Great Eastern 1:388

Product detailed description

History on Wikipedia: HERE

The Great Eastern was an all-metal steamship designed and built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a great pioneer of steam engines. She was built at the Lothian Shipyards in 1858, at that time by far the largest ship in the world. She was 211 m long and could carry up to 4,000 passengers on a round-the-world voyage without refuelling. The ship's tonnage was 18,915 t. These dimensions, especially the displacement, were not surpassed for a long time. The construction of such a large ship at that time was accompanied by considerable difficulties, including financing. Launching was also a problem and the start of operations was equally unfortunate. On her very first voyage, the boiler exploded, damaging her and killing several people. Shortly afterwards, her designer Brunel also died. The ship then ran as a passenger steamer between England and America. She was then converted into a cable ship and in 1865 the 1st telegraph cable between Europe and America was laid with her help. She served for some time as a floating cabaret in Liverpool and was scrapped in 1889.