The Second-Class Staircase is the main access staircase for Second Class passengers aboard the RMS Titanic. Located at the aft of the ship, behind the First Class Aft Grand Staircase, there were 2 stairwells.
- The forward staircase spiraled down from the Boat Deck to F-Deck, but it had no exit on A-Deck, as that was an exclusively First-Class deck. It was equipped with a lift operated by Reginald Ivan Pacey. Having a lift attendant in Second Class was an innovation at the time.
- The aft staircase was located below the aft mast. Although it had no elevator, it was all paneled in wood, with white and red linoleum tiles on the floor. There were a couple of wicker chairs on each landing. It spanned from B-Deck to F-Deck and gave access to various locations like the Second Class Promenade, the Second Class Library, the Second Class Dining Room, and the Second-Class cabins on F-Deck.
- Both stairways were more modestly designed than their First-Class counterparts; the balustrades were made entirely of oak and the flooring was in white and red patterned linoleum.
Elevators vs stairs[]
- Second class passenger Lawrence Beesley, whom would survive the sinking and later write about his experiences onboard, highlighted the significance of the elevators during both the voyage and the sinking, citing that older and more frail passengers incapable of climbing 6 flights of stairs to reach the Boat Deck would scarcely have managed to leave their rooms during the sinking, let alone make it to the top deck and into the lifeboats. Beesley also recalled the lift boy, a young boy he placed at 16, as having been a bright and cheerful young man that made everyone who rode the lift with him smile. He would later lament not finding the lift boy on the Carpathia after the sinking, believing him to have perished on board.
Trivia[]
- The C-Deck landing of the Aft Second-Class Stairwell was often a hub of activity on board, A piano was located here, and the ship's band would very often utilize this piano in their performances in Second Class. When the band was not playing, any passengers with enough talent could take up the piano for themselves. A post box was located just to the right of the doors leading into the Second Class Library. Passengers who had written letters in the library simply needed to deposit them into the post box on their way out, leaving the rest up to the mail clerks on board. Lawrence Beesley vividly recalled writing a large number of letters every day and depositing them into this post box. He felt that all of his letters may still very well be in that post box, now on the bottom of the sea.
Wreck[]
Forward Staircase[]
The starboard wall of the forward Second-Class entrance split and collapsed in. The port wall is generally intact. The fore wall is smashed, and the starboard wall is caved inward and split. The weather shields for the doors are still in place. The Boat Deck aft of the entrance caves-in down to A-Deck. The elevator machinery housing on top caved in smashing the Boat Deck elevator walls below. The roof of the machinery housing was blown off when the stern slammed into the seafloor (like the forecastle's cargo hatch), exposing the machinery within. As of 2012, the Second-Class entrance has folded into itself resembling an origami hat.
Aft Staircase[]
The aft wall of the Aft Staircase has become a very prominent feature in the destruction. The wall with the windows is torn off the deck and lies slightly twisted over the stairwell in the entrance. Interior condition is unknown but most likely unrecognizable since the stern section pancaked down to around half of its original height from the violent descent and subsequent downblast.