ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL AND HIS "GREATS"

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It had always been Brunel's dream to build a ship capable of carrying 4000 passengers and in 1854 the keel of the Great Eastern was laid at John Scott Russell's yard near the Isle of Dogs on the River Thames. She was a monster equipped with side paddle wheels, screw propellers, five funnels, and six masts capable of carrying 6,500 square yards of sail. By far the largest ship afloat at time she was 688 feet long with a beam of 82 feet, a designed tonnage of 18,914 tons and a top speed of 15 knots. As traditional methods of steering would be a problem she became to first ship to be fitted with a steering engine. She was also the first ship to be constructed with a cellular double bottom which increased the overall strength of the vessel as was proved when she ran over a rock and only incurred minor damage.

But the construction proved to be long and difficult. Numerous problems cause continual delays but the biggest problem concerned the launch. The intention was to slide the 12,000 tons of dead weight tonnage sideways into the Thames from where she lay some 330 feet from the high water mark but this proved to be the biggest problem of all. Advice was sought and given not least by the other great railway pioneer Robert Stephenson. During September 1857 the last plates were riveted and on 3rd November Brunel announced the date of the launch but without success.

A second attempt was made on 2nd December with Prince Albert and the Prince of Wales in attendance but, again without success. A further unsuccessful attempt was made on the 5th January,1858, followed by a fourth attempt on 30th January when it proved to be too windy. However, on the 31st January the Great Eastern was launched. Brunel directed the launch and inch by inch the great ship was eased into the River Thames. The cost of the launch was estimated to be £1000 per foot and by the time the vessel was afloat the total cost was around £732,000. This proved to be too much for John Scott Russell who now faced bankruptcy.

The fitting out of the Great Eastern took until August 1859 and on 7th September she commenced a voyage to Holyhead. Unfortunately, when the ship was off the English coast near Hastings in Sussex there was an explosion which blew the forward funnel off. During the construction Brunel was everywhere, supervising everything. The overwork and the worry finally took its toll and while on board choosing cabins for himself and his wife he suffered a stroke, collapsed and on 11th September, 1859, died without ever seeing his great ship commence her maiden voyage.

A party checking the tackle prior to the first abortive attempt to launch the Great Eastern in 1857.

Brunel and his team watching the launch. Scott Russell, Wm Jacomb, Brunel and Lord Derby.

Brunel had designed the Great Eastern to go to Australia or India with up to 4000 passengers and up to 6000 tons of cargo without having to recoal, but the owners deployed her on the transatlantic route. But the ship never made any money on that route. The first voyage scheduled for 8th October, 1859, was delayed and delayed until at the end of May 1860 when passengers began embarking for a voyage from Southampton to New York. Eventually, on 17th June, 1860, she sailed for New York with 35 paying passengers, 8 company supernumeries and 418 crew members, arriving at Sandy Hook on the 28th. It wasn't until the end of August, and after a couple of local cruises to Cape May and Annapolis, that she returned to England with 100 passengers in 9 days 4 hours. The second Atlantic crossing commenced on 1st May 1861 and, with 100 passengers, completed the voyage in 9 days 13 hours and 20 minutes. She returned to England on 25th May with 194 passengers.

During 1861 the Great Eastern was converted into a troopship and in the August sailed for Quebec with 2,144 officers, 473 women and children a crew of 400 and 122 horses completing the voyage in 8 days and 6 hours. She returned to England at the end of August with 357 passengers. On 10th September, 1861, she sailed from Liverpool to New York with 400 passengers.

Early in 1862 she was refitted and on 7th May sailed for New York with 138 passengers returning to England with 400 First-Class and 300 steerage passengers. In July she sailed for New York with 376 passengers arriving on the 11th and arrived back in England on 6th August with 200 First-Class and 300 steerage passengers. On 17th August she sailed from England with 820 passengers but on 28th August as she was approaching New York she struck a rock off Montauk Point, Long Island (now referred to as the "Great Eastern Rock") and opened an 83 feet gash in her side.

Repairs to the ship were completed by January 1863 and on the 6th she sailed for England with 1200 passengers arriving on 17th/18th. She made several more transatlantic before being chartered by the Telegraph Construction & Maintenance Co. to be converted into a cable laying vessel.

Next - The Great Eastern (Continued)
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