The beginning of the transatlantic route, the start of the Blue Riband
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The beginning of the transatlantic route, the start of the Blue Riband by Neil Owen as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The beginning of the transatlantic route, the start of the Blue Riband
Image: © Neil Owen Taken: 6 Nov 2011
The Great Western's keel was laid in 1836 and built in Bristol by Pattersons & Mercer. She went into transatlantic service from Avonmouth (later Liverpool) to New York in 1838. Designed by I.K. Brunel, she was a wooden hulled, side-wheel paddle driven vessel, and a highly successful one at that. But after nine years carrying passengers across the pond, she was sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, who used her for the mail run to the West Indies. Finally, in 1855, she went into military service when the government bought her to take troops to the Crimean War. Once fulfilling that task, the Great Western was taken to Millbank on the Thames, where she was scrapped.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.448074
Longitude
-2.596987