Zerah Colburn (locomotive designer) to England to take up a job as editor of "The Engineer", Britain’s leading weekly technical journal. In this position, Colburn made friends with members of the Institutions of Civil and Mechanical Engineers and became a member of both. He gave frequent lectures and contributed at meetings. It is almost certain that while in London Colburn met Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In 1860, Colburn returned to America on the maiden voyage of the "Great Eastern", Brunel's leviathan steamship. In America he launched a new weekly engineering newspaper, "The Engineer", but this lasted only a few months and Colburn returned to England
Burrells Wharf it was launched. This was a steam and sail ship designed by engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and the largest ship in the world for its time, when built in 1858. The ship may not have lasted long in its commercial use, but the shipyard and site where it was launched have fared better. Some of the land developed in the 20th century into a pigment/dye factory, having immediate access to the various imports required in Poplar. According to local lore, the local bird-life would get into the factory buildings and become contaminated with the dyes: it was reputedly common to