Evening star., 1938-09-04
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

The last page in the history OF a
mighty steamship is soon to be written. -
p<n says The Star OF
1aSsins u 'he September /. 1888
Great Eastern. The Great Eastern
is to be broken up
and sold for junk where she lies beached
on the banks of the Mersey River. There
is something pathetic in the fate of this
monster vessel and of the enterprise
which brought her into being. In 1852
company was formed in England to
maintain an ocean trade to the east
around the Cape of Good Hope, but it
was soon found that the venture would
not pay if coaling stations had to be
supported at points along the route, as
seemed probable, since no ship then
af1oat could be expected to carry fuel
enough for the round trip. Somebody
hit upon the idea Of building a vessel
that would carry thousand passengers,
5000 tons Of merchandise and Is 900 tons
of coal
Accordingly In November, 1857. the
last bolt was driven in the Great Eastern.
Her gross tonnage was nearly 10000 and
she was $50 feet long. SO feet broad and
oO feet deep. She carried eight engines,
varying from l. 900 to 1000 horsepower.
So huge and heavy a ship, it was feared.
could not be launched in the ordinary
way, so she was built with her broadside
toward the water and slid down an enor-
nous wooden staging, the cost of the
mere launching process being between
three and four hundred thousand dollars.
Next an explosion occurred on board.
killing several persons and requiring the
expenditure OF large sum to make good
the damage done
AS there was no certainty about the
profits of the Australian trade for which
she was especially designed, it was con-
cluded to experiment with her on the
usual route of transatlantic passenger
steamers. She made several voyages, be-
ginning in June, 1860, to and from the
harbor Of New York, but her owners
steadily lost money, partly because the
travelling public did not dare trust them
selves on an experimental ship of her
size and partly because of the steady out
lay Tor repairs. In December, 1861
when there were threats of war between
Great Britain and the United States, she
proved her value as transport ship by
bringing 1000 troops from England to
Canada with scarcely any inconvenience
or discomfort and three years later she
was employed to advantage on one or
more occasions, at her last sale COM
manding price of 100000.
"She has been used chiefly as a coal
carrier between remote British ports.
Her cost to her various owners. it is esti-
mated. has been somewhere near $780,
100000 and her final collapse is attended
with the consoling reflection that the
chance to throw money away on her will
have gone with the breaking up of her
hulk. She is the largest ship ever built
and is likely to hold that place in history
undisputed, at all events for a good while
to come. Steamers are now built be-
tween 500 and 800 feet long and from so
to 60 feet In beam and show splendid
sailing powers. The Umbria, which beat
the City Of New York on her last trip
out is $40 feet long and 81 feet broad.
Her sister Etrurla is of the same dimen-
sions, but the point is rapidly approach
ing in shipbuilding, in the opinion of ex-
perts where increase of size must be
abandoned, on account not only of the
strain which the great weight brings to
bear upon the joints, but of the unwieldi-
ness OF so large craft in the hands of
even the most experienced navigators. :"
For comparison it may be noted that
the French liner Normandie is 962 feet
long, lit feet beam and 81 feet in draft.
with a tonnage of 82799. The Queen
Mary has 80774 tons displacement, and
is 975 feet long, 118 feet beam and 66
feet draft.