The true Democrat., 1856-12-02
The Great Steam Monster

The Great Eastern is rapidly being finished thousand men are at work upon her huge hull, and on her arrival at the city of Portland at which place she will be expected in May next, it would repay journey of thousand miles to look upon her. One can hardly con- celve Of such vast proportions, as this bold ex- pertinent in ship-building has resulted in.
 AS compared with the largest steamers ahoat. or Indeed winch ever have been built the Great Eastern IS whale among mackerel The new steamer Persia, built the present year, is 39O feet long; the Hlmalaya, built in 1853, is 37O ieet; the great screw ship Great Britain, built n lo4f o22, and the Great Western in 1888. 336 feet; but this mammoth of the year 1957 winch Wll enter before she is out of her docks at the Isle of Dogs in the river Thames is e97 feet about an eighth ofa mile hnq. She draws twenty-four feet of water, and Portland was the only city on the Atlantic coast at which if was deemed practicable to take this huge niece of naval architecture. The locality assianed by the city authorities of Portland, as the home of the Great Eastern while in America. is the water front which lies by the side of the great depot of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Rail- roau. From the ocean, the entrance to Casco Day IS spacious and unimpede fer vessels of any Slze or draught of water, and passage to tue city Is without single obstacle by dredg- liS lew feet hear the site of the proposed | docks. These so-called docks, are in fact two long and substantially built piers at which the vessel is to lie broadside on. It hoe hao,, supposed that the Great Eastern was ho;ur built as one of a line of packets between th;, country and England but such Is not the csso. she Is destined, as her name indicates. for lon, eastern voyages as an emigrant ship, to the English colonies. Her accommodatlons heina really splendid, can be taken as low as S1O0 | dollars and from that sum to $500 dollars, ac ! cordiug to class.
 IhIs magnificent vessel was perfected by Mr. | Brunei, who constructed the Great Western m 1858. She IS entirely of iron, and her total weight, including engines, which will be placed | III her while on land, will not be less than l2 | OOO tons The process of launching her will | be very novel, two cradles will be introduced oy means oi which the eviathan will be low cred sideways into the water at low tide, the rising oi which will float her off in safety. The ltah oi construction deserves notice, and we re sret that we cannot devote space to an extend | ed detail of this wonderful piece of human contrivance. l Longitudinal iron webs run from stem to stern, and up oelght feet above her deep water lIne hIveted to these, on each side. and snb. | | iron three-tourths of an inch thick. formino 2 sort of double skin to the ship, her frame work being d system of cells, combining the least weight With the greatest strength. Ten Der tectIy water tight bulkheads, sixty feet apart having no opening whatever lower than the second deck, divide the ship trausverslv, while two longitudinal walls of iron 36 feet apart tra- verse 300 IeeJ of the length of the vesse. the interior divided thus like the sides, into T svs | tenn oi cells or boxes. Beside these main d | visions, there are many others devoted to boil ! CT rooms: enSlne rooms, coal and cargo. and | some hity feet of her stem and stern are as ric ld as so much solid iron, in being divided by iron decks from bulwarlI to keel. Her accom-. | modatohs for passengers, 1t need not be said are astonishing; she will take 800 first class 2O0O second class, and 12OO third class max lnS grand total of 4,OOO persons. independent of her ships company. The saloons and sleen. ing apartments, extending over $50 feet. are locatea ln the middle of the vessel so djsnosad | as to be undiSturbed by sound and very little | also by motion. Steam and water pipes pene. | 'rate the whole structure, and gas, manufac- tnred on board, lights up the whole ship. The upper deck IS flush from stem to stern. and walk fore and alt, four times will accomplish | a mile. Ih's great vessel is to be propelled ny three different powers, sail, screw. and pad. dle' having two screw engines, four papdle en- %IleS, ana seven mastS with 650O feet of cam | vas Inc combined force Of the engines are qua 10 tnat oi 5OOO horses, and her speed | will probably reach at least twenty miles an hour. Four auxiliary engines will be used to heaVe the anchors pump, and hoist the sales | Telegraphs are to be used to communicate h.. tween the wheel house, and paddle boxes. and hp pftt ir, r
 iofty ieet h9h the helsman reading the points through transpasent card, illuminated ike clock front. An electric light will be carried at her mast head of power enough to create q moonshlne atmosphere around her in the dark. est h5ht. She carries on her decks ten screw steamers ot 9J feet in length as precauton of saietv and also great number of life boats- It Is supposed that iii the movements of this mohstrous shIp on the deep, she will neither roll nor pitch, her Immense stride will enable her io cover three of the longest swells of the AtIahtc Ocean. She will take three hundred | leeI waves, nine hundred feet in al with the greatest ease. The scientific world must loo, With great interest to the experiment. of cross ms the seas with this huge and powerful craft . and her arrival at the city of fer destination m the coming spring, will be looked for with | intense interest. Sixty thousand dollars have been appropriated by Portland, for dockage expenditures for her reception, and this is but small proportion of the cost of a place 10 "tje her to-" This voyage is only trial one. and she will remain at her visiting place lono enough for the great western world to take 2 tp to look at her, if they desire, and but little doubt exists that "furore'' of excitement will | pc created on her appearance in Portland har- oor III the month of May next