| Description | A group of items, many in the hand of Christopher Claxton. Several of the items may have been drawn up or used for Brunel's research when designing the Great Eastern since they provide details about existing ships in service, their capacity, the potential revenue to be made from carrying goods and soldiers, the numbers of crew and the weight of provisions as well as the costs associated in employing crew. The research also covers the length of the potential voyages and the sizes of other steamers being employed on different routes. This information would all have fed into Brunel's calculations when deciding on the appropriate size for his ship and the potential revenue to be made by the company. There is also research into various experiments including experimental boilers and reports of experiments with James Braidwood's floating fire engine (referred to at length in Brunel's letter-books of correspondence - see DM1306/11/1). |