British 20th Century Model Paddle Transatlantic Paddle Steamer Ship Great Western

Description

1 Vintage Model Paddle Transatlantic Paddle Steamer Ship Great Western 1837 In Black Display Case.
Impress your clients & guests … more 1 Vintage Model Paddle Transatlantic Paddle Steamer Ship Great Western 1837 In Black Display Case.
Impress your clients & guests with this historic model ship which is so captivating.
Subject marine view depicting the known ship Great Western. It is well detailed with masts, sails, rigging, single funnel also Union Jack ensign flying.
Circa late 20th century.
Model ship made from wood veneer & plastic, with the case also being wood veneer with transparent acrylic.
A nice display size with the outer display case being 50.5 cm wide and 28.5 cm high.
Ship biography, the Great Western, was a wooden-hulled paddle-wheel steamship with four masts,the first steamship purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic, and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1837 to 1839, the year the SS British Queen went into service.
Designed by British civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Great Western proved satisfactory in service and was the model for all successful wooden Atlantic paddle-steamers She was capable of making record Blue Riband voyages as late as 1843. Great Western worked to New York for eight years until her owners went out of business. She was sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and was scrapped in 1856 after serving as a troopship during the Crimean War.
In 1836, Isambard Brunel, his friend Thomas Guppy and a group of Bristol investors formed the Great Western Steamship Company to build a line of steamships for the Bristol–New York route. The idea of regular scheduled transatlantic service was under discussion by several groups and the rival British and American Steam Navigation Company was established at the same time. Great Western's design sparked controversy from critics that contended that she was too big. The principle that Brunel understood was that the carrying capacity of a ship increases as the cube of its dimensions, whilst the water resistance only increases as the square of its dimensions. This meant that large ships were more fuel efficient, something very important for long voyages across the Atlantic.
Great Western was an iron-strapped, wooden, side-wheel paddle steamer, with four masts to hoist the auxiliary sails. The sails were not just to provide auxiliary propulsion, but also were used in rough seas to keep the ship on an even keel and ensure that both paddle wheels remained in the water, driving the ship in a straight line. The hull was built of oak (one source says Dantzic pine[citation needed]) by traditional methods. She was the largest steamship for one year, until the British and American's British Queen went into service. Built at the shipyard of Patterson & Mercer in Bristol, England, Great Western was launched on 19 July 1837.
During the launch, a shipwright was killed when a large bulk of timber fell on him, fracturing his skull. After her launch, Great Western sailed to London, where she was fitted with two side-lever steam engines from the firm of Maudslay, Sons and Field, producing 750 indicated horsepower between them.[3] Towards the end of 1837 Lieutenant James Hosken was appointed commander of the new vessel and in March 1838 the first advertisements of sailings were made.
Type Oak-hulled paddle-wheel steamship. Tonnage 1,340 GRT, later 1,700 GRT
Displacement 2300 ton. Length 71.6 m (234 ft 11 in), later 76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) long. Beam 17.59 m (57 ft 9 in) across wheels. Installed power. 73 1/2 diameter 2-cylinder Maudslay steam engine 7ft stroke, 12-15 rpm side lever engines 750 hp (560 kW). Propulsion Two paddle-wheels, speed 8.5 knots, capacity 128 passengers in 1st class + 20 servants, crew 60.
Provenance from a private marine collection.
Incredible conversation piece for your guests.
A superb nautical collectors gift.

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Dimensions in centimetres

High (28.5 cm)
Width (50.5 cm)
Length depth (13 cm) less