At length in 1857 she was broken up by Messrs. Castle, of Vauxhall. Among those who went there to take a farewell of her before she finally disappeared was Mr. Brunel; thus he saw the last of his famous ship.
NOTE ([p. 235]).
| Dimensions of the ‘Great Western’ Steam-Ship. | |||
| Feet | Inch | ||
| Length from fore-part of figurehead to after-part of taffrail | 236 | 0 | |
| Length between the perpendiculars | 212 | 0 | |
| Length of keel | 205 | 0 | |
| Breadth | 35 | 4 | |
| Breadth over paddle-boxes | 59 | 8 | |
| Depth of hold | 23 | 2 | |
| Draught of water | 16 | 8 | |
| Length of engine-room | 72 | 0 | |
| Tonnage by measurement | 1,340 | tons | |
| Displacement at load draught | 2,300 | " | |
| Dimensions of Engines, &c. | |||
| Diameter of cylinders | 73½ | inches | |
| Length of stroke | 7 | feet | |
| Weight of engines, wheels, &c. | 310 | tons | |
| Weight of boilers | 90 | " | |
| Water 20 tons to each boiler | 80 | " | |
| Diameter of wheel | 28 | feet | 9 inches |
| Width of floats | 10 | feet | |
CHAPTER IX.
STEAM NAVIGATION. THE ‘GREAT BRITAIN’ STEAM-SHIP.
A.D. 1838—1847. ÆTATIS 33—42.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE BUILDING OF THE ‘GREAT BRITAIN’—REPORT ON THE ENGINES (JUNE 13, 1839)—EXPERIMENTS ON THE SCREW PROPELLER—ITS ADOPTION IN THE ‘GREAT BRITAIN’—COMPLETION OF THE SHIP—HER VOYAGE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC—STRANDING OF THE ‘GREAT BRITAIN’ IN DUNDRUM BAY—LETTER TO CAPTAIN CLAXTON ON THE CONDITION OF THE ‘GREAT BRITAIN,’ AND ON THE MEANS TO BE ADOPTED FOR SAVING HER (DECEMBER 10, 1846)—REPORT TO THE DIRECTORS ON THE SAME SUBJECT (DECEMBER 14, 1846)—APPOINTMENT OF CAPTAIN CLAXTON TO SUPERINTEND THE EXECUTION OF MR. BRUNEL’S PLANS—LETTER TO CAPTAIN CLAXTON ON THE DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME (DECEMBER 29, 1846)—REPORT ENCLOSING CAPTAIN CLAXTON’S ACCOUNT OF THE ERECTION OF THE BREAKWATER (FEBRUARY 27, 1847)—REPORT ON THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR FLOATING OFF THE SHIP (MAY 4, 1847)—SUCCESSFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE FLOATING OPERATIONS—SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE ‘GREAT BRITAIN’—NOTE: DIMENSIONS OF THE SHIP AND ENGINES.
THE Directors of the Great Western Steam-Ship Company, encouraged by the success of the ‘Great Western,’ determined shortly after her first return to England to lay down a second ship of not less than 2,000 tons burden. As they did not at that time contemplate the use of iron, a portion of the timber was purchased, and drawings were put in hand for a wooden ship. The proposed vessel was intended to be in all respects a companion ship to the ‘Great Western;’ only she was to be of larger dimensions, as it was found that additional cargo space would be remunerative.
In October 1838, Mr. Guppy (one of the Directors) communicated to the Board the results of some calculations Mr. Brunel had made relative to the cost and efficiency of iron vessels as compared with wooden ones. Mr. Brunel then suggested that Captain Claxton and Mr. Patterson, accompanied by one of his assistants, should make a voyage to Antwerp and back in the ‘Rainbow,’ an iron steam-boat of 407 tons burden, and report on the subject. On receiving their report, which was revised by Mr. Brunel, and which was strongly in favour of the adoption of iron, the Directors resolved to build their ship of that material, and of not less than 2,000 tons measurement, the same size as that which they had intended for their wooden ship. They also determined to erect the shops, and provide the tools for building her themselves.
As in the case of the ‘Great Western,’ the details of construction were settled by the Building Committee—Captain Claxton, Mr. Guppy, and Mr. Brunel—who were assisted by Mr. Patterson.
The preparation of the design occupied some time. In each succeeding drawing an increased size was proposed; at length the fifth design, showing a ship of 3,443 tons burden, was finally approved of. On July 19, 1839, the flat keel plates were laid, and the construction of the hull was commenced.