Great Eastern

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

Looking smart at Colwyn Bay 2012.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Many thanks TLB

I remember the event well

We always enjoyed the comeradary …….I know it`s a spelling mistake

It is a real shame that the event folded up

Best regards

Bob

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Superb pictures of a pretty amazing model Larry, thanks for posting them.

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

Posted by Colin Bishop on 01/07/2021 19:46:51:

You are a ruthless man Bob, but that comes from building models you have no room to store. Pity you couldn't have sold Great Eastern though.

Colin

i find it heartbreaking………and a film star too.

like chopping up Sophia Loren………tears run down my face at the thoughts of it becoming match wood.

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

Who was the guy having a laugh on the front cover?

Yes it was a good show, Component shop behind you and Steamboat Phil trying to set fire to anything nearby in the bottom Corner

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Points of interest, regarding the GE photo`s, posted by The Long Build, recently

Note the grappling hook at the bows. This was used during the cable laying, as the cable snagged several times and snapped! Can you imagine grappling the sea bed, sometimes two miles down! By steaming back and forth till they found the cable! How they knew they had found the cable. is anyone`s guess!

The cables were repaired on deck by resplicing them. Once again, can you imagine the weight of two miles of cable?

It is a wonder that it didn`t sink the ship!

On the 1865 voyage, the cable snapped when only 200 miles from Newfoundland. they didn`t have enough cable for a repair, so the spot was marked using a buoy and the ship sailed back to England.

Can you imagine, how they knew where the spot was on the return voyage?

The GE sailed again in 1866, with miles and miles of cable and chains etc. The Marker buoy was found in the night, in fact, the ship sailed over it!

The cable was repaired and completed the epic adventure. History was created and the world shrank!

Before the Telegraph Cable was created, a message to America would take about 6 weeks!

With the cable, a message could be sent in about 30 minutes! In Morse Code of course

Hope you found this of interest, chaps?

Bob Brunel

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

By far and away the best thing you ever built Bob. Storage always an issue but would you have wanted to build it smaller? I don’t think so. Large models have that “something” about them simply due to the size.

You would have had to call it the “modest Eastern” if it was only 4 foot long!

i have only chopped up one model, I have sold a few, but the time will probably come when the dustbin calls.

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Ashley

I`m pleased that you understand my predicament at the time of scrapping, (especially, when I was diagnosed with Cancer!)

I didn`t actually, jump in with both feet. We visited the Nautical Museum at Holyhead with the intention of donating the model, but got cold feet, when I saw Les Jones immaculate models on show!

Engraving shows Great Eastern first voyage at Holyhead

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

The GE story

Points of interest

The cable system

The cable system is stored on a storage drum inside the hull and is fitted with live Buzz Bars to maintain the signal during the voyage.

The cable passes through a plastic tube on it`s journey through the hull, to avoid snags and emerges on deck and next passes through the Winch mechanism, then out through the rear end fitted with a rotating wheel to show the cable is in motion.

The Buzz Bars connect to the other end of the cable and are connected to the live wire terminals on deck, for easy connection at journeys end.

There is a hand wound crank mechanism for cable drum rewind

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Bob Brunel

You might find these images interesting.

Firstly cable storage in the GE LINK

Secondly a digital cutaway of the GE in its glory days LINK

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Paul

I know the cable storage photo, but not seen the Engine picture before

It`s remarkably clear and sharp

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I believe it is a digital drawing Bob, but to be honest, apart from the fact that the engines are not oily enough, it could be a photo. Remarkable.

Ashley

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Interesting to see that the cylinders are on pivots and do not have a con rod small end bearing, making them obviously oscillators.

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Sorry Bob but it is only a digital creation of what GE could have looked like, I do like the timber panelling in the huge engine room, it makes it look like a gentleman's study rather than a baking hot engine room.

I enjoyed researching into GE an how we discovered the reasons behind the failed launch, at the time it must have seemed akin to Spacex developing reusable launch vehicles as the very latest cutting edge technology.

Brunel was an amazing engineer and achieved with a pencil what modern ship designers need a huge bank of computers to create.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Paul

What failed Launch are you referring to?

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Captain Bob

The Great Eastern failed launch when it became stuck due to part of the slipway collapsing.

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

OK, I thought you were referring to a boat

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Sorry my old friend, I am something of a numpty when it comes to writing things down, what I wrote could easily be taken as a ships launch, at 61 I still find that the English language can be a minefield, there are to many words that have two or more meanings.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hi Paul

I`m very surprised that Brunel designed such a dodgy launching ramp system

But there again. perhaps the builder designed it?

I would have designed a flat inclined ramp, with a number of Hydraulic Tangye Jacks. pushing and opposing

How about you. Doc?

Bob

I`m not surprised. the Launch saw him off?

Must have worried some?

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

History records that Brunel was not only up against a penny pinching board of directors but also suffering from a shipyard owner who was syphoning off funds to support his ailing business.

Brunel designed the slipway and specified what we would describe as high grade concrete, but without his knowledge or agreement the specification was reduced resulting in part of the slipway collapsing under the weight of GE as she was launched.

The collapse caused the launching cradles to ground on the damaged slipway which resulted in the ship twisting during launch.

Brunel had included some massive winches and jacks as part of the launching process but his calculations didn't allow for a sub standard slipway.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

And were these people bought to account?

Ashley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

In many ways all of those involved received their 'just desserts'

The life of the Great Eastern reads more like Dickensian novel than a straight forward account of a ship, during research you get drawn in to the twists and turns as the major players try to out manoeuvre each other.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Found a nice picture of the Great Eastern launch ramps, just admire the planning that`s gone into the forward thinking about the planned launch method.

Looks very risky to me

But what a splendid view of the ramps?

Just imagine 11,000 tons just waiting to break free and hurtle down the incline?

Wonder where the High Tide mark would have come up to, for the ship to actually reach the floatation stage?

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

It all looks very crude, eh?

Thank goodness they don’t launch nuclear subs like that!

Ashley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Bob

The level of the highest expected spring tides would have been level with the GE keel during construction.

Ashley.

To our eyes it looks crude but Brunel was very aware of the problems surrounding the launch and he never intended a 'splash' style of launch, as this could damage the ship if it hit the bottom of the river and the resulting wave would cause chaos in the yards on the opposite bank.

His method was actually well thought out as he intended to slide the ship down the launch ramps at low tide and then let the rising tide lift the ship off its launching cradles. The design angle of the launching ramps was very carefully worked out to give the hull a controllable velocity that required a minimum of energy to start the hull sliding without needing to much force to stop the hull at the end of the ramps.

Brunel had carefully trained the launching crew on the step by step procedures that they would have to follow, he also worked out a system of whistle blasts that would control the actions of the various crews during the launch.

Paul

BTW some countries do splash launch their nuclear submarines sideways into the water.

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