The Great Western in New York Harbor.

The steamship SS Great Western (named for the Great Western Railway Company) was the first steamship purposely built for the Atlantic crossing. It was an iron-strapped wooden side-wheel paddle steamer (with 4 masts to hoist the auxiliary sails), designed by the great railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, whose idea it was that steam would replace sail power on the regularly-scheduled trans-Atlantic "packet boat" services, which had been operating under sail since 1818. He convinced the directors of the Great Western Railway. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... The Atlantic Ocean, not including Arctic and Antarctic regions. ... For other uses, see Steamboat (disambiguation). ... Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: ), was a British engineer. ...

Though the Great Western's huge boilers took up almost half its interior, the ship was designed to carry 148 passengers, with a main passenger saloon 75 feet long by 34 feet at its widest. The Great Western displaced 2,340 tons (1,320 tons according to Encyclopedia of Brittanica 15th Edition). It was the largest steamship of its time, measuring 65 meters (212 feet) in length. The Great Western was first launched July 19, 1837.

Twenty-four first-class passengers paid 35 guineas each for the maiden trans-Atlantic trip (more than many working class people then earned in a year). Adding to the value of the trip, on its maiden run, the Great Western raced the SS Sirius to New York, though the Sirius had left Cork, Ireland days earlier, on April 4. The Great Western left Bristol, England, on April 8, 1838. This article is about the city in the Republic of Ireland. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the English city. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The rival British and American Steam Navigation Company expected to open the first steam-powered regularly-scheduled "packet" trans-Atlantic service with their SS British Queen. But with their ship still at the shipyard, it became clear at the opening of the season that the Great Western, which had already been launched and was being fitted out with its machinery in London, was going to beat them to it. So they chartered the Sirius, which was a cross-Channel steamship. For the Thoroughbred racehorse of the same name, see English Channel (horse). ...

Though the Sirius beat the Great Western to New York, arriving on April 22 with forty passengers, they had to burn the cabin furniture, spare yards and one mast to do it, inspiring the similar sequence in Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days (1872). The Great Western arrived the following day, with 200 tons of coal still aboard, and after only 15 days at sea. Great Western was subsequently awarded the Blue Riband for setting the record for trans-Atlantic travel speed at 8.66 knots, beating Sirius which clocked in at 8.03 knots. This article is about the state. ... is the 112th day of the year (113th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the French author. ... Around the World in Eighty Days (French: ) is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in 1873. ... The Blue Riband is an award held by the ship with the record for a transatlantic crossing. ...

The Great Western served in the trans-Atlantic run until 1846. Later, after serving as a troopship in the Crimean War, she was broken up in a salvage yard on the lower reaches of the Thames in 1856. Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought... This article is about the River Thames in southern England. ...

The Great Western demonstrated that ships could not use steam engines and sails at the same time, because hot cinders from its smokestacks would set the sails on fire. It also cut the Atlantic transit time in half, regularly making the westward passage typically in 15 days, and the return in 14 days.

External links

• Houghton-Mifflin "Ships of the World"
• Maritimequest Great Western photo gallery