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RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE
S.S. GREAT WESTERN 1837 |
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The steamship Great Western was a remarkable and exceptionally historic transatlantic steamship. This ship was the first purpose built transatlantic steamship and first ocean liner. This ship pioneered the transatlantic crossing for steamships and in many ways is the first ocean liner. This website celebrates the history of this pioneering ship and honours its unique place in maritime history in the birth of the transatlantic crossing. In doing so she paved the way for Brunel's second great ship which was the S.S. Great Britain. This was the first iron hulled, propellor driven, steam powered ocean liner and indeed is the forerunner of all modern ships. Designed by the famous railway engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Great Western was his first ship. Brunel had a vision of extending his Great Western Railway (London to Bristol) to New York via a passenger steamship service. He saw that steamships would eventually replace the transatlantic sailing packets that had been running their scheduled service since 1818 when the James Monroe inaugurated the service with Black Ball Line. As a result the Great Western Steamship Company was created to own and operate the Great Western as an extension to Brunel's Great Western Railway. Here we list some links relevant to the steamship Great Western: Ports Associated with the Ship: Bristol Port Company http://www.bristolport.co.uk/ PortCities Bristol http://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/ Port Authority of New York and New Jersey http://www.panynj.gov/ Port of Liverpool & Manchester Ship Canal http://www.merseydocks.co.uk PortCities Liverpool http://www.mersey-gateway.org/ Isambard Kingdom Brunel: S.S. Great Britain (1843) http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/ The Brunel Museum, Rotherhithe, London http://www.brunel-museum.org.uk/ The Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash http://www.royalalbertbridge.co.uk/ Underfall Boatyard, Bristol http://www.underfallboatyard.co.uk/ The Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol http://www.clifton-suspension-bridge.org.uk/ STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon http://www.steam-museum.org.uk/ The Broad Gauge Society http://www.broadgauge.org.uk/ Brunel 200 http://www.brunel200.com/ |
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(c) The AJN Transport Britain Collection 2008 A Edward Elliott