THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE 



previous practice, constructed iron ships with cellular 

 bottoms, but the cells had only five sides, the upper- 

 most side on the inside being uncovered. Over a large 

 portion, however, of the bottom of the Great Eastern 

 the cells were completed by the addition of an inner 

 bottom, which added greatly both to the strength and 

 to the safety of the ship. It was also Mr. Brunei's 

 idea that the great ship should be propelled by both 

 paddles and screw. Mr. Scott Russell was responsible 

 for the lines and dimensions, and also for the longi- 

 tudinal system of framing, with its numerous complete 

 and partial transverse and longitudinal bulkheads. 



"The following are some of the principal dimensions 

 and other data of the Great Eastern: 



Length between perpendiculars 680 feet 



Length on upper deck 692 



Extreme breadth of hull 83 



Width over paddle-box 120 



Depth from upper deck to keel 58 



Draught of water (laden) 30 



Weight of iron used in construction 10,000 tons 



Number of plates used in construction 30,000 



Number of rivets used in construction 3,000,000 



Tonnage, gross 18,914 tons 



Nominal p)ower of paddle engine 1,000 H. P. 



Nominal power of screw engines 1,600 " 



'^The accommodation for passengers was on an un- 

 precedented scale. There were no less than five saloons 

 on the upper, and as many on the lower deck, the aggre- 

 gate length of the principal apartments being 400 feet. 

 There was accommodation for 800 first-class, 2,000 

 second-class, and 1,200 third-class passengers, and the 

 crew numbered 400. The upper deck, which was of 

 a continuous iron-plated and cellular structure, ran 



[78] 



