Twenty years of the ship's history present a singular series of vicissitudes. During 1874-57, the operations proceeded at Millwall, under frequent and heavy financial pressure, which taxed the resources of the company severely; while the engineer and builder were frequently called upon to surmount difficulties of almost unparalleled kind. By Nov., 1857, the ship had advanced to the launching condition. In order to avoid the danger of launching such a long vessel stern foremost, the ship was built with the broadside towards the river, on a timber foundation of immense strength, with sloping ways, or rails. down to the water. Either the ship was too heavy (12.000 tons), or the slope was too gradual; for it required various attempts, between Nov. 3, 1837, and Jan. 31, 1838, and an expenditure of 260,000. to effect the launching. During 1858 and 1859, the work continued as fast as the company could supply money. Uncertain how far the original intention of a trade to and from Australia could be realized, the directors determined on a trial trip across the Atlantic. It was a disaster. The ship left the Thames, Sept. 8, 1859; an explosion of steam-pipes took place off Hastings; seven persons were killed and several wounded; and the voyage abruptly came to an end at Weymouth. Mr. Brunel died immediately after his vast ship had made this her first but futile attempt to brave the ocean. After a winter and spring spent in costly repairs, acrimonious recriminations, and snits in law and equity, the ship started again on June 17, 1860. Leaving Southampton on that day, she crossed the Atlantic in 11 days, and reached New York on the 28th. During the remainder of 1860, and the greater part of 1861, she made ninny voyages to and fro, losing money by the insuffi ciency of the receipts to meet the current expenses, and constantly required repairs. In Dec., when political relations with the United States looked ominous, the Great Eastern served as a troop-ship, carrying some battalions of foot guards over to Canada with a degree of comfort never before experienced by 2,000 human beings in one ship.
The years 1862 to 1864 were nearly a blank as concerns the history of the Great Eastern. No attempt was made at a voyage to Australia and back; the trips across the
Atlantic had not been remunerative; the government did not often require the services of so vast a fabric as it troop-ship; and the company were always embarrassed by over hanging debts. In 1864 negotiations were entered into with the Atlantic Telegraph com pany and the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance company, for the employment of the Great Eastern as a cable-laying ship. The passenger accommodation was wholly removed from the interior, to make room for the enormous iron tanks in which the cable was stowed. The arrangement and services of the ship in 1865 and 1866 will be found briefly noticed under ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH. 111 1867 when the Paris international exhibition was approaching completion, a body of speculators chartered the Great Eastern for a certain number of months, to convey visitors from New York to Havre and back again—under the expectation that the number of such visitors would be so vast as to defray the whole of the expenses, and yield a large profit. A great outlay was incurred to reconvert the vessel from a cable-laying to a passenger ship, and for extensive renewals of machinery. The ship started from Liverpool for New York in May; but the speculation proved an utter failure, there being neither wages for the seamen and engineers, nor profit for the speculators.
In 1868 a new arrangement was made, by which the ship was to be permanently chartered by the Telegraph Construction mid Maintenance company. The name, which had been changed from Leriathaa to Great Eastern, and then to Great was again changed to Great Eastrrn. The passenger fittings, introduced in 1867, were removed, and everything arranged for the important work of submarine cable-laying. This has proved to be an advantageous mode of employment. Between 1869 and 1874 the Great Eastern successfully laid sonic of the most important telegraphic cables—across the Atlantic, in t113 Mediterranean, in the Red sea, across the Indian ocean, across the equator from Europe to Brazil, etc.