Editing SS Great Eastern (section)

====Launch====
[[File:Life of Brunel - Fig 15 - Transverse Section of the Cradles and the Launching Ways of the ‘Great Eastern’ Steam-Ship.png|thumb|Section of ''Great Eastern'' with launching cradle on slipway]]

''Great Eastern'' was planned to be launched on 3 November 1857. The ship's massive size posed major logistical issues; according to one source, the ship's 19,000 tons (12,000 inert tons during the launch) made it the single heaviest object moved by humans to that point.<ref name=":2">Dugan (1952) pp. 9–17</ref> On 3 November, a large crowd gathered to watch the ship launch, with notables present including the Comte de Paris, the [[Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale|Duke of Aumale]], and the Siamese ambassador to Britain.<ref name=":2" /> The launch, however, failed, and the ship was stranded on its launch rails – in addition, two men were killed and several others injured, leading some to declare ''Great Eastern'' an unlucky ship. Brunel rescheduled the launch for January 1858, hoping to use the tide in the next launch attempt.<ref name=":2" />
[[File:-Men at Work Beside the Launching Chains of the "Great Eastern"- MET DP275749 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|''Great Eastern'' two months before launch, November 1857.]]
In the leadup to the second launch, Brunel and ''Great Eastern''<nowiki/>'s backers gathered a significant number of chains, jacks, hydraulic rams, and [[windlass]]es to assist in launching the ship. Some were obtained from sympathetic engineers, others through returned favours, and yet more for increasing sums of money; so lucrative was renting out of supplies for the ship's launch that engineer [[Richard Tangye]] was able to found his own engineering firm (Tangye & Co) the next year, remarking that "We launched ''Great Eastern'', and she launched us''".''<ref name=":2" /> Advice sent to Brunel on how to launch the ship came from a number of sources, including steamboat captains on the Great Lakes and one admirer who wrote an insightful description on how the massive ''[[Bronze Horseman]]'' had been erected in Saint Petersburg.<ref name=":2" /> High winds prevented the ship from being launched on 30 January, but the next morning a fresh attempt successfully launched the ship around 10:00 in the morning.<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Great Eastern painting smooth sea-2.jpg|right|thumb|Hand-coloured lithograph of the ''Great Eastern'', as imagined by the artist at her launch in 1858]]
Following her launch, ''Great Eastern'' spent a further 8 months being fitted out. However, the cost of the fitting out ($600,000) concerned many investors, who had already spent nearly $6,000,000 constructing her.<ref name=":3">Dugan (1952) p. 35</ref> With the building company already in debt, cost cutting measures were implemented; the ship was removed from Russell's shipyard, and many investors requested she be sold. As reported by the ''Times'', one investor openly proposed that the ship be sold to the Royal Navy, noting if the navy employed ''Great Eastern'' as a ram, she would easily cleave through any warship afloat.<ref name=":3" /> These efforts had mixed success, with the ship eventually being sold to a new company for £800,000, equating to a loss of $3,000,000 for investors in the Eastern Steam Navigation Company.<ref name=":4">Dugan (1952) pp. 36–39, 41–49</ref> The new company modified parts of its predecessor's design, most notably cutting the ship's coal capacity as it intended to use the ship for the American market. Fitting out concluded in August 1859 and was marked with a lavish banquet for visitors (which included engineers, stockholders, members of parliament, 5 earls, and other notables).<ref name=":4" /> In early September 1859, the ship sailed from her dock towards the channel, accompanied by many spectators. However, off Hastings she suffered a massive steam explosion (caused by a valve being left shut by accident after a pressure test of the system) that killed five crewmen and destroyed the forwardmost funnel.<ref name=":4" /> She proceeded to Portland Bill and then to [[Holyhead]], though some investors claimed more money could have been made if the ship had remained as an "exhibition ship" for tourists in the Thames.<ref name=":4" /> ''Great Eastern'' successfully rode out the infamous [[Royal Charter Storm]], after which it was moved to Southampton for the winter.<ref name=":4" /> The start of 1860 led to a further change of ownership when the owning company was found to be badly in debt and the value of the ship depreciated by half. This revelation forced the resignation of the board of directors, who were then replaced by a third group of controlling stockholders.<ref name=":4" />

With the new board in place, the ship was recapitalized to raise an additional $50,000. The new board was determined to finish the ship, but also bet heavily on making large profits exhibiting the ship in North American seaports. To accomplish this, the company played major American and Canadian cities against each other, goading them into competition over which city would welcome ''Great Eastern''; the city of [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], Maine (with additional investment from the [[Grand Trunk Railway]]) went so far as to build a $125,000 pier to accommodate the ship.<ref name=":5">Dugan (1952) pp. 49, 50–68</ref> Ultimately New York City – which had quickly dredged a berth for her alongside a lumber wharf – was decided on as the ship's first destination.<ref name=":5" />