| Description | Written from the Great Eastern, Portland. The letter expresses Harrison's pleasure at hearing that Brunel is a little bit better and hopes that Brunel will soon be very much better. The letter also reports on the beginning of the Great Eastern's trial voyage and reports at the speed of the ship, the revolution of the screw and paddle engines. Although the fuel consumption could not be calculated, there was apparently no trouble in keeping the level of steam up. The letter also reports in detail on how well various parts of the engines, the steam heating apparatus, the donkey engines, capstan gear and other parts of the ship's engineering performed. The letter also describes the weather conditions and how this affected the test. The letter also describes the explosion of the forward funnel case and the level of damage this did to the ship but comments that the longitudinal and transverse bulkheads appear to have done much to dissipate the explosion. A post-script promises that Mr McLennan, the chief engineer will send Brunel a copy of his log in a few days. |