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Two scale models of the Titanic, built from plans found in Southern Methodist University's Science and Engineering Library, will be on display at SMU's Fondren Library Center beginning September 15th. The model builder, James G. Pepper of University Park, said he built the models using copies of original documents found in Engineering magazine articles dated from 1910 to 1912. In the DeGolyer and Fondren libraries, Pepper found other magazines from that period which gave the survivor's accounts of the disaster as well as plans and schematics of the ship.
"I built the ships from the ground up, deck by deck, bulkhead by bulkhead, using paper, three bamboo skewers for the functional drive shafts, wire paperclips for the engine crankshafts, string for rope and toothpicks for the working pistons," Pepper said. "Each ship took nine months to complete." One side is removed on each ship, the starboard side on one and the port side on the other, to allow viewing into the ship where detail includes carpeting, fireplaces, paneling and even drapes in the ship's First Class Reading Room. Miniature lifeboats are tied to the davits, and the propellers, engine pistons, rudders and winches all work. The model is built on a scale of one inch to 20 feet.
The exhibit, which also includes related materials from the Central University Libraries collections at SMU, is expected to be on public display until mid-October.
Titanic-related sites:
