View source for SS Great Eastern

{{Short description|British sailing steamship launched in 1858}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Great Eastern 1866-crop.jpg
| Ship image size = 325px
| Ship caption = ''Great Eastern'' at [[Heart's Content, Newfoundland and Labrador|Heart's Content]] after laying the first transatlantic cable, July 1866
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| Ship name = ''Great Eastern''
| Ship namesake =
| Ship operator = Eastern Steam Navigation Co. (1858-1864)
| Ship registry = [[Liverpool]], United Kingdom
| Ship route =
| Ship ordered = 1853
| Ship awarded =
| Ship builder = [[Millwall Iron Works|J. Scott Russell & Co.]], [[Millwall]], [[England]]
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| Ship laid down = 1 May 1854
| Ship launched = 31 January 1858
| Ship christened =
| Ship completed = August 1859
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| Ship decommissioned =
| Ship maiden voyage = 30 August 1859
| Ship in service = 1859
| Ship out of service = 1889
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| Ship refit =
| Ship struck = 1889
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| Ship homeport = Liverpool
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| Ship nickname = *''The Great Ship'',
* ''Leviathan'' (Original name),
* ''Great Babe'' (As Brunel called her)
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| Ship captured =
| Ship fate = Scrapped 1889–90
| Ship notes = Struck rocks on 27 August 1862. No larger ship in all respects until 1901 by the RMS Celtic.
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Ship class =
| Ship type = Passenger ship
| Ship tonnage = {{GRT|18,915}}, {{NRT|13,344}} <ref>{{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Philip S. |title=The Liner |publisher=Chrysalis Books |year=2005 |page=37 |isbn=978-0-85177-938-6}}</ref>
| Ship displacement = 32,160 tons
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| Ship length = {{convert|692|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|82|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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| Ship decks = 4 decks
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| Ship propulsion = Four steam engines for the paddles and an additional engine for the propeller. Total power estimated at {{convert|8000|hp|lk=on|abbr=on}}. [[Fire-tube boiler|Rectangular boilers]]<ref>[[:Image:Oscillating engine, and boilers, of Great Eastern - gteast.gif224kB.png]]</ref>
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| Ship speed = {{convert|14|kn|lk=in}}<ref>{{cite news
|title=Ocean Record Breaking
|work=New York Times
|date=7 July 1895
}}</ref>
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| Ship boats = 18 lifeboats; after 1860 20 lifeboats
| Ship capacity = 4,000 passengers
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| Ship complement = 418
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'''SS ''Great Eastern''''' was an [[iron]]-[[hull (watercraft)|hulled]] [[steamship]] designed by [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at [[Millwall Iron Works]] on the [[River Thames]], London, England. Powered by both sidewheels and a screw propeller, she was by far the [[largest ship]] ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of {{convert|692|ft}} was surpassed only in 1899, by the {{convert|705|ft|m|adj=on}} 17,274-gross-ton {{RMS|Oceanic|1899|6}}, her [[Gross register tonnage|gross tonnage]] of 18,915 was surpassed only in 1901, by the {{convert|701|ft|m|adj=on}} 20,904-gross-ton {{RMS|Celtic|1901|6}} and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed only in 1913, by the 4,234-passenger {{SS|Imperator}}. Her five [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] (later reduced to four) was unusual for the time. She also had the largest set of [[paddle wheels]] in existence.

Brunel knew her affectionately as the "Great Babe". He died in 1859 shortly after her maiden voyage, during which she was damaged by an explosion.<ref name=":4" /> After repairs, she plied for several years in her intended use as a passenger liner between Britain and North America, her voyages made largely unprofitable by her high initial and operating costs. Within a few years she was repurposed to lay underwater cable, laying the first lasting [[transatlantic telegraph cable]] in 1866.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Arthur |year=1994 |title=The Living Rock: The Story of Metals Since Earliest Times and Their Impact on Civilization |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |isbn=978-1-85573-301-5 |page=203 }}</ref> Finishing her life as a floating [[music hall]] and [[Billboard|advertising hoarding]] (for the department store [[Lewis's]]) in [[Liverpool]], she was broken up on [[Merseyside]] in 1889.

==History==
===Concept===
[[File:Robert Howlett (Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern), The Metropolitan Museum of Art - restoration1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern|The famous photograph]] by [[Robert Howlett]] of [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel|Brunel]] before the ship's launching chains]]

After his success in pioneering steam travel to North America with {{SS|Great Western||2}} and {{SS|Great Britain||2}}, Brunel turned his attention to a vessel capable of making longer voyages as far as Australia. With a planned capacity of 15,000 tons of coal, ''Great Eastern'' was envisioned as being able to sail halfway around the world without taking on coal, while also carrying so much cargo and passengers that papers described her as a "floating city" and "the [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]] of the sea".<ref>{{harvnb|Rolt|1957|p=309}}</ref><ref name=":1">Dugan (1952) pp. 3, 4, 5, 6</ref> Brunel saw the ship as being able to effectively monopolize trade with Asia and Australia, making regular trips between Britain and either Sri Lanka or Australia.<ref name=":1" />

On 25 March 1852, Brunel made a sketch of a steamship in his diary and wrote beneath it: "Say 600 ft x 65 ft x 30 ft" (180 m x 20 m x 9.1 m). These measurements were six times larger by volume than any ship afloat; such a large vessel would benefit from [[economies of scale]] and would be both fast and economical, requiring fewer crew than the equivalent tonnage made up of smaller ships. Brunel realised that the ship would need more than one propulsion system; since twin [[Propeller|screws]] were still very much experimental, he settled on a combination of a single screw and [[paddle wheels]], with auxiliary sail power. Although Brunel had pioneered the screw propeller on a large scale with ''Great Britain'', he did not believe that it was possible to build a single propeller and shaft (or, for that matter, a paddleshaft) that could transmit the required power to drive his giant ship at the required speed.<ref>{{harvnb|Rolt|1957|p=313}}</ref>

Brunel showed his idea to [[John Scott Russell]], an experienced naval architect and ship builder whom he had first met at [[the Great Exhibition]]. Scott Russell examined Brunel's plan and made his own calculations as to the ship's feasibility. He calculated that it would have a displacement of 20,000 tons and would require {{convert|8500|hp|lk=in}} to achieve {{convert|14|kn|lk=in}}, but believed it was possible. At Scott Russell's suggestion, they approached the directors of the [[Eastern Steam Navigation Company]] with the new design plan. The [[James Watt|James Watt Company]] would design the ship's screw, Professor [[Charles Piazzi Smyth|Piazzi Smyth]] would design its gyroscopic equipment, and Russell himself would build the hull and paddle wheel.<ref name=":1" />

===1854–1859: Construction to launch===

====Construction====
[[File:SS Great Eastern diagram.jpg|thumb|Sectional plan of ''Great Eastern'']]
[[File:The Great Eastern under construction at Millwall (4313594000).jpg|thumb|left|Construction of ''Great Eastern'', August 18, 1855]]
Brunel entered into a partnership with Scott Russell to build ''Great Eastern''. Unknown to Brunel, Russell was in financial difficulties. The two men disagreed on many details. It was Brunel's final great project, and he collapsed from a stroke after being photographed on her deck, and died only ten days later, a mere four days after ''Great Eastern''{{'}}s first [[sea trial]]s. About the ship, Brunel said "I have never embarked on any one thing to which I have so entirely devoted myself, and to which I have devoted so much time, thought and labour, on the success of which I have staked so much reputation."

''Great Eastern'' was built by Messrs Scott Russell & Co. of [[Millwall]],[[Middlesex]], England, the [[keel]] being [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 1 May 1854. She was {{convert|211|m|ftin}} long, {{convert|25|m|ftin}} wide, with a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|6.1|m|ftin}} unloaded and {{convert|9.1|m|ftin}} fully laden, and [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] 32,000 tons fully loaded. In comparison, SS ''[[RMS Persia|Persia]]'', launched in 1856, was {{cvt|119|m|ftin}} long with a {{cvt|14|m|ftin}} [[Beam (nautical)|beam]]. She was at first named ''Leviathan'', but her high building and launching costs ruined the Eastern Steam Navigation Company and so she lay unfinished for a year before being sold to the Great Eastern Ship Company and finally renamed ''Great Eastern''.

The hull was an all-iron construction, a [[double hull]] of {{convert|19|mm|adj=on}} wrought iron in {{cvt|0.86|m|ftin}} plates with ribs every {{cvt|1.8|m|ftin}}. Her roughly 30,000 iron plates weighed {{convert|1/3|LT|kg|disp=flip}} each, and were cut over individually made wooden templates before being rolled to the required curvature.<ref name=":1" /> Internally the hull was divided by two {{cvt|107|m|ftin}} long, {{cvt|18|m|ftin}} high, longitudinal [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]] and further transverse bulkheads dividing the ship into nineteen compartments. ''Great Eastern'' was the first ship to incorporate a double-skinned hull, a feature which would not be seen again in a ship for 100 years, but which would later become compulsory for reasons of safety. To maximize her fuel capacity, stored coal was bunkered around and over her 10 boilers; which provided steam at 172 kPa (25 PSI).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Webb |first=William Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfsOAAAAYAAJ |title=Descriptive Particulars of the "Great Eastern" Steam Ship with Illustrations and Sectional Plans |date=1857 |publisher=Marshall & Sons |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> She had sail, paddle and screw propulsion. The paddle-wheels were {{cvt|17|m|ftin}} in diameter and the four-bladed screw-propeller was {{cvt|7.3|m|ftin}} across. The power came from four [[steam engine]]s for the paddles and an additional engine for the [[propeller]]. The cylinders for the paddle engines measured {{cvt|1.87|m|in}} bore and {{cvt|4.3|m|ft}} stroke. The four cylinders for the screw engine measured {{cvt|2.13|m|in}} bore and {{cvt|1.21|m|ft}} stroke.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zP9MAQAAMAAJ&q=Great%20Eastern | title=The Progress of Marine Engineering: From the Time of Watt Until the Present Day | last1=Main | first1=Thomas | date=7 August 1893 }}</ref> Total power was estimated at {{convert|8,000|hp|order=flip}}. She had six [[Mast (sailing)|masts]] (said to be named after the days of a week – Monday being the fore mast and Saturday the [[Spanker (sail)|spanker mast]]), providing space for {{convert|1,686|m2}} of sails (7 gaff and maximum 9 (usually 4) square sails), rigged similar to a topsail schooner with a main gaff sail ([[fore-and-aft]] sail) on each mast, one "jib" on the fore mast and three square sails on masts no. 2 and no. 3 (Tuesday & Wednesday); for a time mast no. 4 was also fitted with 3 yards. In later years, some of the yards were removed. According to some sources she would have carried {{cvt|5,435|m2}} in sails.{{who|date=September 2021}} Setting sails turned out to be unusable at the same time as the paddles and screw were under steam, because the hot exhaust from the five (later four) [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]] would set them on fire. Her maximum speed was {{convert|13|kn}}. She was involved in a series of accidents during construction, with 6 workers being killed.<ref>"Brunel's ships p147"</ref>

====Launch====
[[File:Life of Brunel - Fig 15 - Transverse Section of the Cradles and the Launching Ways of the ‘Great Eastern’ Steam-Ship.png|thumb|Section of ''Great Eastern'' with launching cradle on slipway]]

''Great Eastern'' was planned to be launched on 3 November 1857. The ship's massive size posed major logistical issues; according to one source, 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.<ref name=":2">Dugan (1952) pp. 9–17</ref> On 3 November, a large crowd gathered to watch the ship launch, with notables present including the Comte de Paris, the [[Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale|Duke of Aumale]], and the Siamese ambassador to Britain.<ref name=":2" /> The launch, however, failed, and the ship was stranded on its launch rails – in addition, two men were killed and several others injured, leading some to declare ''Great Eastern'' an unlucky ship. Brunel rescheduled the launch for January 1858, hoping to use the tide in the next launch attempt.<ref name=":2" />
[[File:-Men at Work Beside the Launching Chains of the "Great Eastern"- MET DP275749 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|''Great Eastern'' two months before launch, November 1857.]]
In the leadup to the second launch, Brunel and ''Great Eastern''<nowiki/>'s backers gathered a significant number of chains, jacks, hydraulic rams, and [[windlass]]es to assist in launching the ship. Some were obtained from sympathetic engineers, others through returned favours, and yet more for increasing sums of money; so lucrative was renting out of supplies for the ship's launch that engineer [[Richard Tangye]] was able to found his own engineering firm (Tangye & Co) the next year, remarking that "We launched ''Great Eastern'', and she launched us''".''<ref name=":2" /> Advice sent to Brunel on how to launch the ship came from a number of sources, including steamboat captains on the Great Lakes and one admirer who wrote an insightful description on how the massive ''[[Bronze Horseman]]'' had been erected in Saint Petersburg.<ref name=":2" /> High winds prevented the ship from being launched on 30 January, but the next morning a fresh attempt successfully launched the ship around 10:00 in the morning.<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Great Eastern painting smooth sea-2.jpg|right|thumb|Hand-coloured lithograph of the ''Great Eastern'', as imagined by the artist at her launch in 1858]]
Following her launch, ''Great Eastern'' spent a further 8 months being fitted out. However, the cost of the fitting out ($600,000) concerned many investors, who had already spent nearly $6,000,000 constructing her.<ref name=":3">Dugan (1952) p. 35</ref> With the building company already in debt, cost cutting measures were implemented; the ship was removed from Russell's shipyard, and many investors requested she be sold. As reported by the ''Times'', one investor openly proposed that the ship be sold to the Royal Navy, noting if the navy employed ''Great Eastern'' as a ram, she would easily cleave through any warship afloat.<ref name=":3" /> These efforts had mixed success, with the ship eventually being sold to a new company for £800,000, equating to a loss of $3,000,000 for investors in the Eastern Steam Navigation Company.<ref name=":4">Dugan (1952) pp. 36–39, 41–49</ref> The new company modified parts of its predecessor's design, most notably cutting the ship's coal capacity as it intended to use the ship for the American market. Fitting out concluded in August 1859 and was marked with a lavish banquet for visitors (which included engineers, stockholders, members of parliament, 5 earls, and other notables).<ref name=":4" /> In early September 1859, the ship sailed from her dock towards the channel, accompanied by many spectators. However, off Hastings she suffered a massive steam explosion (caused by a valve being left shut by accident after a pressure test of the system) that killed five crewmen and destroyed the forwardmost funnel.<ref name=":4" /> She proceeded to Portland Bill and then to [[Holyhead]], though some investors claimed more money could have been made if the ship had remained as an "exhibition ship" for tourists in the Thames.<ref name=":4" /> ''Great Eastern'' successfully rode out the infamous [[Royal Charter Storm]], after which it was moved to Southampton for the winter.<ref name=":4" /> The start of 1860 led to a further change of ownership when the owning company was found to be badly in debt and the value of the ship depreciated by half. This revelation forced the resignation of the board of directors, who were then replaced by a third group of controlling stockholders.<ref name=":4" />

With the new board in place, the ship was recapitalized to raise an additional $50,000. The new board was determined to finish the ship, but also bet heavily on making large profits exhibiting the ship in North American seaports. To accomplish this, the company played major American and Canadian cities against each other, goading them into competition over which city would welcome ''Great Eastern''; the city of [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], Maine (with additional investment from the [[Grand Trunk Railway]]) went so far as to build a $125,000 pier to accommodate the ship.<ref name=":5">Dugan (1952) pp. 49, 50–68</ref> Ultimately New York City – which had quickly dredged a berth for her alongside a lumber wharf – was decided on as the ship's first destination.<ref name=":5" />

===1860–1862: Early career===
[[File:The "Great Eastern" in Southampton Water Jun 1860 - RCIN 709614-1504619301.jpg|thumb|left|''Great Eastern'' in Southampton, June 1860]]
After some delays, ''Great Eastern'' began her eleven-day maiden voyage on 17 June 1860 from [[Liverpool]] with 35 paying passengers, 8 company "[[wikt:deadhead|dead heads]]" (passengers who do not pay) and 418 crew. Among the passengers were two journalists, [[Zerah Colburn (locomotive designer)|Zerah Colburn]] and [[Alexander Lyman Holley]]. Her first crossing went without incident, and the ship's seaworthiness was proven again when she easily survived a small gale. ''Great Eastern'' arrived in New York on 28 June and was successfully docked, though she did damage part of a wharf. The ship was received with great aplomb, with many vessels and tens of thousands of people crowding to see her. In preparation for the crowds, the crew established a bar on deck, spread sand to soak up tobacco juice, and prepared to receive thousands of visitors. However, relations between the crew and New Yorkers began to sour – the public was outraged by the $1 entry fee (similar excursion trips in New York charged 25 cents) and many would-be visitors decided to forgo visiting the ship.<ref name=":5" /> ''Great Eastern'' left New York in late July, taking several hundred passengers on an excursion trip to [[Cape May, New Jersey|Cape May]] and then to [[Old Point, Virginia|Old Point]], Virginia.<ref name=":0" /> However, this too raised issues as the ship did not have enough provisions (a burst pipe in a storeroom had ruined much of the ship's food) to make the short trip comfortable, while her rudimentary bathrooms posed a sanitation issue.<ref name=":6">Dugan (1952) pp. 72–79</ref> Duplicate tickets were sold for some berths, families were separated and remixed in improperly assigned cabins, and five plainclothes police officers (put on by New York Police Department to deter{{clarify|date=August 2025}} pickpockets) were discovered and chased into a livestock pen on deck.{{why|date=June 2022}}<ref name=":6" /> After reaching Virginia, the ship steamed back to New York, and from there sailed south again for an excursion cruise in the Chesapeake bay. The ship departed for Annapolis, where it was given 5,000 tons of coal by the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]].<ref name=":7">Dugan (1952) pp. 81–84</ref> ''Great Eastern'' remained in Annapolis for several days, where she was toured by several thousand visitors and President [[James Buchanan]]. During the presidential visit, one member of the company board discussed sending the ship to [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] to transport Southern cotton to English mills, but this idea was never followed up on.<ref name=":7" />

Upon its second return to New York, the company decided to sail from the United States. From a financial perspective, the American venture had been a disaster; the ship had taken in only $120,000 against a $72,000 overhead, whereas the company had expected to take in $700,000. In addition, the company was facing a daily interest payment of $5,000, which ate into any profits the ship made.<ref name=":7" /> Hoping to net more profit before returning to Britain, the ship sailed from New York in mid August, bound for Halifax with 100 passengers. However, on approach to the port the ship was hailed by a local lighthouse service, which was empowered by law to collect a toll based on ship tonnage – given the size of the ship, the lighthouse levied a toll of $1,750 on ''Great Eastern''. Infuriated by the size of the toll, a party went ashore to request that the toll be waived, but the governor{{clarify|date=August 2025}} of Halifax denied this request. Angered by the refusal, the captain and company leadership ordered the ship to return to Britain immediately, and as such no passengers or visitors were taken on in Halifax.<ref>Dugan (1952) pp. 84, 85</ref>

With the engineering success but financial failure of the 1860 trip, the ship's ownership company again attempted to turn ''Great Eastern'' profitable. During the winter of 1860, Scott Russell (who had recently won a $120,000 legal judgement against the ship company) refitted the ship and repaired damage sustained during its first year of operations; during the refit, she once broke free from her moorings and cut off the bowsprit of [[HMS Blenheim (1813)|HMS ''Blenheim'']].<ref>Dugan (1952) pp. 88–90</ref> She departed for New York in May 1861 (her other potential port, Baltimore, being now considered too risky because of the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]]), arriving in the port with little fanfare. Taking on a cargo of 5,000 tons of barrelled wheat and 194 passengers, she departed for Liverpool on 25 May, making an uneventful trip.<ref name=":8">Dugan (1952) pp. 97, 98</ref> Upon her return to Britain, it was announced that the ship's company had been contracted by the British War Office to transport 2,000 troops to Canada, part of a show of force to intimidate the rapidly-arming United States. After a further refit to carry troops, ''Great Eastern'' departed Britain for Quebec City carrying 2,144 soldiers, 473 passengers, and 122 horses; according to one source, this number of passengers – when coupled with ''Great Eastern''<nowiki/>'s crew of 400 – marked the most number of people aboard a single ship to that point in history.<ref name=":8" /> The voyage was a success and the ship made it to Quebec, where it took two days for the city's steamers to ferry the passengers from the ship. The crossing was made in record-setting time, taking 8 days and 6 hours. ''Great Eastern''<nowiki/>'s durable design was praised by the military officers aboard, but soon after her return to Britain the War Office discontinued the contract, and the ship returned to regular passenger service.<ref name=":8" />

In September 1861, ''Great Eastern'' was caught in a major hurricane two days out of Liverpool. The ship was trapped in the storm for three days and suffered major damage to her propulsion systems; both her paddle wheels were torn off, her sails stripped away, and her rudder had been bent to 200 degrees and subsequently torn up by the ship's single propeller. A jury-rigged propeller{{clarify|date=August 2025}} was installed by Hamilton Towle (an American engineer returning from Austria), allowing the ship to steer for Ireland powered only by her screw. Arriving in Queenstown, (now [[Cobh]]), she was denied entry to the harbour as it was feared high winds would cause her to smash her anchorage; she was granted entry three days later and towed in by HMS ''Advice'', tearing the anchor off an American merchant on her way to her berth. The only fatal casualty of the cruise occurred in port when a man was killed by backspin off the helm. Damage caused by the storm and lost revenue from the trip amounted to $300,000.<ref>Dugan (1952) pp. 108–123</ref>

The ship continued a cycle of uneventful cruises, cargo loadings, and brief exhibitions from late 1861 to mid-1862. By July 1862, the ship was turning its first noteworthy profits, carrying 500 passengers and 8,000 tons of foodstuffs from New York to Liverpool, bringing in $225,000 in gross and requiring a turnaround of only 11 days. However, the ship's owners struggled to sustain this profitability as they were heavily focused on upper- and middle-class passenger service. As such, the ship was not used to transport large groups of immigrants travelling to the United States, nor did her transatlantic passages take full advantage of the major downturn in the American [[clipper]] industry during the American Civil War.<ref>Dugan (1952) pp. 130–141</ref>

===1862–1884: Later career===

====''Great Eastern'' Rock incident====
[[File:SS Great Eastern in New York Harbor by Stacy.jpg|thumb|left|Berthed at New York, 1860]]
On 17 August 1862, ''Great Eastern'' departed from Liverpool for New York, carrying 820 passengers and several thousand tons of cargo – given the size of her load, she was drawing {{convert|30|ft|m|0|order=flip}} of water.<ref name=":9">Dugan (1952) pp. 139, 145</ref> After outrunning a small squall, the ship approached the New York coast on the night of 27 August. Fearing that ''Great Eastern'' was resting too low in the water to pass by Sandy Hook, the ship's captain instead chose the nominally safer route through Long Island Sound. While passing by Montauk Point around 2:00 AM, the ship collided with an uncharted rock needle (later named Great Eastern Rock) that stood around {{convert|26|ft|m|0|order=flip}} below the surface. The rock punctured the outer hull of the ship, leaving a gash {{convert|9|ft|m|order=flip}} wide and {{convert|83|ft|m|order=flip}} long{{snd}}it was later calculated that the needle was large enough to contact the inner hull, but that the outer hull and strong transverse braces had prevented the inner hull from being breached. The collision was noticed by the crew, who guessed that the ship had struck a shifting sand shoal, and after a bilge check ''Great Eastern'' continued onto New York without incident.<ref>{{cite web | last = Brander | first = Roy | title = The RMS Titanic and its Times: When Accountants Ruled the Waves | work = Elias Kline Memorial Lecture, 69th Shock & Vibration Symposium | url = http://www.cuug.ab.ca/~branderr/risk_essay/Kline_lecture.html | access-date =26 August 2008}}</ref> While in port, however, it was noticed that the ship had acquired a slight list to starboard, and so a diver was sent in to inspect the hull. After several days' inspection, the diver reported the large hole in the ship's outer hull, a major issue as no drydock in the world could fit the ship.<ref name=":9" /> The ship's hull was repaired by metalworkers in a [[cofferdam]], but cost the company $350,000 and delayed the ship's return to Britain by several months.<ref name=":9" /> She would make one more trip to New York and back in 1863 before being laid up until 1864 due to her operating costs.<ref name=":10">Dugan (1952) pp. 160–164, 207</ref>

In January 1864, it was announced that the ship would be auctioned off. During the auction, four members of the company board of directors bid $125,000 for the ship and won it, thus acquiring personal control of the vessel. The group then allowed the ship company to go bankrupt, thus separating the ship from the now defunct shipping company and divesting many smaller stockholders. The ship was then contracted out to [[Cyrus West Field]], an American financier, who intended to use it to lay underwater cables.<ref name=":10" /> The ship's owners developed a [[business model]] whereby they would rent out ''Great Eastern'' as a cable layer in exchange for shares in cable companies, ensuring that if ''Great Eastern'' succeeded in laying cables, the unprofitable ship could be personally lucrative for her owners.<ref name=":10" />

====Cable laying====
In May 1865, ''Great Eastern'' steamed to Sheerness to take on wire for the laying of the [[Transatlantic telegraph cable]]. In return for using the ship, her owners wanted $250,000 in telegraph company stock, but only on the condition the wire laying succeeded.<ref name=":11">Dugan (1952) pp. 167, 172–188</ref> To accommodate the {{convert|13950|mi|km|order=flip}} of cable she was carrying, ''Great Eastern'' had some of her salons and rooms replaced with large tanks to hold the cable. In July the ship began laying the undersea cable near [[Valentia Island]], gradually working her way west at a speed of {{cvt|6|kn|km/h|order=flip}}. The effort went relatively smoothly for several weeks, but the cable end was lost mid-Atlantic in an accident, forcing the ship to return in 1866 with a new line. The ship's first officer, [[Robert Halpin]], managed to locate the lost cable end and the unbroken cable made it to shore in [[Heart's Content, Newfoundland and Labrador|Heart's Content, Newfoundland]] on 27 July 1866.<ref name=":11" />

Halpin became captain of ''Great Eastern'', with the ship laying further cables.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Richard |date=June 2021 |title=The Halpin Memorial Medal |page=146|journal=Orders & Medals Research Society Journal|volume=60 |issue=2|issn=1474-3353}}</ref> In early 1869 she laid a series of undersea cables near Brest.<ref>Dugan (1952) pp. 208–217</ref> Later that year she was outfitted to lay undersea cables in the Indian Ocean; most of the operation's expenses were covered by the British government and banks in India, which hoped to circumvent the unreliable overland cables linking Britain to India.<ref name=":0" /> In preparation for operations in the hot climate, the ship was painted white to deflect heat away from the ship's cable tanks. ''Great Eastern'' departed from Britain in December 1869, arriving in Bombay (now Mumbai) 83 days later to lay her first cable anchor. Upon her arrival in port, ''Great Eastern''<nowiki/>'s size generated considerable public interest, with the captain offering tickets to view the ship for 2 rupees apiece, distributing proceeds to the crew.<ref name=":0" /> Departing from Bombay before the onset of the Monsoon season, she proceeded north to lay a cable between Bombay and Aden. From Aden, she laid another cable to the island of [[Jabal al-Tair Island|Jabal al-Tair]], where a second ship rendezvoused with her to take up the cable to Suez and then on to Alexandria.<ref name=":0" />

====Suez Canal concerns====
The [[Suez Canal]], which opened in 1869, was a setback for the ship, as at the time the channel was too shallow for ''Great Eastern'' to navigate. Going around Africa it would not be able to compete with ships that could use the canal. Ali Rischdi, a famed Arab navigator, proposed taking the ship through the canal, but this was never attempted.<ref name=":0" />

===1885–1890: Break up===
[[File:Great Eastern (1858) anchored at Liverpool when used for advertising Lewis' Department Store, Liverpool RMG P10569.tiff|thumb|''Great Eastern'' as a floating billboard for Lewis's Department Store in Liverpool, 1880s]]
[[File:Great Eastern SLV AllanGreen.jpg|thumb|''Great Eastern'' beached for breaking up]]

At the end of her cable-laying career – hastened by the launch of the [[CS Faraday (1874)|CS ''Faraday'']], a ship purpose-built for cable laying<ref name=":0" /> – she was refitted as a liner, but once again efforts to make her a commercial success failed. She remained moored in Milford Harbour for some time, annoying the Milford harbour board, which wanted to build dockyards in the area. Many proposals for the ship were raised; according to one source, pubs were full of talk of filling her with gunpowder and blowing her up.<ref>Dugan (1952) p. 241</ref> The ship was ultimately saved, however, as a dock engineer (Frederick Appleby) was able to build a dock around her, using the ship's massive hulk as a station for driving pylons. During her 11 years moored in Milford, she accrued a large amount of [[biofouling]] on her hull. Early marine naturalist [[Henry Lee (naturalist)|Henry Lee]] (best known at the time for his skepticism towards sea monsters) conducted an extensive study of her hull, calculating she had ~300 tons of marine life attached to her.<ref>Dugan (1952) p. 246</ref> She was sold at auction, at [[Lloyd's of London|Lloyd's]] on 4 November 1885,<!-- may be 28 October --> by order of the [[Court of Chancery]]. Bidding commenced at £10,000, rising to £26,200 and sold to Mr Mattos, a city merchant.<ref>{{cite news|date=5 November 1885|title=Sale of the Great Eastern|page=5|work=The Cornishman|issue=381}}</ref>

Sold again, she was used as a showboat, a floating palace/concert hall and gymnasium. She later acted as an [[Billboard|advertising hoarding]]{{snd}}sailing up and down the Mersey for [[Lewis's]] Department Store, who at this point were her owners, before being sold.<ref name="Hill2016">{{cite book|author=S. R. Hill|title=The Distributive System: The Commonwealth and International Library: Social Administration, Training, Economics and Production Division|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtKfDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA101|date=2016|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-4831-3777-3|pages=101–}}</ref><ref name="Brindle2013">{{cite book|first=Steven|last=Brindle|title=Brunel: The Man Who Built the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s6Y6AgAAQBAJ&pg=PP121|date=2013|publisher=Orion Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-78022-648-4|pages=121–}}</ref> The idea was to attract people to the store by using her as a floating visitor attraction. In 1886 she was sailed to Liverpool for the [[International Exhibition of Navigation, Commerce and Industry|Liverpool Exhibition of 1886]] – during the transit, she struck and badly damaged one of her tugs, the last of 10 ships she would damage or sink.<ref>Dugan (1952) p. 250</ref> On 10 May 1887, the steamship ''G. E. Wood'' collided with her in the Mersey.<ref name=Times110587>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Latest Shipping Intelligence |date=11 May 1887 |issue=32069 |page=6 |column=E }}</ref> Sold again after the exhibition, one company considered using her to raise shallow shipwrecks, while one humorist suggested that ''Great Eastern'' be used to help dig the Panama canal by ramming her into the isthmus.<ref>Dugan (1952) p. 242</ref> She was, again, sold at auction in 1888, fetching £16,000 for her value as scrap.<ref name="Graves-BrownHarrison2013">{{cite book|first1=Paul|last1=Graves-Brown|first2=Rodney|last2=Harrison|first3=Angela|last3=Piccini|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Contemporary World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eNWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA250|date=2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-166395-6|pages=250–}}</ref><ref name="HallDibnah2013">{{cite book|first1=David|last1=Hall|first2=Fred|last2=Dibnah|title=Fred Dibnah's Age Of Steam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UoYIFJvreDMC&pg=PT89|date= 2013|publisher=Ebury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4481-4140-1|pages=89–}}</ref> Many pieces of the ship were bought by private collectors, former passengers, and friends of the crew – various fixtures, lamps, furniture, paneling, and other artifacts were kept. Parts of ''Great Eastern'' were repurposed for other uses; one ferry company converted her wood paneling into a public house bar, while one mistress at a Lancashire boarding school acquired the ship's deck caboose for use as a children's playhouse.<ref name=":0" />

An early example of breaking-up a structure by use of a [[wrecking ball]], she was scrapped near the [[Sloyne]], at [[New Ferry]] on the [[River Mersey]] by Henry Bath & Son Ltd in 1889–1890—it took 18 months to take her apart, with her double hull being particularly difficult to salvage. The breaking of the ship caused a minor labour dispute as workers – who were paid by the ton of ship scrapped – became frustrated with the slow pace of breaking and went on strike.<ref>Dugan (1952) p. 266</ref>

====Trapped worker legend====
After ''Great Eastern''<nowiki/>'s scrapping, rumours spread that the shipbreakers had found the remains of trapped worker(s) entombed in her double hull—likely inspired by tales spread by her crew of a phantom riveter who had been sealed in the ship's hull. The legend was first widely noted on by [[James Dugan (historian)|James Dugan]] in 1952, who quoted a letter from a Captain David Duff, and many later sources cite Dugan's work. Other authors, notably [[L. T. C. Rolt]] in his biography of Brunel, have dismissed the claim (noting such a discovery would have been recorded in company logs and received press attention), but the legend has become widely mentioned in books and articles about nautical ghost stories.<ref name=":12" /> In ''London and Londoners in the Eighteen-Fifties and Sixties'', [[Alfred Rosling Bennett]] writes about the skeleton that "it was then remembered that while on the stocks building a pay-clerk had disappeared with a large sum of money... and was supposed to have fled with it", and questions if the remains could have been deposited by workmen who had murdered the man.<ref>Bennett, Alfred Rosling; [http://dbooks.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/books/PDFs/501954213.pdf ''London and Londoners in the 1850s & 1860s''] (1924), reprint  [[Lume Books]] (2016), p. 120</ref> [[Brian Dunning (author)|Brian Dunning]] wrote about the legend in 2020, noting that while it was technically impossible to prove or disprove, the incident could not have happened given the lack of evidence being found during the numerous times ''Great Eastern'' was being repaired.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|title=The Skeletons of the Great Eastern|author=Brian Dunning|url=https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4730|access-date=2021-05-31|website=Skeptoid}}</ref>

====Surviving parts====
[[File:SS Great Eastern model.jpg|thumb|left|Model of ''Great Eastern'' in the [[Museum of London Docklands]]]]
Football historian Stephen Kelly states that in 1928, [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool Football Club]] were looking for a flagpole for their [[Anfield]] ground, and consequently purchased her top mast.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Stephen F. |title=You'll Never Walk Alone: the Official Illustrated History of Liverpool FC |date=1988 |publisher=Maxwell Pergamon |location=London |isbn=0356172643 |page=200 |edition=Revised |url=https://archive.org/details/youllneverwalkal0000kell}}</ref> However, further investigation by local journalist Simon Weedy has shown that the mast was originally moved there by [[Everton F.C.]], prior to their departure from Anfield in 1892.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kay |first1=Dan |title=Can you help solve this decades-old Anfield mystery? |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-anfield-great-eastern-flagpole-16558997 |website=Liverpool Echo |access-date=13 July 2024 |language=en |date=26 July 2019}}</ref> It still stands there today at the Kop end.<ref>{{cite web|title=LIVERWEB – An A to Z of Liverpool FC – G|url=http://liverweb.org.uk/g.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041220154316/http://liverweb.org.uk/g.htm|archive-date=20 December 2004|work=liverweb.org.uk}}</ref> In 2011, the [[Channel 4]] programme ''[[Time Team]]'' found [[Geophysical survey (archaeology)|geophysical survey]] evidence to suggest that residual iron parts from the ship's keel and lower structure still reside in the foreshore.<ref>{{cite episode|title=Brunel's Last Launch|series=[[Time Team (Specials)|Time Team Special]]|credits=Presenter: [[Tony Robinson]]|network=[[Channel 4]]|airdate=10 November 2011}}</ref>

During 1859, when ''Great Eastern'' was off Portland conducting trials, an explosion aboard blew off one of the funnels. The funnel was salvaged and subsequently purchased by the water company supplying Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in Dorset, UK, and used as a filtering device. It was later transferred to the [[M Shed|Bristol Maritime Museum]] close to Brunel's SS ''Great Britain'' then moved to the SS ''Great Britain'' Museum.

In October 2007, the recovery of a {{convert|6500|lb|t|adj=on}} anchor in {{convert|70|ft|m}} of water about {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} from Great Eastern Rock stirred speculation that it may have belonged to ''Great Eastern''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Drumm|first=Russell|date=11 October 2007|title=Mysterious Humongous Anchor Snagged Big haul for dragger off Montauk Point|publisher=East Hampton Star|url=http://www.easthamptonstar.com/DNN/Default.aspx?tabid=3830|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701013417/https://www.easthamptonstar.com/DNN/Default.aspx?tabid=3830|archive-date=1 July 2010}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* The SS ''Great Eastern'' is the subject of the [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] song, "Ballad of the Great Eastern" from the 2013 album ''[[The Last Ship (album)|The Last Ship]]''.
* The history of the SS ''Great Eastern'' is chronicled in detail in James Dugan's non-fiction book ''The Great Iron Ship''.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Dugan|first1=James|title=The Great Iron Ship|date=1953|publisher=Harper & Brothers|isbn=978-0750934473|location=New York|pages=222, 223, 224, 240}}</ref>
* An Atlantic crossing on the SS ''Great Eastern'' is the backdrop to [[Jules Verne]]'s 1871 novel ''[[A Floating City]]''
* The 1867 ten-day maiden trip from Liverpool to New York forms the backdrop of the posthumously published eight-volume erotic novel, ''[[The Great Eastern (Embirikos novel)|The Great Eastern]]'', by the Greek writer [[Andreas Embirikos]]
* The SS ''Great Eastern'' and its creator Isambard Kingdom Brunel are central to [[Howard A. Rodman]]'s 2019 novel ''[[The Great Eastern (Rodman novel)|The Great Eastern]]'', in which [[Captain Ahab]] is pitted against [[Captain Nemo]].
* ''The Great Eastern'' was the name of a radio comedy show on CBC Radio One from 1994 to 1999, named for the steamship.
* In the trade management video game ''[[Anno 1800]]'', released in 2019 by [[Ubisoft]], the player has the opportunity to construct ''Great Eastern'' as an addition to their naval fleet. ''Great Eastern'' has the largest cargo capacity of any ship in the game with a total of eight cargo slots.
* In [[China Miéville]]'s fantasy stories set in [[Bas-Lag]], the pirate city of [[Bas-Lag#Armada|Armada]] contains a ship named ''The Grand Easterly'', based on SS ''Great Eastern''.
* The launching of the ship, Brunel's illness & subsequent death feature as the initial setup for the 2019 novel ''The Great London Conspiracy'' by Jordan Mooney.

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:On the deck of SS Great Eastern by Robert Howlett, 1857.jpg|On the deck, 1857
File:The Great Eastern by Robert Howlett, 1857.jpg|''Great Eastern'',<br/>12 November 1857
File:SS Great Eastern launch ramp.JPG|SS ''Great Eastern''{{'}}s launch ramp at Millwall
File:Leviathan Great Eastern.jpg|Print referring to the difficulty of trying to launch ''Great Eastern''. The [[Mariners' Museum]]
File:PSM V12 D562 The great eastern.jpg|Magazine illustration ca. 1877
File:James Pullen's model of SS Great Eastern at Langdon Down Museum.JPG|[[James Henry Pullen]]'s model of SS ''Great Eastern''
File:FlagpoleGreatEasternLFC.jpg|A [[topmast]] salvaged from ''Great Eastern'' at the Kop end of [[Anfield]], the home stadium of [[Liverpool F.C.]]
File:Part of a funnel from the SS Great Eastern - geograph.org.uk - 1447346.jpg|Part of a funnel from the SS ''Great Eastern''. [[SS Great Britain|SS ''Great Britain'' Museum]], [[Bristol]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[James Henry Pullen]]'s model of SS ''Great Eastern''
* [[Steering engine]] – ''Great Eastern'' was the first ship so equipped
* [[Transatlantic telegraph cable]]
* [[Robert Halpin]], commanded the SS ''Great Eastern'' when a cable layer
* [[List of large sailing vessels]]

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Cadbury |first=Deborah |author-link=Deborah Cadbury|title=Seven Wonders of the Industrial World |publisher=Fourth Estate |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-00-716304-5|title-link=Seven Wonders of the Industrial World }}
* {{Cite book |last=Dugan |first=James |title=The Great Iron Ship |publisher=Harper |year=1953|url=https://archive.org/details/greatironship0000unse |isbn=978-0-7509-3447-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Emmerson |first=George S.|title=S.S. Great Eastern |publisher=David & Charles |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-7153-8054-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gillings |first=Annabel |title=Brunel |publisher=Haus Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-904950-44-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/brunel0000gill }}
* Kelly, Andrew and Melanie, (editors), ''Brunel – In Love With the Impossible'', 2006 by Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, Hardback {{ISBN|0-9550742-0-7}} Paperback {{ISBN|0-9550742-1-5}}.
* {{cite book|first=L. T. C.|last=Rolt|title=Isambard Kingdom Brunel|year=1957|publisher=Longmans}} {{ISBN|0140117520}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Tyler |first=David Budlong |title=Steam Conquers the Atlantic |publisher=D. Appleton-Century |year=1939}}
* {{Cite book |last=Verne |first=Jules |author-link=Jules Verne |title=A Floating City |publisher=Harper |year=1871 |isbn=978-0-7509-3447-3|title-link=A Floating City }} (Account of his 1867 voyage on ''Great Eastern'').
* {{Cite book |last=Wallace |first=William A. |title=The Great Eastern's Log: Containing Her First Transatlantic Voyage and All Particulars of Her American Visit |publisher=Europaischer Hochschulverlag GmbH & Co. |year=2014|isbn=978-3954272662}}
* [http://www.cuug.ab.ca/~branderr/risk_essay/titanic.html The Titanic Disaster: An Enduring Example of Money Management vs. Risk Management]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Great Eastern (ship, 1858)|SS Great Eastern}}
{{Americana Poster|Great Eastern}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091010104559/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/greateastern.html ''Great Eastern'' on thegreatoceanliners.com]
* ''The building of the Great Eastern.'' at [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46519 Southern Millwall: Drunken Dock and the Land of Promise], pp.&nbsp;466–480, [[Survey of London]] volumes 43 and 44, edited by Hermione Hobhouse, 1994.
* [http://www.atlantic-cable.com/Cableships/GreatEastern/''Great Eastern'' and Cable Laying]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111020132232/http://www.ikbrunel.org.uk/ss-great-eastern Brief description of ''Great Eastern'']
* {{Facebook|SSGreatEastern|SS ''Great Eastern''}}
* [http://www.theengineer.co.uk/assets/getAsset.aspx?liAssetID=21802 First voyage of ''Great Eastern'']{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, in ''The Engineer'', 16 September 1859.
* [http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0&mainQuery=Great%20Eastern%20Brunel&searchType=all&form=basic&theme=&county=&district=&placeName= Images of ''Great Eastern'']{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at the [[English Heritage Archive]]
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/side_wheel/great_eastern_1858/great_eastern_page_1.htm Maritimequest SS ''Great Eastern'' Photo Gallery]

{{Largest passenger ships}}
{{Brunel}}
{{1859 shipwrecks}}
{{1862 shipwrecks}}
{{1887 shipwrecks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Eastern}}
[[Category:Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ocean liners]]
[[Category:Shipbuilding in London]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Steamships]]
[[Category:Sailing ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Six-masted ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Millwall]]
[[Category:Ships designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]
[[Category:Cable ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1858 ships]]
[[Category:Jules Verne]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships with box type boilers]]
[[Category:1858 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1859]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1862]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1887]]