During the sea trials for the preceding battleship , the ship's engineers learned that the engines might fail at high levels of forced draught; as a result, the "Majestic"s were designed to reach the same maximum speed with a more powerful engine. This allowed the engineers a wider margin of safety at maximum speed. Their propulsion system consisted of two 3-cylinder triple expansion engines, each driving a single four-bladed screw. Steam was provided by eight coal-fired, single-ended Scotch marine boilers, which were trunked into a pair of funnels placed side by side. Their engines were rated at at normal draught, and they provided a top speed of . At forced draught, they could reach and . By 1908, the ships had been re-boilered with mixed coal- and oil-fired models. The ships carried of coal normally, and additional spaces allowed for up to to be stored. With the installation of the new boilers, oil storage amounting to was added. At a speed of , the ships could steam for . At , their cruising radius fell to .