SS Great Eastern

uploaded by: Damo

on April 15, 2008

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My first proper attempt at a ship model, the Great Eastern. Completed in 1858, it was the largest ship of it's time & Brunel's final achievement before succumbing to a fatal stroke (morbidly, on board this ship). It was built to provide non-stop travel round the continent in absolute luxury (hence it's huge size) & was one of the first vessels to be constructed entirely out of iron. It featured both steam-powered paddle wheels & a large Propellor for speed, manouverability & efficiency and famously had a double-hull for strength & safety (on one journey, it hit an iceburg sustaining more damage than the Titanic but stayed afloat because the inner hull remained intact). It was an engineering wonder of the time but also a commercial failure, making only a few journeys with a fraction of the 4000 passengers it can carry. The ship came into it's own as the only one capable of laying the first trans-atlantic telegraph cable but was broken up for scrap after a very short life (21 years). A sad end for a breathtaking ship but is a testament to the engineering prowess of (officially) the greatest engineer of all time, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. ps. a thankyou to whoever created the propellor, flag & rowing boats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Great_Eastern

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