History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

Great Eastern
by Bill Glover

GREAT EASTERN
Official Number 21891 (1864)

EASTERN STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY

The Eastern Steam Navigation Company was formed in January 1851 with the intention of exploiting the increase in trade and emigration to Australia after the discovery of gold there. To make this a viable proposition they needed a subsidy in the form of a mail contract from the GPO, for which they tendered. In March 1852, against the advice of a House of Commons Committee set up to look into the awarding of mail contracts, the Government awarded both to P&O, although the ESN tender was lower.

Finding themselves in the position of having a company without a purpose, they were in effect open to offers. Brunel wrote a paper on his idea of building a ship capable of sailing to and from Australia without the need to refuel on route and sent it to ESN. He was invited to present his ideas to the board but was unable to attend so John Scott Russell took his place. A committee was set up to look into the idea and they reported in favour and the scheme was adopted at a board meeting held in July 1852. Brunel was appointed Engineer and tenders were invited for the hull, paddle engines and screw engines.

However, although the board had accepted the scheme in principle, a number of the directors and the chairman resigned. Brunel approached Henry Thomas Hope to become the new chairman and with his help and that of John Yates, the company secretary, they were able to fill the vacancies on the board. Now Brunel, Charles Geach and John Yates set about raising capital by placing 40,000 shares of £20 each with interested investors. The first call on the shares was £3 raising a working capital of £120,000. All this was achieved by December 1853.

THE CONTRACT

The final contract signed by Scott Russell on 22 December 1853 laid down the following terms.

Provided for the construction, trial, launch and delivery of an iron ship of the general dimensions of 680 feet between perpendiculars, 83 feet beam and 58 feet deep according to the drawings annexed, signed by the engineer, I. K. Brunel.

All vertical joints to be butt joints and to be double riveted wherever required by the engineer. Bulkheads to be at 60 feet intervals. No cast iron to be used anywhere except for slide valves and cocks without special permission of the engineer. The water tightness of every part to be tested before launching, the several compartments to be filled one at a time up to the level of the lower deck.

The ship to be built in a dock.

After the launch such trials and trial trips at sea will be made with the engines and probably under sail as in the opinion of the engineer may be necessary to ascertain the efficiency of the work. Any defects then discovered in workmanship or quality of materials to be forthwith remedied by, or at the expense of, the contractor to the satisfaction of the engineer.

All calculations, drawings, models and templates which the contractor may prepare shall from time to time be submitted to the Engineer for his revision and alteration or approval. The Engineer to have entire control over the proceedings and the workmanship.

CONSTRUCTION

As the pile driving was being carried out a moulding floor was being constructed and roofed, so that the ship’s lines could be laid out in full scale. New plate bending and punching machines were installed in Russell’s yard. Coffer dams were sunk in the floor for the paddle engine cylinders to be cast. To be able to build the paddle engine a new workshop had to be erected as the engine, when completed, stood 40 feet high.

The ship was to be double hulled with transverse bulkheads spaced at 60 feet intervals. These were built to a height of 5 feet above the deep loadline. Two longitudinal bulkheads spaced 36 feet apart ran the full 350 feet of the two engine rooms. These also reached up to the loadline. Two tunnels were installed at the lowest level, one carried the steam pipes while the other provided a link between the two engine rooms.

The first problem to arise was where the ship was to be built. Russell’s contract stipulated that it was to be built in a dock, Russell quoted a price of £8-10,000 to build the dock and so this part of the scheme was abandoned partly on the grounds of cost and partly on the need to find a suitable site on which to build the dock. Also the idea of a normal launch, ie stern first, was also rejected because of the length of the vessel and to provide the right launch angle the base of the ship, at the bows, would be 40 feet in the air. Eventually it was decided to build the ship parallel to the river and use a mechanical patent slip, designed by Brunel, for the launch. Later this scheme was also dropped on the grounds of cost.

Having decided on a sideways launch, a suitable site had to be found, Russell’s yard being too small. The adjacent yard belonging to David Napier, was empty, available and suitable so it was leased. As the punching machines and plate rollers were installed in Russell’s yard a railway was laid between the two yards for moving materials.

The keel plate was laid in May 1854 and it was expected that construction of the hull and engines would be completed by October 1855. Attached to the keel plate was the centre web which in turn had horizontal plates attached. 1 inch thick plates were used, on both inner and outer hulls, for eighteen feet either side of the centre web, these were flat to enable the ship to be beached on a gridiron. At the time no drydock existed that would be able to accommodate the ship.

The transverse and longitudinal bulkheads built of ½ inch thick plates, were attached to the centre web, and were, like the rest of the ship built up plate by plate. Then the longitudinal bulkheads were built up the same way. The deck was constructed of ½ inch plates in the same way as the hull two layers of plates being used. The deck was then covered with timber to produce a level surface.

Plating the hull, using ¾ inch thick plates throughout, began with the inner hull. The hull plates were built of inner and outer strakes, the second strake would be riveted to the inside of the first and third strake, the fourth to the inside of the third and fifth and so on. Longitudinals which consisted of normal sized plates, ½ inch thick, with 4½ inch angle iron riveted to both of the long sides, were riveted to the inner hull and then as the outer hull was plated the longitudinals would be attached. They were riveted to the centre of the inner and outer hull plates and were attached to every other row, with the exception of the flat plates on the bottom where they were attached to every row. With the angle irons overhanging half an inch the space between the hulls was 2 feet 10 inches. The height between each row of longitudinals was 5 feet 6 inches. All of the inner surfaces of the two hulls were painted to reduce corrosion.

In November 1854 Charles Geach suddenly died. As well as being a Director of the ESN he was also a Director of Beale and Company who were to supply the plates for the ship. He had agreed to take a large part of the payments from Russell in shares of ESN., Russell himself receiving part payment in ESN shares.

The first indication of the problems to come appeared on New Year’s Day 1855 when Russell informed Brunel that he was in financial difficulty and his bankers had refused him further credit. Brunel approached the board and it was agreed that Russell would be paid the amount due to him on his contract in instalments of £8,000 subject to agreement that the necessary work had been completed. This satisfied Martin’s Bank, who were Russell’s main creditors, at least for the time being.

On 12 October 1855 Russell again contacted Brunel to inform him that his bankers required an immediate payment of £12,000 on his £15,000 overdraft. Brunel authorised a payment of £10,000. A week later Russell again got in touch with Brunel to say that his bankers wanted the £15,000 and would not be satisfied with the offer of £10,000. Russell made the point that he was employing a large number of men and he needed the money to pay their wages, or he would have to lay them off. Although true quite a number of these men were employed on other ships being built by Russell and not on the Great Eastern. In all Russell had laid down six ships, some of them in Napier’s yard, one of which was preventing the completion of the stern of the Great Eastern.

At the beginning of February 1856 Brunel advised the Company to take possession of the ship, citing breach of contract, to avoid its sequestration by Russell’s creditors. This produced a reaction from Russell’s bankers who refused to honour his cheques and foreclosed on his assets. On 4 February Russell suspended all payments to his creditors and a week later dismissed all his workmen.

A meeting was held by Russell’s creditors on 12 February at which it was disclosed that Russell had liabilities of £122,940 and assets of £100,353. It was decided that existing contracts would be allowed to run to completion and the business would be liquidated under the supervision of three inspectors appointed by his creditors. To the board of the ESN he issued a statement, in which he repudiated his contract effectively handing the uncompleted ship back to the company. This was from the man who had received a total of £292,295 including extra payments for additional work from ESN and yet when the situation was reviewed it was found that three quarters of the work on the hull had not been completed and there was a deficiency of 1200 tons in the amount of iron supplied and that used on the ship. Out of the original estimate for the construction of the hull only £40,000 had not been paid to Russell.

As all this was happening Brunel wrote to John Yates at Milwall instructing him to negotiate with Russell for the lease of his yard and equipment. Yates wrote back to say that Russell had mortgaged the yard to his banker and that any negotiation would have to be with the bank, who, after weeks of wrangling, agreed to lease the yard and equipment until 12 August 1857.

The ESN began the task of getting the work completed, those that had worked on the ship stuck out for the best deal they could get and the company had little option but to pay. Replacing the former workers was not a viable option and of course Russell’s assistants held the plans and drawings of the ship. Work on the ship restarted in May and it took far longer to complete than was expected. Towards the end of June 1857 Brunel reported that once the screw, screw shaft and the sternpost had been installed the ship would be ready for launching by the end of July. The only problem was that because of Russell’s opposition to a sideways launch and then the problems of accessing the site, the launch ways and cradles would not be ready in time. The contract for their construction had only been placed, with railway contractor Thomas Treadwell, in January 1857. Brunel then wrote to company secretary Yates to negotiate an extension of the lease on Russell’s yard. After protracted negotiations the mortgagees agreed to an extension from 12 August to 10 October for the sum of £2,500.

On the due date the mortgagees took possession of the yard and refused entry to all the workmen. Under pressure from all sides and against his better judgement Brunel agreed to launch the ship on 3 November.

THE IRON PLATES

The plates used were of a standard size 10 feet 0 inches by 2 feet 9 inches, those used on the bottom were 1 inch. thick those on the sides ¾ inch thick and those on the deck and bulkheads were ½ inch. thick. In all 30,000 plates were used and these were supplied by Beale & Company, Parkgate Ironworks, Rotherham, Yorkshire. Each plate was shaped by hand rollers and cut where necessary with steam operated shears, the form or line being taken from wooden models of the hull. Each plate was marked and numbered on the model and this was then painted on the relevant plate by a boy who also marked out the rivet holes, each plate requiring 100 rivets, according to another template. The rivet holes were then punched out with a steam operated punch. The plate would then be manhandled onto a bogie and moved on rails to where it was needed and would be hauled into place by men using a block and tackle.

RIVETING GANG

At the peak of the building around 200 riveting gangs were at work on the ship, working a minimum of 12 hours per day. A riveting gang consisted of two riveters or ‘bashers’ as they were known, a ‘holder on’ and two boys. One boy heated the rivets the other caught the white hot rivet, thrown to him by the first boy, he then placed it in the relevant hole, the holder on then kept the head of the rivet tight up against the inside of the plate while the bashers, striking alternately, hammered the other end into shape. One such gang could fit 400 rivets per day. When the outer hull was being riveted the holder on and the second boy worked between the two hulls in a space just 2 ft.10 inches wide.

PADDLE ENGINES

The paddle engines were built by John Scott Russell on site. They were oscillating engines with four cylinders each 74 inches in diameter and a 14 foot stroke. The cylinders could be worked in pairs or altogether, a friction clutch being provided to enable the connection or disconnection of either pair.

The crankshaft was manufactured by Messrs Fulton & Neilson, Lancefield Forge, Glasgow, who had to build new furnaces, to produce sufficient steel at one time, to make the casting. The first two attempts failed but success came with the third. It weighed 40 tons and the company charged a fee £100 per ton. In addition the forge also manufactured the following;

Two paddle cranks, two paddle shafts, intermediate crankshaft and the two friction shafts.

Construction of the engines took about twelve months and they were assembled in Russell’s yard and then dismantled and fitted into the ship, partly before launch and the rest including the main crankshaft shaft were installed during fitting out. In October 1854 Russell wrote to Brunel that he was about to cast the last cylinder and asked if Brunel would come to see it done. Of the other three cylinders two had been bored and faced and the third was in the process of being bored. Each cylinder casting used 34 tons of iron.

PADDLES

The paddles were 56 feet in diameter and these could be reefed or shortened to 36 feet to suit the draught of the ship. Each paddle had thirty 13 ft by 3 ft floats fitted. During a later refit the paddles were reduced to a diameter of 50 feet.

SCREW ENGINES

The screw engines designed and built by James Watt & Company at their Soho Works in Birmingham were direct slide guide engines working with a single and double connecting rod, each pair working one crank. They consisted of four cylinders horizontally opposed, each 7 feet in diameter with a 4 foot stroke. The first cylinder was cast in August 1854 and Brunel was invited to witness the event.

SCREW SHAFT

The screw shaft was 2 feet in diameter and consisted of four coupled shafts each 30 feet long and a tail shaft 40 feet long. The tail shaft was manufactured at the Lancefield Forge, the rest being made in London. The tail shaft was supported by a bearing consisting of four blocks of wrought iron 8 feet by 16 inches which were lined with Babbit. After the maiden voyage it was found that the Babbit had been squeezed out at the bottom of the bearing. The lower sections of the bearing were planed back by 2 inches and a brass lining with dovetail grooves cut into it was fitted. The grooves were lined with lignum vitae.

PROPELLER

The propeller was made of cast iron, fitted with four blades, giving it a diameter of 24 feet and 44 feet pitch. Each blade was fixed to the 8 feet diameter boss by 12 bolts each of 2 ½ inches diameter. The total weight being 36 tons.

STEERING

When built Great Eastern was fitted with manual steering. Two wheels were fitted to the same axle and these moved the tiller by means of chains. Later two more wheels were added and provision made for four more. In bad weather with all wheels manned problems still occurred.

In 1867 during the fitting out for the Paris Exhibition, steam powered steering gear designed by John McFarlane, a steam engineer, who was Engineer Surveyor to the Board of Trade in Belfast, was installed.

THE LAUNCH WAYS

Around 1000 30 feet long wooden piles were driven into the ground to form the base on which to build the ship. On top of these timber baulks were laid to form a bed for the keel. The ways themselves each consisted of a 2 feet thick bed of concrete onto which were bolted 1 foot square timber baulks fixed parallel to the ship. The spaces between these timbers was filled with concrete. Further timbers were laid at right angles to the ship and then a final layer again parallel to the ship onto which were laid standard railway lines running at right angles to the ship.

THE LAUNCH

For the launch the ship was supported by two cradles each 120 feet wide, shod with 1 inch iron bars. These cradles were 110 feet apart and the bow and stern overhung them by 180 feet and 150 feet respectively. During the latter part of October between 1,000 and 1,500 men worked day and night to remove everything not required for the launch.

Brunel now realised that he would be unable to test all the various items of equipment before the launch. The lease of the shipyard cost £1,000 a month and everyone was pressing for a launch date. So at the end of October he settled on 3 November 1857 to catch the high tide.

Brunel had hoped to undertake the launch with the minimum of publicity but word had spread and many thousands of spectators had manned every vantage point around the yard. In his preparations for the launch he had requested that the men be told to keep quiet during the launch and any verbal orders be given quietly but firmly. He would give his orders by means of signal flags from the launching platform at the top of the ships side. To his dismay he found out that the directors had sold 3,000 tickets permitting spectators to enter the yard. As he was getting ready some of the directors joined him on the rostrum with a list of names. Brunel’s reply on being asked which he preferred was “Call her Tom Thumb if you like.” At 12.30 pm the daughter of Henry Thomas Hope, Chairman of the ESN, christened the ship Leviathan.

3 November. At the first attempt the forward cradle moves 3-4 feet in two seconds, then stops. The after cradle slides about 6 feet and stops. The latter took up the slack on the checking chain and the windlass spun rapidly throwing the men sitting on it into the air. One of them, died from his injuries a few days after the accident. A second attempt was abandoned when teeth on the forward winch were stripped followed by a pin breaking in one of the rams.

19 November. Another attempt but the abutments for the rams failed.

28 November. The ship begins moving at a rate of about one inch a minute. Following a break for dinner the ship refused to move. It was found that the rails had sunk into the timber and the cradles were lying in small hollows. Two of the four midship barges broke their mooring chains and so the attempt was abandoned. The ship had moved a further14 feet closer to the Thames.

29 November. The broken chains were repaired overnight, but the same problem occurred. The chain attached to the stern dragged a 15 ton block of concrete, used to moor it, across the river bed and under the stern of the ship. Unable to move the ship with existing equipment Brunel begged and borrowed equipment from the surrounding area and with this succeeded in moving the Great Eastern another 8 feet.

30 November. Moved about 8½ feet before a 10 inch jack on the forward cradle failed. Two extra hydraulic jacks were added to each cradle and the moorings for the barges were strengthened. The ship moved a further 14 feet. Around 200 spectators watching events from staging erected outside the yard fell 20 feet when it collapsed, many were hurt, seven seriously, but no one was killed.

3 December. A further 14 feet closer to launch.

4 December. The ship moves another 14 feet before two rams, one 14 inch and one 7 inch, failed and with that all attempts were abandoned for the day.

5 December. Visit from Princess Royal, the Duchess of Atholl, Marquis of Stafford and Sir Joseph Paxton (designer of the Crystal Palace). Another 14 feet. New abutments for the rams had to be built as the existing ones were 60 feet away from the cradles.

7 December. The water supply pipes of two rams failed and nothing was done until the afternoon when the ship was encouraged to slide a further 8 feet. Mooring tackle of the haulage gear gave way.

16 December. Moved a further 3 feet. Much of the equipment, rams, chains etc. failed during the day. Brunel was accompanied by Robert Stephenson, himself in poor health, but there to help his friend in anyway he could.

After this attempt Brunel and Stephenson agreed that more hydraulic rams were needed to finish the job. Brunel dispatched one of his assistants to Richard Tangye’s workshop in Birmingham with an order for more presses. With the equipment supplied by Tangye’s doing the work, the company slogan became, ‘We launched the Great Eastern and the Great Eastern launched us.’

4 January 1858. New abutments had been built, requiring the breaking up of the concrete underlying the ways. New rams were obtained from Tangye’s including the 21 inch one used by Stephenson to raise the Britannia bridge. The haulage gear was more securely fixed to the Deptford side of the river. A barque running upstream collided with one of the barges and sank it.

5 and 6 January. The ship moved 10 feet each day and at the same time was squared up on the ways ready for the next attempt.

10 January. Reached a point where at high tide she was partially afloat.

11 to 14 January. Gradually pushed down the ways until Brunel ceased operations to prevent her floating off on the high tide of the 19th. Water was pumped into the twin hull to prevent the ship launching itself.

20 January. Following the high tide the ship was pushed into position ready for launch which was set for the 30 January.

30 January. The weather was too windy and the launch was postponed until the following day.

31 January. Throughout the night the water ballast was pumped out of the ship and at 1.30 pm the ship was finally afloat. Four steam tugs, Victoria and Pride of all Nations at the bow, with Napoleon and Perseverance at the stern gently moved the Great Eastern to the Deptford side of the river where she would be fitted out. As this was going on a barge fouled the starboard paddle wheel and Captain Harrison ordered it to be sunk.

FITTING OUT

The launch had cost £170,000, one third of Brunel’s estimate for the whole ship, and it still had to be fitted out. Getting any more money out of the ESN shareholders proved more difficult than getting the ship into the Thames. The Eastern Steam Navigation Company was close to bankruptcy and to prevent this happening and creditors seizing the ship a new company the ‘Great Ship Company’ was formed with a capital of £340,000. They bought the Great Eastern for £160,000, leaving sufficient funds for the fitting out. Existing ESN shareholders were given the market value of their £20 shares, £2-10s (£2.50), towards payment for shares in the new company and then the Eastern Steam Navigation Company went into liquidation.

Tenders were invited and two were received, one from Wigram and Lucas for £142,000 and the other from John Scott Russell for £125,000. Brunel had been told by his doctor to take a long holiday and he was absent during the time that the fitting out contract was awarded to Russell. Russell’s tender was accepted and in January 1859 the work was started. The terms of the contract being that the work was to be completed in six months to enable the ship’s first voyage to America to take place that summer.

Russell at this point was only responsible for the completion of the paddle and auxiliary engines and supervising the various sub-contractors he had been engaged to carry out the variety of tasks involved.

The following is a contemporary account of the fitting out of the passenger accommodation:

Running crosswise are twelve watertight bulkheads or walls, extending the entire height to the upper deck, with no openings below the lower deck: the ship is thus cut off into ten or more compartments, generally about 60ft long. Five of the compartments near the centre of the ship form five complete hotels for passengers, each comprising upper and lower saloons, bedrooms, bar, offices, etc and each cut off from the others by the iron bulkheads. It is as if five hotels, each measuring about 80 ft x 60 ft and 25 ft high, were let down into an equal number of vast iron boxes. Vertical longitudinal walls separate each compartment into central saloons and side cabins, or bedrooms, and decks separate the height into two such series of rooms.

The Chief Saloon is 62 ft long by 36 ft wide and 12 ft high, adjoining it is the ladies' cabin, 20 ft long. The arrangements for ventilating and lighting the lower cabins from the skylight above necessitated the railing off of open space on each side of the saloon. Besides this, two of the enormous funnels find their way upwards through this room. These peculiarities all presented considerable difficulties to be overcome in the decoration. The open spaces on each side are treated as arcades, resting on light iron columns; and between these are ornamental balustrades, also of iron, of very delicate design. Both these were cast by the Coalbrookdale Iron Company, and are beautiful specimens of their work. This ironwork is all treated by a peculiar process in imitation of oxydised silver relieved with gilding.

Above, the columns appear to support, by means of brackets, the iron beams of the ship. There is no attempt at concealing these, but they are decorated alternately in blue and red, the under side being gilt. The spaces between these beams are divided into panels which are very lightly decorated in colour and gold.

The walls are hung with a rich pattern in raised gold and white, divided into panels by green stiles and pilasters in imitation of oxydised silver, to correspond with the columns.

The two large funnel-casings which occupy considerable space in the room, are octagon in plan. The four larger sides of these have been covered with mirrors, which continue the perspective of the saloon, and almost do away with the appearance of obstruction which before existed. On the four smaller sides, at the angles, are arabesque panels ornamented with children and emblems of the sea.

Mirrors are also placed on the large airshafts at the sides of the saloon, and on each side of them are other arabesque paintings with children personifying the arts and sciences connected with the building and navigation of the ship.

There are portières of rich crimson silk to all the doorways; and the carpet, of which the pattern is simple, the prevailing colour being maroon, assists in giving effect to the other decorations.

The sofas are covered with Utrecht velvet, and the buffets are of walnut wood richly carved, the tops being of a fine green marble.

A very peculiar feature in this unique saloon is the mode by which it is lighted and ventilated at the sides - by large openings railed off with gilt balustrades, and reaching to the upper deck, where they are met by skylights, which can be left up or down at pleasure. Besides the great additional light which these openings give, they are invaluable as securing at any moment currents of fresh air. Next to this imperial saloon is another and still longer one, which is to be appropriated to the ordinary first-class passengers, the other being exclusively devoted to the extra first and the ladies. Around these two principal saloons the sleeping-berths of the passengers are skilfully arranged, the amount of accommodation being regulated, of course, by the price paid for the passage. But it is hardly fair to call them mere berths, seeing that they are, generally speaking, rather suites of apartments, comprising sleeping, sitting, and dressing rooms, all self-contained, and offering to females as complete seclusion as if they were in their own homes. The smallest of these berths is larger than the best cabins in any other vessel; and they have the peculiar advantage of being at least double the height, and possessing most ample and ready means of ventilation.

The cabins are not all arranged alike, but some are constructed as 'family cabins', and some in the usual 'two-and-two' fashion; whilst others, by a combination of both the above styles, can be turned into a suite of one large and two small ones, making up eight bedplaces altogether, all opening into each other, and capable of being shut out completely from the passage and the rest of the ship. Each family cabin measures 18 ft by 7 ft 6 in. and is 7 ft 6 in. high, and is furnished with every necessary convenience. The berths are so constructed that by a very simple process they can be made to collapse and fold together against the sides of the cabin, leaving a space of six inches between the two, so as to admit of stowing away the bedclothes; this done, curtains are drawn across, and so kept until night, the consequence being not only that the bed arrangements are entirely concealed all day, and the cabin turned into a snug little drawing-room, but that space is gained equal to about one-third of the whole area. The tables are so arranged as to be capable of extension or diminution in size. The cabins are floored with oilcloth, with Turkey rugs above. Under one of the settees is a bath, which can be easily supplied with hot fresh or salt water, by the aid of what are called the 'donkey-engines' or some of the multitudinous shaftings which are to work everything all over the ship.

The lower tier of saloons extend along the centre of the vessel immediately beneath and exactly corresponding to the first-class saloons, and form in truth the ground floor of the magnificent hotel, of which the others are the first, or perhaps it would be still more accurate to say that the lower saloons, with their flanking cabins, are the ground and first floors, the first-class saloons and their cabins thus becoming the second, for the superior height of the lower saloons enables two tiers of cabins to lie one above the other round them, short flights of stairs leading to the upper tier. It will be recollected that, in describing the principal saloon and passenger accommodation, we pointed out than an open space some six or seven feet wide was left on each side of the floors of the upper saloons, and was crossed by bridges leading to the cabins. The object of these spaces we stated to be the admission of light to the lower saloons.... The fittings of the lower saloons are of a far simpler and less magnificent character than those which adorn the upper, yet to our mind the toning down and subduing of light, combined with the great loftiness, produce an almost more pleasing and tranquillising effect. In the lower saloon, surrounded by all the substantials of comfort, and without any pomp and glitter ... one seems to feel even more at home.... The lower saloons, too. are the furthest from deck noises; and we much doubt whether between the tropics they will not prove the cooler, and, even if there were to arise in them a demand for more air, think what a breeze would pour down a windsail from the deck of a vessel tearing across the water at twenty miles an hour! The dimensions of these saloons correspond with those of the upper ones, the space on each side beneath that through which the light is admitted being occupied by a row of cabins with lean-to roofs constructed of hammered glass, which will admit plenty of light without permitting any curious first-class passenger to pry into the secrets of the cabins below by peeping over the balustrade above. The interior arrangements of the cabins are much on the same plan as those already described in those appropriated to the first-class passengers, only of course less luxurious and less smart, and accommodating on the whole more passengers. In fact, many of them, when their living contents are all berthed, for the night, will present very much the appearance of cupboards full of prostrate people laid round on the shelves.

The separate compartments into which the ‘hotels’ for the accommodation of passengers are divided are as distinct from each other as so many different houses; each will have its splendid saloons, its bedrooms, or cabins, its kitchen, and its bar; and the passengers will no more be able to walk from the one to the other than the inhabitants of one house in Westbourne Terrace could communicate through the party walls with their next door neighbours. The only process by which visiting can be carried on will be by means of the upper deck or main thoroughfare of the ship. The saloons, together with the sleeping apartments, extending over 350 ft, are located in the middle instead of extreme aft, according to the usual arrangement. The advantage of this disposition of the hotel department must be evident to all those who have been to sea and know the advantage of a snug berth as near as possible to the centre of the ship, where its transverse and longitudinal axles meet, and where, of course, there is no motion at all. The passengers are placed immediately above the boilers and engines; but the latter are completely shut off from the living freight by a strongly arched roof of iron, above which, and below the lowest iron deck, the coals are stowed, and prevents all sound and vibration from penetrating to the inhabitants in the upper stories.

There are two large holds, to be devoted exclusively to cargo, one at each end of the cabins. They are both 60 ft long, and are the whole depth and breadth of the ship; each is capable of holding about 1,000 tons of cargo. The total quantity of space appropriated to cargo will be regulated entirely by circumstances. It would be quite easy to stow 6,000 tons in the hold and various other unappropriated places. The crew and officers are berthed forward. The captain has a splendid suite of rooms on deck, within easy distance of the paddle boxes.

COALING AND VICTUALLING

To enable the vast quantity of coal to be taken on board 20 ports, ten to each side, each measuring 5 feet square were fitted on the lower deck to enable coal wagons to pass inside the hull. In the case of fresh meat etc, live cows, sheep, chickens, geese, ducks etc., were carried on board and the necessary pens and cages were provided on deck at the stern of the ship.

RIGGING

The rigging of the masts of the ship were decided on by Captain Harrison. The six masts were eventually named from bow to stern; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tuesday and Wednesday were square rigged, Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday were fore and aft rigged. Thursday was also equipped to carry square sails. The total area of canvas was 6,500 square yards.

The masts were constructed of iron with the exception of the stern mast (Saturday), which was of wood, as the compass was to be situated on or near this mast. The iron masts consisted of two plates, each formed into half circles and butt jointed with internal plates. Discs of wrought iron reinforced with angle iron were riveted inside to give additional strength. Sizes of the various masts were as follows. Heights given are from keel to truck. Monday, 2 feet 9 inches diameter, 172 feet high. Tuesday, 3 feet 6 inches diameter, 216 feet high. Wednesday, 3 feet 6 inches diameter, 225 feet high. Thursday 3 feet 6 inches diameter, 216 feet high. Friday, 2 feet 9 inches diameter, 188 feet high. Saturday, 2 feet 9 inches diameter, 164 feet high. From the keel to the upper deck they were encased in a square tube of iron plate. The lower yards of the square rigged masts were also made of iron and were 126 feet long and 2 feet 6 inches diameter at the centre. The stays were of 7 ½ inch wire rope with the exception of the stern mast where they were made of hemp.

1859 FIRST VOYAGE

By August 1859 the fitting out had been completed and 30 August was given as the date of the first voyage but this was put back to 6 September. The destination was Weymouth, for which the fares were either £6 or £10 depending on the choice of cabin. From Weymouth a trial trip into the Atlantic would be made. After this the ship would make for Holyhead which was be its port for voyages to America. The company had an agreement with the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada to use Portland, Maine as its port of call in America. In preparation for this the railway had a special jetty built to accommodate the ship.

The original schedule was as follows Great Eastern would leave her berth on Tuesday 6 September for the Nore where she would adjust her compasses. Then on to Portland Harbour where she would be open to visitors from 9 to 15 September. This would be followed by a trial trip of up to three days and then the ship would head for Holyhead. The ship would again be open to visitors from 19 to 26 September. Passengers for the trip to Holyhead would board on the 16th. Passengers, letters and parcels for America would be taken on board on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 and the ship would leave on 30 September. The return journey from Portland, Maine would commence on 1 November. Following the explosion off Hastings the departure date for the trip to America was put back to 20 October. This was probably based on Russell’s estimate of needing three weeks to complete repairs.

Between 150 and 200 passengers boarded the vessel on 5 September. A further delay put back the departure back a day. At 7.30 am, on 7 September 1859, the Blue Peter was hoisted and with four steam tugs in attendance, Victoria and Napoleon at the bow with Punch and Victor at the stern the Great Eastern began moving down the Thames. The leading tugs were themselves attached to other tugs there to provide assistance in an emergency. The river was so crowded at the entrance to the West India Docks that the ship was forced to stop for a time. Because of this delay and other hold ups it was decided to moor at Purfleet for the night. The following day accompanied by hundreds of small craft and watched by spectators along the banks the ship moved out of the Thames and headed for Weymouth.

All went well until the ship was off Hastings when there was a violent explosion which blew off the forward funnel and completely wrecked the Grand Saloon. The funnels were fitted with feed water jackets through which water passed on its way on its way to the boilers. This jacket served two purposes, it preheated the boiler water and it helped to reduce the heat in the saloons through which the funnels passed. The two forward funnels had been fitted with stop cocks, on the instructions of Brunel, and though both were open when the ship sailed both were closed when the accident occurred. One of the engineers on board having realised what had happened checked the other stop cock and finding it closed, opened it thus preventing a second explosion. The build up to the explosion began when officer of the watch Mcfarlane on duty in the paddle engine room who was having problems with the donkey engines which pumped water to the boilers, to overcome this he decided to bypass the feed water heaters. These heaters, full of water, were now sealed at both ends and heated by the funnels were an accident waiting to happen.

Fortunately at the time of the explosion the Grand Saloon was virtually empty, the only one found there by Captain Harrison and the search party, was his own daughter who had been shielded from the blast by a bulkhead. A few minutes earlier it had been full of people. As he continued the search he came across a gaping hole in the floor and below were the open furnace doors. Those in the boiler room were not so fortunate. One stoker badly scalded jumped overboard and became entangled in the paddle wheels and was killed. Thirteen men were injured by boiling water and steam, which blew back into the engine room as a result of the explosion. Having established the ship was not in danger of sinking, Captain Harrison decided to complete the journey to Weymouth. Shortly after the explosion a collision was narrowly avoided by the prompt action of the Captain when a vessel sailed close across the bows of the Great Eastern.

Its arrival with flags at half mast put paid to the ceremonies that had been planned to greet the ship. Two of the men, John Boyd and Michael Mahon, died on board, with three others being taken to Weymouth hospital where they died the following day. The inquest, held at Weymouth, was opened on Monday 13 September, by Mr. H. Locke, the Coroner for the district of Weymouth. After some evidence had been presented the fifteen members of the jury and the Coroner made their way to the Great Eastern. Following an inspection of the damage the inquest was adjourned until the Saturday, eventually a verdict of ‘Accidental Death’ was recorded. The five members of the crew who died in the explosion were buried in Weymouth churchyard.

Part of the funnel itself was salvaged by the Weymouth Water Company, who at the time were building a new reservoir at Sutton Poyntz, near Weymouth. It was used as a water filter and was submerged for 143 years until recovered when Wessex Water carried out a major overhaul of the reservoir. The section 7 feet in diameter by 5 feet high was moved to the Great Britain Museum at Bristol on 14 December 2004.

Russell quoted a price of £5,000 and a time of three weeks to carry out the repairs both wildly optimistic. To help offset the cost the cash strapped company decided to allow the paying public aboard. Repairs complete the ship finally set off for its trial run and then to Holyhead. There were no passengers on board during the trial, those that had paid for the journey had a refund. Part of the reason for the choice of Holyhead as the ships port was that some of the directors were also large shareholders in the London and North Western Railway and plans were being made to offer discounted fares for Great Eastern passengers and to run cheap excursions from the Midlands to see the great ship.

Great Eastern weighed anchor at 3.30 pm on Saturday 15 October. Leaving Portland Harbour the ship headed for Portland Bill, which was reached at 4.30 pm. Bearings were taken on the lighthouse and the ship then headed for the Start Point lighthouse. The Start light was reached at 9.30 pm, the distance being 49 nm the average speed for this part of the trial was 12¼ knots or 14 mph. The ship then headed for Eddystone lighthouse, 25 nm away and arrived at 11.20 pm giving an average speed of just over 13½ knots. The next marker on the trip was the lighthouse at The Lizard, 38 nm distant which was passed at 3.20 am on the Sunday. During the journey to The Lizard a lookout saw a brig, without lights, on a heading to pass across the bows of the Great Eastern, the screw went full astern, the paddles were stopped and a collision was avoided. The two vessels were so close that there is no doubt that the Captain of the brig heard the forthright opinions of Captain Harrison regarding his actions.

Keeping well clear of the Scillies, the ship headed into the Irish Sea. At 10.00 am on the Sunday morning Captain Harrison ordered the sails to be set and at one point the ships speed reached 15 knots or 18 mph, with an average speed of just under 14½ knots. Due to poor visibility the Great Eastern sailed 20 miles past Holyhead and during the return the Captain stopped the screw and used just the paddles, though John Scott Russell was against this, a speed of 7½ knots was achieved. Then the screw was used on its own and a speed of 11 knots was recorded. The trial over the ship dropped anchor within the breakwater at 3.30 pm on the Monday afternoon. The ship was opened to visitors while preparations were made for its maiden voyage to America.

On the night of 24 - 25 October a severe storm developed in the Irish Sea and at Holyhead it caused considerable damage to the breakwater. A number of vessels were sunk including the Royal Charter arriving from Australia and within sight of safety; 446 of those on board lost their lives. Captain Harrison decided to get up steam and using the paddles and screw succeeded in keeping the ship out of trouble. After this it was decided to move the ship to Southampton for the winter and from where any voyages to America would start.

The ship set out from Holyhead on Wednesday 2 November for Southampton. On trying to raise the anchors the donkey engine proved faulty and the anchor had to be hauled aboard by men on the capstan. One was hauled up but the second was so well fixed in the mud that it snapped leaving the bulk of the anchor behind. The ship set off using just the screw for the first hour as there were problems getting the paddle engines to work. The speed of both sets of engines was slowly increased throughout Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The run from the Longships lighthouse to the Lizard, a distance of 27 nm, was covered in two hours. From the Lizard to the Eddystone lighthouse an average speed of 14 knots was reached. From Eddystone to the Start lighthouse a speed of 15½ knots was achieved. St Catherine’s lighthouse was passed at 11 o’clock on Thursday evening and the ship sailed well clear of the coast until 8.00 am on Friday morning. Great Eastern made her way round the Isle of Wight and into the Solent where the pilot, Mr. James Bowyer, took over bringing the ship to her moorings off Netley. The local dignitaries were entertained on board and subsequently the ship was open to paying visitors. The South Western Railway providing cheap excursions to Southampton for those wishing to visit the ship.

Over the next few months the board of the Great Ship Company went through a bad time with accusations and counter accusations flying around in all directions. It finished when a new board was appointed and authority was given to increase the nominal capital of the company by £100,000. This enabled the work required by the Board of Trade and other defects to be put right. The work, costing £20,000, was carried out by Messrs Langley, Penn & Field.

Another blow to the company came on 21 January 1860 when Captain Harrison, Dr. Watson the ship’s doctor, Captain Lay, superintendent purser and his nine year old son, Mr. Ogden ship’s coxswain and five of the crew set out from Hythe in one of the ship’s boats heading for the docks at Southampton. When the order to drop sail was given it stuck and a sudden gust of wind caught it and overturned the boat. Lay’s son, the coxswain and Captain Harrison were drowned. He was succeeded by Captain John Vine Hall.

During 9-10 June Great Eastern made a trial trip from Southampton, leaving at 2.00 pm on the Saturday. Sailing down Spithead and round the south coast of the Isle of Wight the ship headed for the Start Light, which was reached at 1.00 am Sunday morning. At this point the ship turned round and headed back along the same route. The engineers had problems with the paddle engine boilers which kept priming and it was found that the wooden casings fitted round the forward funnels to help get rid of the hot air didn’t work. They were eventually replaced with iron lattice work.

MAIDEN VOYAGE TO AMERICA

Those travelling included; three directors of the Great Ship Company; Daniel Gooch accompanied by his wife and son, Captain Carnegie RN and Mr. W. Barber.

Passengers included: Major Balfour, Mr Beresford, G. D. Brooks, H. Cantan, Mr Cave, Zerah Colburn, Captain Drummond, Mr Field, T. Harnley, Lt Col Harrison, G. Hawkins, Miss Mary Ann Herbert, A.L. Holley (New York Times), Mr Hubbard, D. Kennedy, R. Marson, H. Marin, Captain Morris RN, Captain McKennan RN, Mr McKenzie, Mr Merrifield, Mr Murphy (New York pilot), J. S. Oakford (London Agent, Vanderbilt Line), G.S. Roebuck, Norman S. Russell, Mr Skinner, Rev Mr Southey, Mr and Mrs Stainthorp, W.T. Stimpson, G.E.M. Taylor, Mr Taylor, General Watkins, H. M. Wells, George Wilkes A. Woods (The Times), A and M. Zuravellov.

Preparations were made for the ship to sail on 16 June 1860 and passengers boarded on the 14th. After visitors had been sent ashore the Captain announced he would not be sailing until the 17th as the crew were drunk. Gooch was not best pleased. The route taken by the ship was the more southerly of the regular steamer routes and this also annoyed Gooch as he had wanted the ship to complete the journey in nine days, it actually took 10 days 19 hours.

George Wilkes, editor of Wilkes' Spirit of the Times, gives his impression of the trip:

Monday, June 18. I was awoke this morning by the sun shining brightly through my port-hole (I should rather use the plural, for my sumptuous apartment was lit by two), and I rose to enjoy the luxury of dressing in a carpeted space as large almost as a room in the St Nicholas. Before I got up, however I lay for a few minutes to observe the silence and quiet of the vessel. In fact, there seemed to be no motion to her at all, and had it not been for the barely perceptible buzz of her bow - to which I was very near - as it split the water and passed it humming along the vessel's beautiful wave-line, I should not have been able to decide with certainty whether she was going on or standing still. Vibration there was none, and as for the usual clatter of machinery, which is the distinguishing feature of a steamship, it could not be heard at all. Moreover, there was not any of the squeaking and squealing of timbers and tortured wood work, which makes up a hideous serenade on all other vessels, for our party-walls, our state-room floors and ceilings, are of iron, and so ribbed and morticed, and joined stiffly with the hull, that the ship, while passing through still water, seems to be one solid tube or beam. Indeed, I could not make it certain to my senses that she had not stopped, until, looking out of my port-hole, I saw the ocean passing by, and our vast mass moving gradually through it like a floating castle. When 1 went on deck 1 found the air cool and bracing, but all there was of wind was caused by our own motion. At eight o'clock her paddle-engines gave ten revolutions, and those for the propeller twenty nine, while the log, which was heaved a few minutes afterwards, credited her with a rate of ten knots. After timing the stroke of the engines I took a look at the rapidly-revolving paddles, and found that their original diameter of fifty-six feet, which had proved to be too large, had been reduced to fifty feet by reefing or drawing in the floats, or paddles, three feet on each arm. A large projection of useless iron consequently extends beyond the actual wheels to make an unnecessary resistance to the water, and I am told that the wheel would do better still if the floats were reefed in yet farther.

I now took my first promenade around the deck, and though well instructed in its vast proportions, 1 could not help wondering, as I went on, to see the space unroll before me as it did. Standing at the stern and looking forward, the vessel seems almost to terminate amid-ships, but when you reach that point there appears to open up another ship before you. This illusion proceeds from the fact that two large life-boats, which had hung outside towards the bow, had been brought in at the request of the Board of Trade, and set on blocks in the centre of the ship to divide the view. These, however, will be removed as soon as the vessel gets into port, and then there will be restored a clean, unobstructed double avenue, through which our friend Hiram Woodruff might drive a double team, and go only four times round to make a mile. The deck is flush from stem to stern, and its only obstructions are the six masts, the five smoke-funnels in between, the raised skylights for cabin ventilation, and seven low structures, all of which run in a line with the masts and smoke-stacks. The two outermost of these-stem and stern-are sheds for the donkey or auxiliary engines; two are erections for the main cabin entrances; one spacious one in the centre of the quarterdeck is allotted to the captain; another of like character is the double residence of the first and second officers, and another still, of tolerable size, is given to the passengers as a smoking-room. These are the only obstructions which are found on deck, while around them runs a clean twelve-foot promenade, one side of which has been named Broadway and the other Fifth Avenue. The floor of the deck, like the hull of the ship, is of iron, and built like the sides, on the tubular principle, with twenty-one inches of space between its walls, and interlaced and strapped, crossed and recrossed, with welded bars, so as to give it not only the buoyancy of a life preserver, but almost incalculable strength. The facing of this floor is pine. Two men are usually placed at each of the wheels, so that eight are enabled to steer her; and four auxiliary wheels can be added, by which a force of thirty two men can be brought to bear. Only four, however, are now guiding her through the calm, mild weather of the morning. The course is given by the first officer, the man next the compass guides the motions of the rest; and if the direction of the ship requires a sudden change, an auxiliary compass, or indicator, which receives its impulse from the central bridge, directs them immediately what to do. But for this device it would be difficult to guide the ship without great loss of time; but now orders are communicated from end to end with the speed of light, and the leviathan answers to her rudder and points its nose as readily as if drawn with a hook, or ‘led' by its tongue with a cord.

At noon, as the bugle summoned us to lunch, I timed the paddle-piston at ten revolutions and the propeller at thirty and a half, and the log at the same time reported twelve and a half knots. The run of the ship for the last twenty six hours was reported as three hundred miles. Latitude 49° 27', longitude 8° 45'. When we came up from lunch we found that a light breeze had set in upon our larboard quarter, and our jib and forward trysails were spread to take advantage of it. The wind freshened as the afternoon grew on, and at three o'clock the billows began to crispen at their tops and indicate a rising sea. At four o'clock a drizzling rain set in, and the still strengthening wind gave promise of a stormy night. Some of us had been apprehensive, from the mild manner in which we had set out, that the voyage might run through the entire length of its term in the same dull way, and thus, while it deprived us of the least possibility of becoming heroes, land us at New York without any further knowledge of the ship and her sea-going qualities than we could have learned by studying her while anchored in the Thames. The fear of such disappointment, however, was dispelled by the time we had wiped our beards from dinner, for on ascending to the deck at six o'clock and taking our position on the elevated grating in her bow, we saw the leviathan, before so dead, so apparently inert, and which had been passing through the waters like some spectral island, quicken with life and bend with a slow grandeur to the motion of the sea. 'Thank God, she rolls!' exclaimed an experienced officer on her first trial trip, when she was caught in a series of heavy billows off Portland Race, and it was with something like the same ebullition of delight that we saw the mighty ship cast her silent disposition off and make her obeisance to the still mightier deep. Her motion was a gentle and majestic swing from side to side, the extent of three or four degrees, and now and then when a billow fell away from her bow and a swell at the same time would roll underneath her stern she would mildly yield her head, not short and sudden, with a plebeian start, but with a monarch's measured grace, as if she felt herself to be the master, and only yielding to the courteous laws of life. It was a great treat to see her thus leaning her way from side to side through the parting waters, while good-sized ships, which were then in sight, were rolling uneasily or pitching from stem to stern. It was like some accomplished swimmer, who sweeps forward gracefully hand over hand, compared to a clumsy novice who barely manages to keep himself afloat through the rapidity of a short digging motion. The 'Great Eastern' was alive; but mighty as she was, still she was amenable to that vast throb and pulsation of the sea which is mightier than the mightiest. Nevertheless she proved, by the comparison before us, her superiority to all ordinary ships, as well as to any disturbing motion. In fact, her soft undulations gave actual relief and pleasure to every one who stood upon her deck. And all the while this motion was upon her the skittles were played at one of the after-holds. Nevertheless, let it be noted here that the theory that ships above a certain size will march through the wave superior to the perturbation of the sea is ended by our experiment forever. No ship can be made large enough to entirely ignore the gigantic pulsation of the ocean. The foresail and foretopsail were drawing well at dark, and the wind, which now struck us almost astern, was whistling through our cordage with great noise.

A gale. Tuesday, January 19, I was awakened a little after midnight by the howling of the wind, the shouts of the men taking in sail, and a great tramping overhead. The vessel was rolling more than she had at any time before,-say about eight or nine degrees,-and I could now feel a little vibration of her bow, imparted by the screw as it smote and scudded into the water whenever the motion of the vessel lifted its blades above the surface. I went to my window, but the night was too thick for anything but darkness to be seen, and all I could distinctly hear was the measured wail of one hundred and twenty men (for both watches had been called up) in chorus, to 'haul the bowline, haul,' while engaged in trying to take in the mainsail and maintopsail. The wind seemed to soften a little at two o'clock, but perhaps that was the notion of my drowsiness, for I fell asleep at that hour, while the men were still as busily engaged at the mainsail as ever. I afterwards learned that it had employed them five hours to furl it in the furious tempest that prevailed. The cause of this difficulty was partly owing to the violence of the gale acting upon the immense area of the sail, and partly to the unhandy size of the tackle by which it must necessarily be worked. Everything is exaggerated in the way of size on board the 'Great Eastern, 'and to be handled aloft as other ships she requires an extra breed of men. The gale subsided a little in its fury at four o'clock, but when I arose, at seven, I still found it blowing very hard, and the sea covered with a thread-like foam, which filled the hollows as well as whitened on the billow tops. Still the ship rolled only eight degrees, and her stately nod did not disturb a plate upon the table. The storm-rack was laid at breakfast to protect the dishes, but it was not needed, for my full tea-cup sat outside of it without being in the slightest peril of a slip. Nevertheless, a three-thousand-ton vessel would have been pitching sadly. The motion did not succeed in making a single person sea-sick, though there were among her passengers several who had never been to sea before.

The wind moderated still more during the afternoon, and we set all our topsails, but the ship kept up her motion, and went frolicking along her path as full of life as a clipper-brig or a pilot-boat. Nothing could be more beautiful than to stand upon an elevated grating in her bow and see her stern lift itself majestically against the sky as we dropped into some yielding wave before us, or to behold her rising sideways to her equilibrium, like some frolicking beauty lifting her shoulder in her downy bed.... The most striking idea of her size, however, and the greatest demand upon your wonder that she swims so lightly, is obtained by going down by her sponsons, outside and aft the paddle-boxes, which enables you to see her entire towering section abaft the wheel. From that point you face up and down her massive sides and see the black warehouse, for it looks not like a ship, grandly rise and fall in the hissing and downy foam which the wheels send flying by her run. This flying foam unites beneath her stern, and is there strewn into lace-work by the propeller, and goes seething on its broad path for miles. I think the scene from this lower platform of the gangway gives the finest idea, while in motion, of the vast power and grandeur of the ship. The deck and rigging, on the other hand, being seen altogether, lose in a little while their command upon the wonder, for their great symmetry so wins upon the eye that they mingle together in apparently usual degrees. It is only when in comparison with some other object that the 'Great Eastern' sensibly exhibits her huge proportions to an accustomed eye, and then everything else is dwarfed by her neighbourhood.

Wednesday, June 27. Fine weather, with a breeze which kept four of our trysails set, continued during the afternoon, but at six o'clock a very heavy fog set in, which condensed itself upon the rigging in huge drops that fell upon the deck like rain. So dense did this all-pervading mist become that the lookouts could scarcely see ten feet from the ship, and our lights could not have been distinguished at the distance of a hundred yards ahead; so out of mercy to the unwary who might possibly be in our path, at near reach to shore, we slackened our speed down from fifteen to seven and a half knots, and ran at this rate, with frequent warnings from our whistle, all night. Under this state of affairs it was thought prudent, moreover, that we should make soundings to ascertain with certainty exactly where we were, but the effort failed at every attempt, in consequence of the great height we were above the water, requiring more line than we could pay out while the vessel was in motion. We slowed her down to six knots, then to four and then to two, but still it would not answer, and the order went from the captain that the ship must be absolutely stopped.

It had been the particular pride of Mr McLennan, the chief engineer, who is a perfect enthusiast in his duty, that the ship's engines, which had been so much abused and misrepresented for the last year, should perform what scarcely, if ever, had been done before: and that was to make a first Atlantic voyage without a single moment's pause from port to port. When, therefore, he heard the order to stop the ship he received it like a man who was smitten with a sentence, and asked with the greatest earnestness if we could not get along without. The answer was against him, and the lungs of the monster were folded from their respirations, and after ten minutes' run with silent wheels and blades, and final reversal of her wheels, she sat still upon the waters. This event took place at 11.40, but a cast of one hundred and fifteen fathoms of line gave us no bottom, and we went on again, at twelve o'clock, still, however, continuing only at half speed. At ten minutes to five this morning we made another pause to heave the lead again, and this time with a cast of sixty-five fathoms we found bottom on George's Bank, and at ten minutes past five went on again. The fog having lifted, we now resumed our speed and proceeded at our usual rate of thirteen and fourteen knots. During these two pauses the engineer rapidly examined such of the screws and nuts as were not accessible during the action of the engines, but did not discover one that was out of place or that required tightening, -a great proof of the excellence and condition of her machinery.

Thus ended the first transatlantic voyage of the 'Great Eastern', and though it may be regarded as a failure in the way of speed, it will be perceived there were interests at stake which transcended that consideration, and which doubtless justified the commander in the unusual care he took to keep the great ship safe.

Captain Vine Hall is one of the most experienced navigators of the English East India trade, but in addition to the caution which he naturally felt incumbent on him from the fact that he had never crossed the Atlantic before, he was doubtless deeply impressed with the paramount importance, not only to his employers and the cause of science, but to England and the whole world, of giving a substantial proof that ships of the size of the 'Great Eastern' could safely cross the deep. It was therefore properly a matter of secondary consequence to him whether the enthusiasm of his passengers or the ardor of his engineers or officers should chafe at his divergences or extra care; he accomplished the great point that was required, and we who left England with him but ten days before are here to approve his action. When he returns to England in September he will give the leviathan its head, and she will then prove for herself that speed is one of her attributes as well as safety. In fact, she has proven it already by the manner in which she has accomplished this voyage, and there is not a passenger who crossed in her but views her as beyond all comparison the most superior passenger-ship that ever floated. The extra distance which she ran on this trip is certainly equal to more than a day's travel, and when we add to this that twenty-four hours' margin is always allowed to a new ship's first voyage, and take into consideration also that not an officer on board ever made a voyage in her, that the men were all raw recruits, fresh levied within three days of starting, and that even the stokers did not know how to spread coal to advantage on the fires, we cannot help regarding even the time she made as a great triumph. As to her comfort and convenience as a passenger-ship, it is hardly possible to say too much in praise of her. She meets all the requirements of the most luxurious hotel, and when the weather drives her inhabitants below they can promenade through her cabins upon long walks, or lounge about superb divans, listening to music that would not discredit the most pretentious concert. By her continued steadiness sea-sickness is entirely ignored, and in the way of strength no iron structure that ever has been made can at all compare with her.

This was impressed upon us by every sway of the sea, and the idea which she continually enforces on the mind, above all others, is her absolute safety from all ordinary dangers of the ocean. Against the risks resulting from contact with a solid body she is beyond all calculation stronger than anything which has been seen afloat. The manner in which her vast weight stood poised upon two single rests in the builder's yard for weeks before her launch, and the thundering against her sides of the huge battering-rams that smote her inch by inch towards the water, give evidence of what she can endure. No shoal or beach could break her before all her passengers could escape, for 'her scales are her pride, shut up together as with a close seal. They are joined one to another, they stick together that they cannot be sundered.'

Above all other ships she should be chosen by the timid, and it really is a puzzle to me how so many intelligent men who had read the history of her construction, and who were about crossing to New York at the date of her departure, could be induced to choose any other vessel. She is certainly exempt from all the ordinary dangers of the sea, and any one will go into her bow and look at the fourteen feet of matted iron in that welded beak, will credit her with sufficient power and impulse to split and push aside any ordinary iceberg.

NEW YORK

The first announcement of the ship's arrival was the publication of a message received via the Sandy Hook telegraph station that ‘A large steamship has stopped outside the bar and from present appearances I am most sure it is the Great Eastern as she shows a great many lights.’

At high tide under the guidance of senior pilot Mr Murphy the Great Eastern slowly made her way to her berth at Hammond Street, passing on the way, the USS Niagara, dressed overall, once the largest vessel in the world. Also there was the Cunard liner Asia firing its guns in salute. Every craft available was providing escort and every vantage point was crowded with people.

3 July saw the ship open to the public at $1 a head but only 1,500 of the vast crowds paid to go aboard on the first day. After a week the price dropped to 50 cents and by 30 July over 140,000 had visited the ship.

The agents for the company advertised a two day excursion to Cape May at $10 a head, 2,000 bought tickets. It was stated food and refreshments would be available on board at reasonable prices and mattresses would be available for the men with the cabins being reserved for the ladies and children. The ship set sail at 3.00pm on 31 July so as to arrive at Cape May early the next morning to allow those who wanted to go ashore the time to do so.

As the escorting vessels were left behind those on board attempted to avail themselves of refreshments. Unfortunately the catering staff were overwhelmed, insufficient stores had been taken on board and the whole affair turned into a shambles. The following morning those who had slept on deck found themselves covered in a layer of soot and ash mixed with rain or morning dew. When they attempted to clean up they found that there was a shortage of fresh water. The ship arrived off Cape May at 7.00 am had to stand six miles offshore because of the shallows, the tender chartered to take them ashore arrived two hours late. When the time came for those on shore to return to the ship the tender failed to turn up and Cyrus W. Field chartered a steamer to return him and his family and the other passengers back to the ship. A number of newspaper reporters had left, returning to New York by train; they were replaced by a number of people travelling back to New York.

A second excursion to Hampton Roads, fare $6, and Annapolis, fare $8, started the next day, this time with just 105 passengers, reports in the newspapers of the Cape May trip putting most people off. Around 4,000 people paid their 50 cents to go aboard. Around 5.00 am the next morning, Sunday 4 August, the ship anchored in Chesapeake Bay about seven miles off Annapolis. The attraction here was the offer of 5,000 tons of free coal from the Bay Line Company, certain southern ports wanted to establish a regular steamer link with England.

As the ship was being coaled visitors were transported to the ship by Bay Line steamers, including President Buchanan who paid a two hour visit on the 9th. The ship then returned to New York with thirty four passengers who had paid $20 for the trip, this time including refreshments and a number of stowaways who had paid 50 cents for their journey. On arriving in New York on the 12 th the ship was served with a writ for infringing an American patent of using paddles and screw in combination to propel a ship. The writ was declared invalid and the ship set sail on the 16 th for Halifax with a total of 102 passengers on board, 46 of them bound for Halifax.

The ship covered the journey from New York to Halifax in forty six hours beating the previous record by 5½ hours. On arrival at Halifax, a demand for light dues of £350 soured the visit and Great Eastern left at 8.00 am the following morning, Sunday 19, with seventy two passengers on board. Her average speed on the return journey had been between 13 and 14 knots, below what was expected and it was thought that her bottom needed cleaning, but when placed on the gridiron at Milford Haven, it was found that the hull was quite clean. Once the ship was safely beached Captain Hall, the manager, the chief engineer and all but twelve of the crew were discharged.

The official report of the first Trans Atlantic voyage were as follows

1861 GOVERNMENT CHARTER TO QUEBEC

On its return to England, to the delight of the directors, the ship was chartered by the British Government to transport troops to Canada. The 4/60th Rifles, consisting of 2,144 officers and men, 473 women and children and 200 horses embarked at Liverpool. Modifications to the ship had been carried out by the Birkenhead Iron Works. In addition forty paying passengers were on board.

With Captain James Kennedy in charge, the ship set out from Liverpool on 25 June 1861. Kennedy’s strategy was simple, he pointed the ship at Quebec and went at full speed throughout most of the trip. One hundred of the crew had been crimped or press ganged aboard and on the first morning at sea, some of them refused to carry out their orders. Captain Kennedy picked out the ringleaders and with the help of the troops on board forced them, at bayonet point, into the rigging, where they were left all day, choking on the smoke from the five funnels. He had no further trouble. The ship ran into fog on 2 July but speed was not reduced, 320 miles being covered, in fog, in twenty four hours. A near miss, with the Cunard liner Arabia off Cape Race, brought him to his senses. The ship docked in Quebec, 8 days and 6 hours after leaving Liverpool. Great Eastern stayed for a month returning at the beginning of July with 357 paying passengers, to the news that the troop charter was a one off. On return to Liverpool, Captain Kennedy left the Great Eastern to take up another position.

1861 MILFORD HAVEN

While beached the chance to rectify some defects was taken. A number of complaints had been made about the poor surface of the deck and it was decided to coat it in pitch and then resurface it with 2 inch pine planks. The stern bearing supporting the propellor shaft metal lining had been forced out and it was decided to shrink a brass lining on the shaft and line the bearing with lignum vitae.

Though the ship had cleared about £14,000 on its first trans Atlantic voyage the company finances were still in a parlous state. The shares continued to drop in price not helped by the threat of a £60,000 lawsuit from the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada for not making Portland, Maine its port of call as originally agreed. Another problem was that of the award of £18,000 made to John Scott Russell by arbitrators for work carried out after the explosion. The company successfully appealed but the judge would not set aside the amount. Russell applied to the courts and the Chief Justice found in favour of Russell. The company again appealed and with rumours about that the ship was about to leave the country, Russell’s solicitors too possession under a Sheriff’s warrant. The company lost its appeal and had to pay up. To cover this and the expense of a second voyage to the USA, £35,000 was raised by means of debentures.

1861 SECOND VOYAGE TO AMERICA

For the second trip to New York, Captain Carnegie RN, a director of the Great Ship Company, was to be in charge. His problems began almost immediately. John Scott Russell had been awarded £18,000 by arbitrators against the Great Ship Company.

To cover this and the expense of a second voyage to the USA, £35,000 was raised by means of debentures. To help its finances the company sacked six of the ten senior officers and one third of the crew. Captain Carnegie resigned, refusing to sail without a full crew. Captain William B. Thompson replaced him. 100 passengers booked for the second voyage, scheduled to leave Milford Haven on 1 May 1861. As the passengers were being taken to the ship the tender ran aground and all attempts to free it failed. Small boats rescued them and their luggage and took them to the ship.

Four days out the ship ran into a severe gale and the failure to screw down furniture and fittings resulted in such items being thrown around the saloons. Even after this demonstration these items were never screwed down. The trip took nine days, thirteen hours and twenty minutes. The ship’s arrival in New York passed almost unnoticed, the Civil War grabbing the headlines. It was opened to the public at 25 cents this time but there was little interest. The return journey was advertised for 25 May at $130 for a first class cabin and $75 for ‘very superior accomodation in second.’ 194 passengers boarded and 5,000 tons of wheat was also carried.

1861 THIRD VOYAGE TO AMERICA

For the first time the ship was to carry its full complement of passengers, 400 having booked passage to America. In addition she carried a great deal of cargo.

Great Eastern left Liverpool at 1.00 pm on Tuesday 10 September with Captain James Walker in charge. The docks and banks of the Mersey were lined with thousands of people giving the great ship a great send off. Fares were £20 and £28 for first class cabins and £7 or £10 steerage.

All went well and the ship was making a good 13-14 knots until the second day out when the wind started to increase in strength and by 4.00 pm had reached gale force. The ship began to roll heavily, the port paddle wheel disappearing under the waves. After one such roll as the paddle reappeared Captain Walker heard a scraping noise and on inspection found the paddle wheel was scraping against the hull and the floats were being broken up. He ordered the paddle engines stopped. The ship then began to lose headway the screw not being powerful to keep her head into wind. The ship was now broadside on and a large wave pushed the port side under and when it recovered the port paddle wheel had disappeared altogether. Shortly after this one of the lifeboats broke loose and had to be cut away, a similar fate fell on the remainder of the boats over the next three days.

When the boat nearest to the starboard paddle wheel broke loose Captain Walker ordered the remaining paddle wheel and screw to be put into reverse to prevent the boat from becoming entangled. Before the screw went astern the starboard paddle wheel was smashed to pieces. The First Officer Henry Machin heard banging coming from the stern and when he got to the auxiliary tiller room where the rudder post entered the ship he found the steering chains and rudder post smashed. The post was made of cast iron and was eleven inches in diameter set in a waterproof box and a wooden collar which contained cannon balls as bearings. The post had sheared off two feet above the collar. The rudder was swinging free and was hitting the screw and was being chewed to pieces.

Captain Walker held a meeting with his officers away from the passengers. He told them not to say anything to the passengers concerning their predicament. He ordered a trysail to be hoisted but it was ripped to shreds in seconds. His next attempt to bring some sort of control to the ship was to throw a four ton spar overboard secured with a hawser it worked for a while but then it was torn away.

By the end of the second day some of the male passengers had a good idea as to the state the ship was in and they formed a committee, with Liverpool shipping merchant, George Oakwood as chairman. The captain agreed to meet him and allowed him to inspect the ship. What he found was far worse than any of them had anticipated. None of the cargo had been stowed properly and it was all rolling around loose in the holds. Hamilton E. Towle an American civil engineer visited the rudder room an after inspecting the damage came up with a plan to regain control of the rudder. Henry Machin took it to the captain, but he failed to act on it. As night fell on the third day the Magnet a brig out of Nova Scotia appeared. Captain Walker asked her Captain if he would stand by. He agreed, but there was little he could do. After several hours the brig left, later succeeding in a claim for demurrage from the Great Ship Company for the delay.

Towle now took his scheme to the passengers committee and they pressured the captain into letting him try it out. When the party arrived in the rudder room they found that the chief paddle engineer had tried to remove a large nut which held the rudder to the rudder post. Before trying out his own plan Towle had to tighten the nut. By lashing the handle of the wrench to the frames and leaving sufficient movement to fit and remove the wrench to and from the nut, he used the swing of the rudder from port to starboard to tighten it, and then would remove the wrench before the rudder swung back to port. This took three hours.

Towle then had a 100 foot chain comprised of 60 lb links wound around the rudder post below the break, then both ends of the chain were secured by block and tackle to the port and starboard frames of the ship. Two lighter chains were brought down from the wheelhouse and attached to the heavy chain and also secured to the frames of the ship. Now at least with limited movement of the rudder the ship was steerable. Robertson still said it wouldn’t work and wanted to try his own solution. This involved putting a man over the stern in a bosun’s chair with a rope which had to be passed under the rudder and drawn up the other side. Attached to this rope would be heavier rope and then a hawser. After several of the crew had been subjected to near drowning and a battering against the ship’s stern the idea was abandoned.

On the Sunday morning the storm abated, and Sunday services were held. The passengers committee, with Towle, went to see Captain Walker and insisted he try the rudder repairs. Eventually the Captain ordered the screw engines to be started and at 5.00 pm on the Sunday after 75 hours of drifting out of control the ship answered the helm and was gently turned on a heading towards Ireland, nearly 300 mile distant. On the Monday morning the Cunard liner Persia, came up on the Great Eastern, circled round her and then headed off for America, with those on board no doubt wondering why she was sailing in the wrong direction. On arrival at Queenstown the harbourmaster refused to let the ship enter because she was not under full control. The injured passengers were taken off by lighter and the ship stood off for three days until towed in by HMS Advice. A quartermaster was killed by the wheel as the ship was entering the harbour. On entering harbour Great Eastern collided with the American barque Samuel Maxley, damaging the stern, removing the davits and an anchor and chain.

The first the company knew of the return of the ship was a telegram from Ireland to say that the Great Eastern was off Queenstown her rudder and steering gear damaged and her paddles missing. Company Secretary John Yates and Director Captain Carnegie RN set off for Cork. Arrangements for temporary repairs were put in hand and the ship was once again opened to visitors, this time at 2/6 a head. Passengers were offered free passage to America in other ships. Hamilton E. Towle on arriving in America, no doubt angered by the failure of the Great Ship Company to acknowledge his efforts in saving the ship, put in a claim for salvage and was awarded $15,000. At the rate of exchange at the time the company needed 24,000 visitors to clear the debt. Once the repairs were completed the ship, with an escorting tug made her way to Milford Haven where permanent repairs could be carried out during the coming winter. New smaller 50 feet diameter paddle wheels were fitted, and major improvements were made to the steering. In March 1862 while being moved Great Eastern collided with HMS Blenheim, removing the frigate’s bowsprit, main yard, jib boom and moorings.

On his return to America the Rev D. V. Maclean, of Easton, Pennsylvania, wrote the following letter to the Easton Express about Captain Walker.

(Captain Walker) behaved with great courage and coolness after the disaster, and laboured most incessantly night and day to save his ship and passengers: yet it is my deliberate conviction that he is greatly to blame, and that his conduct before the disaster was reckless. He took the ship only a few days before she sailed, a stranger to her: he ought to have known how she was provided for sea, as to ballast and in other respect, and if not suitably provided, should have had the defects remedied, or refused to have taken command of her. There is every reason to believe he went to sea under instructions, and himself determined to make the shortest possible passage. The new steamer, New York, was to sail the day after we did and it was presumed she intended to try her speed. The Persia was to sail four days after us, and it was known she had put on coal of an extra quality, determined to do her best. Under these circumstances and feeling that if he made a very short passage, his own reputation and that of his ship would be made, there was every temptation.

1862 ATLANTIC VOYAGES

A new voyage, a new captain. Captain John Paton was in charge on this voyage which left Milford Haven on 7 May, with 31 cabin class and 107 steerage passengers and arrived in New York on 17 May. The ship was opened to visitors and around 3,000 a day paid a visit. The return journey, to Liverpool, proved more profitable with 173 cabin class and 216 steerage passengers and 3,000 tons of freight. The crossing took 9 days 12 hours cutting 12 hours off the previous record.

The second voyage of the year arrived in New York on 11 July with 376 passengers including the President of Liberia J. J. Roberts. The return journey in late July carried 200 cabin class and over 300 steerage passengers plus 8,000 tons of cargo. The ship arrived at Liverpool on 7 August.

Turn round was swift and the ship left on 17 August with 1,530 assorted passengers on board and a considerable amount of freight. Her draught on this voyage being 30 feet. The ship encountered a gale but Captain Paton maintained full speed and the ship arrived off Montauk Point at midnight on 27 August. Rather than risk crossing the Sandy Hook bar with his deep draught he decided to moor in Flushing Bay. The pilot came on board at 1.30 am and the ship moved slowly ahead. At around 2.00 am a rumble was heard and the ship heeled over slightly. The pilot said she had probably rubbed against the ‘North east Ripps’, later renamed ‘Great Eastern Rock’, it was subsequently removed. The captain sent an officer down to check for damage and he reported no leaks. The ship however had a list to port.

After the passengers and cargo had been put ashore Captain Paton sent for a diver to carry out an inspection, he found a gash 80 feet long and 4 feet wide in the outer hull, but missed another ten small splits in the plates. The ship’s New York agents put the captain in touch with Edward Renwick a consulting engineer and his brother Henry. They decided they would cover the gash with a caisson held in place by chains around the ship. It would take two weeks to complete the repairs and the brothers said they would only take payment if successful. Renwick fitted the caisson 104 feet long by 15 feet wide and 8 feet deep to the hull but the seals didn’t work. So he hollowed out a channel around the caisson and placed a 3 inch fire hose in it, filled it with water, this time it held. Access was by a pair of 6 feet square wooden shafts on the outside of the hull which reached up to the deck or by the inspection manholes in the inner hull.

When the first workmen went down they heard banging within the hull, they came up saying the ghost of the supposed lost riveter was down there and they refused to go down again. Captain Paton went down and found it was a loose hawser tapping against the hull. The demands of the Civil War caused problems in getting supplies of the iron plates required and instead of two weeks the repairs took three months. The cost to the company was £70,000. The ship left New York on 6 January 1863, with 1200 passengers and 3,000 tons of wheat, for Liverpool. During the voyage Captain Paton’s wife Eliza gave birth to a son, James. She was beached and trenches were dug to gain access to the repairs. The Board of Trade insisted on full repairs being carried out including the ten small splits. At the same time some boiler repair work was done. By May she was ready for her first Atlantic trip of 1863.

1863 VOYAGES

May saw the first trip of the year this being followed by one on 1 July and the third in August. On the three return trips 2,700 passengers were carried to New York and 970 made the return. In addition a large amount of cargo was carried in both directions. On the final outward journey she ran into a gale and one of the paddles was damaged, the voyage being completed using the screw. On the return journey in September she ran down a small sailing vessel, the Jane off the coast of Ireland. The company lost nearly £20,000 on these voyages mainly caused by a price war between the Cunard and Inman Lines which reduced the turnover by £20,000 over 1862 earnings. The company had debts of over £142,000 and the ship was laid up.

A scheme was put forward whereby the ship would be offered in a lottery, to be run from Frankfurt, lotteries being illegal in England. Nothing came of it and the ship was put up for sale on 14 January 1864 in the Cotton Room at the Liverpool Exchange. The auctioneer, Joseph Cunard, of Cunard Wilson and Company, opened the bidding at £50,000. No further bids were offered and the ship was withdrawn. The auctioneer made the following statement.

“The Great Eastern will be offered at a peremptory sale without any reserve in three weeks time.”

Daniel Gooch who had had talks with Cyrus Field concerning his attempts to raise capital for another Atlantic cable, approached Thomas Brassey and John Pender to see if they would be willing to put up cash to buy the Great Eastern. They set a limit of £80,000. The opening bid was for £20,000 and after waiting some minutes John Yates who was acting for Gooch put in a bid for £25,000. No further bids were received and the ship worth around £100,000 in materials alone was sold to them. The three immediately set up a new company, The Great Eastern Steamship Company. The Great Eastern was chartered to the newly formed Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, (Telcon), for £50,000 of its shares, and it would be responsible for carrying out the necessary conversion work on the ship.

THE 1865 CABLE

Following the failure of the 1858 cable Cyrus Field began the task of raising further capital for another attempt. He approached the British Government to guarantee the interest on the capital raised. Unfortunately this request came around the same time as the failure of the Red Sea cable to which the Government had made an unconditional guarantee of interest payments whether the cable worked or not. While it was prepared to subsidise the company to the tune of £20,000 per annum and guarantee the interest on the capital of £600,000 at 8% this was to be conditional on the cable working.

At the same time the Board of Trade set up a Committee to look into the failure of these cables; it consisted of the following.

Captain Douglas Galton, Royal Engineers, representing the Government.
William Fairbairn, President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Professor Charles Wheatstone, Electrician.
Josiah Latimer Clark, Telegraph Engineer.
Edwin Clark, Telegraph Engineer.
George Saward, Secretary of The Atlantic Telegraph Company.
George P. Bidder.
Cromwell F. Varley.

The Committee sat for two years taking evidence from everyone involved in the submarine telegraph cable industry. All the above signed this statement:

London, 13th July, 1863

We, the undersigned, members of the Committee were appointed by the Board of Trade, in 1859, to investigate the question of submarine telegraphy, and whose investigation continued from that time to April, 1861, do hereby state, as the result of our deliberations, that a well-insulated cable, properly protected, of suitable specific gravity, made with care, and tested under water throughout its progress with the best known apparatus, and paid into the ocean with the most improved machinery, possesses every prospect of not only being successfully laid in the first instance, but may reasonably be relied upon to continue for many years in an efficient state for the transmission of signals.

Following the recommendations of the Committee the Atlantic Telegraph Company published its requirements and invited tenders. A Consulting Committee consisting of the following members, Captain Douglas Galton, William Fairbairn, Professor Charles Wheatstone, William Whitworth and Professor William Thomson, was set up to investigate the seventeen tenders received. Following exhaustive tests on the samples of cable supplied the Committee recommended that the tender from Glass, Elliot should be accepted. It was realised by all that the Gutta Percha Company and Glass, Elliot and Company could not carry the cost of manufacturing the cable individually and it was decided to merge the two companies, to form The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company (Telcon).

A considerable amount of experience and knowledge had been gathered since the 1858 cable, the Gutta Percha Company having manufactured 9000 nm of core in that time, and this was put to good use in the manufacture of the 1865 cable. The conductor consisted of 7 strands of copper wire each 0.048 inches. in diameter. Six of the wires were wrapped around the seventh, which had already been coated with a mixture known as Chatterton’s Compound, which consisted of 3 parts gutta percha, 1 part resin and one part Stockholm Tar. The completed conductor was then coated in Chatterton’s Compound, followed by a layer of gutta percha. In all four layers of Chatterton’s Compound and four layers of gutta percha were applied alternately, followed by a layer of jute soaked in catchecu and then layers of tarred hemp. The armouring wires, which had been wrapped in tarred hemp, were then added. For the shore ends a second layer of tarred hemp and armouring wires were applied.

The armouring wire was supplied by Webster and Horsfall of Hay Mills, Birmingham from steel produced at their own mill at Killamarsh, Derbyshire. Up to this point the total yearly output of steel at Killamarsh was 400 tons. The contract for the wire was signed on 9 May 1864 and the firm was then committed to supplying 1,600 tons of .095 inch diameter crucible cast steel wire in 14 months. James Horsfall quoted a final price of £45 per ton, £40 in cash and the rest in shares of the Atlantic Telegraph Company.

To store the cable prior to its transhipment to the Great Eastern at Sheerness new storage tanks had to be built at the Telcon works. Eight were built using 5/ 8 inch iron plate for the bottom and first upright tier the rest being ½ inch iron plate, four were circular in shape 34 feet diameter by 12 feet deep each capable of holding 153 nm of cable and the other four were elliptical in shape 36 feet long, 27 feet wide and 12 feet deep each capable of storing 140 nm of cable. Cable was manufactured at the rate of 80 nm per week.

To carry the cable to the Great Eastern at Sheerness, the Royal Navy supplied two hulks, Amethyst fitted with two tanks each measuring 29 feet diameter by 14 feet 6 inches deep, each capable of holding 153 nm of cable and Iris also fitted with two tanks, one, 29 feet diameter by 14 feet 6 inches deep holding 153 nm of cable and the second 24 feet diameter by 17 feet deep, capable of holding 110 nm of cable.