Titanic - on a lorry!

THOUSANDS of filmgoers flocking to see blockbuster movie 'Titanic' can learn more about the real-life tragedy which inspired the film - courtesy of National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside.

A spectacular model of the doomed ship, complete with smoking funnel and illuminated portholes, is currently touring Merseyside on a specially adapted lorry to promote the Mersey Maritime Museum's permanent display, 'Titanic and Lusitania', and will be driven around Wirral this Sunday.

The exhibition is home to the original builders' model of the Titanic, which sank after hitting an iceberg in April 1912, claiming 1,500 lives. Staff at the museum helped provide information about menus and clothing to the makers of the film, and a number of special events are being planned to coincide with its release.

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to meet actors playing the parts of passengers and crew on the fateful voyage, and an eight-foot radio-controlled model of the Titanic will also be on display at various times. Other items in the exhibition include an original lifejacket, posters, and relics from the ship's lifeboats.

In addition, young people from the Jigsaw Music Theatre in Ellesmere Port will perform 'Unsinkable- The Story of the Titanic' at the museum on February 15.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.