PX8271

The old frigate with her freight of cable alongside the 'Great Eastern' at Sheerness Long Caption: The hulks 'Amethyst' and 'Iris' transferred the 2500 miles (4022 km) of cable to the 'Great Eastern' as she lay at a mooring at Sheerness, an operation that took over three months. Brunel's 'Great Eastern' had proved an economic failure as a passenger vessel on the Atlantic routes, and was now available for charter. Her ornate fittings were stripped out, two boilers and a funnel were removed and three gigantic cylindrical tanks were installed to hold the coils of cable. The hulks 'Amethyst' and 'Iris' transferred the 2500 miles (4022 km) of cable to her as she lay at a mooring at Sheerness, an operation that took over three months. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London Object: PAG8271 Artist: engraving by Thomas Picken after R. Dudley Date: 1865 Medium: coloured lithograph Size: 201 mm x 287 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.