An old engraving of the launching of the Great Eastern, on the River Thames, London, England, UK in 1858. It is from a Victorian history book of SS Great Eastern was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her launch. High winds prevented the ship from being launched on the high tide of 30 January 1858, but the next morning a fresh attempt successfully launched the ship.
An old engraving of the launching of the Great Eastern, on the River Thames, London, England, UK in 1858. It is from a Victorian history book of SS Great Eastern was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of 692 feet (211 m) was surpassed only in 1899 by the 705-foot (215 m) 17,274-gross-ton RMS Oceanic. The vessel also had the largest set of paddle wheels. Brunel knew her affectionately as the ‘Great Babe’. He died in 1859 shortly after her maiden voyage. She plied for several years as a passenger liner between Britain and North America before being converted to a cable-laying ship and laying the first lasting transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866. Finishing her life as a floating music hall in Liverpool, she was broken up on Merseyside in 1889. Great Eastern was planned to be launched on 3 November 1857. The ship’s 19,000 tons (12,000 inert tons during the launch) made it the single heaviest object moved by humans to that point. Failure to launch caused a delay, and high winds prevented the ship from being launched on the high tide of 30 January 1858, but the next morning a fresh attempt successfully launched the ship.
Size: 4252px × 3210px
Location: River Thames, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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