| Description | Written from 18 Duke Street, London. The letter reports on the progress towards the building of the Eastern Steam Navigation Company's first ship since the Annual Meeting of Proprietors the previous February. The report covers the signing of the contracts, the sourcing and preparation of a shipyard, the drawing up of plans and the construction of working models of the ship as well as the progress on the construction. The report also details how the shipyard was prepared for the construction and the new machinery that was installed or built for the project. The report also describes the progress that has been made on constructing both the paddle wheel and screw engines. Brunel expresses his belief that it is possible to complete the project within the time frame set out in the initial contract and also describes some of his experiments with burning anthracite coal. |