SS Great Eastern SS Great Eastern SS "Great Eastern" was an iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of was only surpassed in 1899 by the 17,274-gross-ton RMS "Oceanic", her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 21,035-gross-ton RMS "Celtic", and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Parliament in 1835. It was Brunel's vision that passengers would be able to purchase one ticket at London Paddington and travel from London to New York, changing from the Great Western Railway to the "Great Western" steamship at the terminus in Neyland, West Wales. He surveyed the entire length of the route between London and Bristol himself, with the help of many including his Solicitor Jeremiah Osborne of Bristol Law Firm Osborne Clarke who on one occasion rowed Brunel down the River Avon himself to survey the bank of the river for the route. Brunel made two controversial decisions: to