Great Eastern. This great ship, the largest piece of marine architecture ever put together, was planned (1852) by Brunel and Scott Russell at the instance of the Eastern Steam-navigation Company, a vessel being wanted for the route to Australia round the Cape which could carry enough coal for the voyage out and home, and have besides space for a large number of passengers and cargo. The scheme was for a ship that would accommodate 1000 passengers, 5000 tons of goods, and 15,000 tons of coal. As at first arranged for, the measurements were: length, 680 feet between perpendiculars, or 692 feet upper deck; breadth, 83 feet, or 118 over paddle-boxes; height of hull, 60 feet, or 70 to top of bulwarks. Ten partitions of plate crosswise of the ship divided the interior into 11 watertight compartments, further subdivided by longitudinal partitions. The propelling power comprised both paddle and screw. The 4 paddle-engines had 4 boilers; the 4 screw-engines had 6 boilers. The smoke from the furnaces ascended 5 funnels, 100 feet high by 6 in diameter. Setting aside the nominal power, all the 8 engines at full force were estimated to work up to 11,000 horse-power. There were 6 masts, 5 of them iron. The vast wall-sided compartments of the ship had facilities for conversion into cabins for 800 saloon passengers, 2000 second-class, 1200 third-class, and 400 officers and crew; or 5000 might have been accommodated in all if emigrants or troops. The height of the 'tween decks was 13 feet. Such were the plans for the mighty ship, which were never fully carried out in all their details, owing to numerous alterations and refittings.
During 1854-57 the operations proceeded at Millwall, in spite of frequent and heavy financial difficulties. By November 1857 the ship had advanced to the launching condition; but it required various attempts, between November 3, 1857, and January 31, 1858, and an expenditure of £60,000, to effect the launching. During 1858 and 1859 the works continued as fast as the company could supply money; and altogether the vessel was estimated to have cost £732,000. Uncertain how far the original intention of a trade to and from Australia could be realised, the directors determined on a trial trip across the Atlantic. It was a disaster. The ship left the Thames, September 8, 1859; an explosion of steam-pipes took place off Hastings; seven persons were killed and several wounded; and the voyage abruptly came to an end at Portland. The ship started again on June 17, 1860, from Southampton, crossed the Atlantic in eleven days, and reached New York on the 28th. During the remainder of 1860 and the greater part of 1861 she made many voyages to and from, including the conveyance of Foot Guards to Canada, losing money by the insufficiency of the receipts to meet the current expenses, and constantly requiring repairs. For the arrangement and services of the ship in 1865 and 1866 in paying out the Atlantic cable, see ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. In 1867 she was chartered to bring passengers from New York to Havre in connection with the Paris International Exhibition, but the scheme proved a failure. From 1869 onwards the Great Eastern successfully laid some of the most important telegraph cables—across the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, &c. After acting as a coal-hulk at Gibraltar in 1884, the gigantic vessel was sold in London by auction for £26,200. Finally, after having been used for a time as a 'show' ship, she was sold by auction at Liverpool in November 1888, to be broken up, the five days' auction fetching £58,000.