge [at]'.