Engineering question

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The main engineering room, throughout the run of TOS, went through quite a few changes didn't it? How many different versions did they have?

Also, is there any *proof* that (as many fans suspect) warp engineering and impulse engineering were different places?

 

[Michael]

As per this very interesting article the answer seems to be 'a lot'. It looks like they changed it for nearly all of its 26 appearances.

 

[FalTorPan]

Thanks for the link. I'll finish writing that article... someday.

 

[Timo]

We have to remember that Engineering was always described as an expansive maze where Evil Kirks or Ben Finneys could hide almost indefinitely. None of the sets really caters for that. But none of them features even three full walls, let alone four. We'd be fully within our rights to assume, then, that the sets only represent a tiny fraction of the entire space - and not necessarily the same fraction every time, either!

There could well be half a dozen rooms like the one we usually see, some with the two merged pillboxes in the middle of the floor, some without; some with alcoves and consoles arranged as the Chief Engineer's personal workplace, some without. And those would be just the control rooms that are specifically made aesthetically and ergonomically pleasing; the rest of Engineering could be a maze of spars and pipes, much like the one we saw in the newest movie.

A combination of "they are different rooms" and "they are being modified during the mission" would probably be worked out, so that there'd be a set number of Engineering locations visited, with a set number of modifications made to some of them.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Yeoman Randi]

WOW! Great article. Thanks for that link!

 

[Unicron]

Agreed. Very interesting to read.

 

[Myko]

There's something about the layout of the room I can't work out. This pertains to the first season version.

http://www.trekplace.com/images/article14-pic031.jpg

This image has the entrance parallel with the large side wall (with the grille in front of the engines). However I can't fit this in with picture evidence of the entrance doors.

Comparing with:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x22hd/spaceseedhd736.jpg
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x04hd/thenakedtimehd0980.jpg

I just can't agree that the doors are perpendicular to the back wall.

I've tried to find a blueprint or a stage plan, but I can only find the season 2 version.

 

[TowerPower]

The trekplace pic link is not working.

 

[Michael]

The trekplace pic link is not working.

Apparently Greg is not allowing direct links to his images. This should work ...

 

[TIN_MAN]

That floorplan isn't 100% accurate, being mainly for familiarization purposes only. the actual set was built onto the curved hallway, and so had the entrance slightly at an angle relative to the back wall, which is probably why you're having trouble matching it up?

 

[Mytran]

The engine room in the first season was WAY off the curvature of the corridor. I suspect that they hung the large "grill" wall from a single rafter which ran straight accross the soundstage, hence it being out of alignment with the corridor angle:

 

[Mytran]

The first season set is full of quirks like that. For instance, the turbolift at the other end of the corridor is tucked into a little alcove:

Why? Well if it didn't the corridor would collide with the edge of sickbay. If it seems a little zany then you have to remember that sickbay was built first (for WNMHGB) and the corridor second (when the series went into production). Like engineering, it was an issue that got fixed in the second season. It's fascinating to see the way things like this evolve.

 

[FalTorPan]

There's something about the layout of the room I can't work out. This pertains to the first season version.

http://www.trekplace.com/images/article14-pic031.jpg

This image has the entrance parallel with the large side wall (with the grille in front of the engines). However I can't fit this in with picture evidence of the entrance doors.

Comparing with:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x22hd/spaceseedhd736.jpg
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x04hd/thenakedtimehd0980.jpg

I just can't agree that the doors are perpendicular to the back wall.

I've tried to find a blueprint or a stage plan, but I can only find the season 2 version.

If I ever get around to updating and completing that article, then I'll make a number of tweaks to those diagrams, which are intended to be rough guides at best. I do appreciate any and all constructive criticism. Feel free to email me at the address on the web site. Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy in that diagram. I was working in a vacuum on that article, so I didn't have access to all the resources which are available now!

 

[Mysterion]

Well, the slurpee machine and disco ball were never really seen after The Cage, but...

 

[Doran]

Nor were Bermuda shorts, but there they were in The Cage ...

 

[Captain Robert April]

Keep in mind that the pilots were shot at the Culver City soundstages, while the regular production took place over at the Gower Street facility, present day Paramount Studios. There's bound to be some differences.

 

[Mytran]

True, but the differences (aside from Pike's quarters and the round briefing lounge) are actually pretty minimal IMO. The Transporter Room and the whole short corridor outside it is virtually unchanged since "The Cage". Sickbay in WNMHGB is the same setup as the whole of Season One (leading to the corridor issue I mentioned). Certain panels used to make the longer corridor section in WNMHGB are also very familiar when compared with the rest of the series, although the curved corridor isn't so fully present.

Or were you just refering to Bermuda shorts?

 

[FalTorPan]

True, but the differences (aside from Pike's quarters and the round briefing lounge) are actually pretty minimal IMO. The Transporter Room and the whole short corridor outside it is virtually unchanged since "The Cage". Sickbay in WNMHGB is the same setup as the whole of Season One (leading to the corridor issue I mentioned). Certain panels used to make the longer corridor section in WNMHGB are also very familiar when compared with the rest of the series, although the curved corridor isn't so fully present.

Or were you just refering to Bermuda shorts?

The transporter room looks pretty different in "The Cage," aside from the platform itself. For example in "The Cage," one wall had a ladder.

 

[Mytran]

Yes, but that's just set dressing. Structurally they are they same layout in terms of door, platform, console placement etc. Even the angles around the doorframe.

 

[EnsignHarper]

True, but the differences (aside from Pike's quarters and the round briefing lounge) are actually pretty minimal IMO. The Transporter Room and the whole short corridor outside it is virtually unchanged since "The Cage". Sickbay in WNMHGB is the same setup as the whole of Season One (leading to the corridor issue I mentioned). Certain panels used to make the longer corridor section in WNMHGB are also very familiar when compared with the rest of the series, although the curved corridor isn't so fully present.

Or were you just refering to Bermuda shorts?

The transporter room looks pretty different in "The Cage," aside from the platform itself. For example in "The Cage," one wall had a ladder.

Plus, to save money, they doubled the helm/nav console as the transporter console in both pilots.