Fig. 61.—Section of Great Eastern Amidships.
Fig. 62.—The Great Eastern in course of Construction.
The accidents which had happened to the ship had not, however, materially damaged either the hull or the machinery; and the Great Eastern was refitted, and afterwards employed in a service for which she had not been designed, but which no other vessel could have attempted. This was the work of carrying and laying the whole length of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable of 1865, of which 2,600 miles were shipped on board in enormous tanks, that with the contents weighed upwards of 5,000 tons. The ship has since been constantly engaged in similar operations.[[1]] The Great Eastern is six times the size of our largest line-of-battle ships, and about seven times as large as the splendid steamers of the Cunard line, which run between Liverpool and New York. She has three times the steam power of the largest of these Atlantic steamers, and could carry twenty times as many passengers, with coal for forty days’ consumption instead of fifteen. Her length is 692 ft.; width, 83 ft.; depth, 60 ft.; tonnage, 24,000 tons; draught of water when unloaded, 20 ft.; when loaded, 30 ft.; and a promenade round her decks would be a walk of more than a quarter of a mile. The vessel is built on the cellular plan to 3 ft. above the water-line; that is, there is an inner and an outer hull, each of iron plates ¾ in. thick, placed 2 ft. 10 in. apart, with ribs every 6 ft., and united by transverse plates, so that in place of the ribs of wooden ships, the hull is, as it were, built up of curved cellular beams of wrought iron. The ship is divided longitudinally by two vertical partitions or bulkheads of wrought iron, ½ in. thick. These are 350 ft. long and 60 ft. high, and are crossed at intervals by transverse bulkheads, in such a manner that the ship is divided into nineteen compartments, of which twelve are completely water-tight, and the rest nearly so. The diagram (Fig. [61]) represents a transverse section, and shows the cellular construction below the water-line. The strength and safety of the vessel are thus amply provided for. The latter quality was proved in the accident to the ship at New York; and the former was shown at the launch, for when the vessel stuck, and for two months could not be moved, it was found that, although one-quarter of the ship’s length was unsupported, it exhibited no deflection, or rather the amount of deflection was imperceptible. Fig. [62] is from a photograph taken during the building of the ship, and Fig. [63] shows the hull when completed and nearly ready for launching, while the vignette at the head of the chapter exhibits the big ship at anchor when completely equipped. The paddle-wheels are 56 ft. in diameter, and are turned by four steam engines, each having a cylinder 6 ft. 2 in. in diameter, and 14 ft. in length. The vessel is also provided with a four-bladed screw-propeller of 24 ft. diameter, driven by another engine having four cylinders, six boilers, and seventy-two furnaces. The total actual power of the engines is more than that of 8,000 horses, and the vessel could carry coals enough to take her round the world—a capability which was the object of her enormous size. The vessel as originally constructed contained accommodation for 800 first-class passengers, 2,000 second class, and 1,200 third class—that is, for 4,000 passengers in all. The principal saloon was 100 ft. long, 36 ft. wide, and 13 ft. high. Each of her ten boilers weighs 50 tons, and when all are in action, 12 tons of coal are burnt every hour, and the total displacement of the vessel laden with coal is 22,500 tons.
[1]. She was broken up for old iron, 1889.
Fig. 63.—The Great Eastern ready for Launching.
The use of steam power in navigation has increased at an amazing rate. Between 1850 and 1860 the tonnage of the steam shipping entering the port of London increased three-fold, and every reader knows that there are many fleets of fine steamers plying to ports of the United Kingdom. There are, for example, the splendid Atlantic steamers, some of which almost daily enter or leave Liverpool, and the well-appointed ships belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company. The steamers on the Holyhead and Kingston line may be taken as good examples of first-class passenger ships. These are paddle-wheel boats, and are constructed entirely of iron, with the exception of the deck and cabin fittings. Taking one of these as a type of the rest, we may note the following particulars: the vessel is 334 ft. long, the diameter of the paddle-wheels is 31 ft., and each has fourteen floats, which are 12 ft. long and 4 ft. 4 in. wide. The cylinders of the engines are 8 ft. 2 in. in diameter, and 6 ft. 6 in. long. The ship cost about £75,000. The average passage between the two ports—a distance of 65½ miles—occupies 3 hours 52 minutes, and at the measured mile the vessel attained the speed of 20·811 miles per hour. As an example of the magnificent vessels owned by the Cunard Company, we shall give now a few figures relating to one of their largest steam-ships, the Persia, launched in 1858, and built by Mr. N. Napier, of Glasgow, for the company, to carry mails and passengers between Liverpool and New York. Her length is 389 ft., and her breadth 45 ft. She is a paddle-wheel steamer, with engines of 850 horse-power, having cylinders 100 in. in diameter with a stroke of 10 ft. The paddle-wheels are 38 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and each has twenty-eight floats, 10 ft. 8 in. long and 2 ft. wide. The Persia carries 1,200 tons of coal, and displaces about 5,400 tons of water.
Fig. 64.—Comparative Sizes of Steamships.
1838, Great Western; 1844, Great Britain; 1856, Persia; 1858, Great Eastern.
A, Section amidships of Great Eastern; B, The same of Great Western. Both on the same scale, but on a larger one than their profiles.