SS Great Britain | Details | Copy of Memoranda and order sent by Mr Brunel to Mr Scott Russell

Sidebar content	Main content
Actions Displays	Copy of Memoranda and order sent by Mr Brunel to Mr Scott Russell Remove from selection Add to selection Object numberDM1306/11/8/2 TitleCopy of Memoranda and order sent by Mr Brunel to Mr Scott Russell Creator Isambard Kingdom Brunel (author)‎ DescriptionThe letter comments that since the waste steam pipe from the auxiliary engines has been incorporated into the main mast which has therefore been heated up and the rubber joints fixing the mast have deteriorated which leads Brunel to suspect that the rubber used for the joint is of inferior quality and has definitely not been sourced from Moulton of Bradford. Brunel instructs Russell to ensure that the steam pipe is removed from the mast and sends a formal order to that effect and also and order for removing the washers. The letter also suggests an alternative route for the steam pipe if removed from the mast. Brunel also explains why he has not ordered the removal of the present rubber joints. The letter also comments on the steam hoists for the ashes. The letter gives a formal order for Russell to start work on several jobs needed to complete the Great Eastern. These matters include completing the connection between the ash hoist and the donkey engine in the screw boiler compartment, supplying rubber packings made from Moulton's rubber to replace the ones currently in the joints of the iron masts, completing the jacketting and clothing of the steam cylinders of the paddle engines over the whole surface of the slide box and steam passages and providing a proper communication tunnel for carrying off the waste steam from the auxiliary engines to the paddle boxes or to the tunnel of the large boiler and removing it from the main mast. The letter also instructs Russell to immediately increase the work-force who are engaged on making the holes in the webbing between the two iron skins of the hull. A fair copy of the letter and memoranda were entered into Brunel's letter-books of Great Eastern Correspondence (DM1306/11/1/1/ folio 191-192 and folio 192-193). The sheet has been folded in half to create a total of four pages, and the letter and memo cover all four pages. A note in different ink at the top of the first page explains that this is a copy of the letter sent to John Scott Russell and that the copy was handed to the writer of the annotation by Mr B. on 20 August 1859. The sheet has been further folded to create a slim packet and a title and date has been written on the outside of the packet, crosswise to the pencil note at the end of the letter instructing Russell to have the coaling holes finished and a sketch showing how Brunel wanted the doors. Production date 1859-08-18 - 1859-08-18 Object namememorandum Object categoryreporting Materialpaper Techniquehand-written Dimensions height: 190 mm width: 70 mm Credit lineBy Courtesy of the Brunel Institute – a collaboration of the ss Great Britain Trust and the University of Bristol

Object numberDM1306/11/8/2

TitleCopy of Memoranda and order sent by Mr Brunel to Mr Scott Russell

Creator Isambard Kingdom Brunel (author)‎

DescriptionThe letter comments that since the waste steam pipe from the auxiliary engines has been incorporated into the main mast which has therefore been heated up and the rubber joints fixing the mast have deteriorated which leads Brunel to suspect that the rubber used for the joint is of inferior quality and has definitely not been sourced from Moulton of Bradford. Brunel instructs Russell to ensure that the steam pipe is removed from the mast and sends a formal order to that effect and also and order for removing the washers. The letter also suggests an alternative route for the steam pipe if removed from the mast. Brunel also explains why he has not ordered the removal of the present rubber joints. The letter also comments on the steam hoists for the ashes. The letter gives a formal order for Russell to start work on several jobs needed to complete the Great Eastern. These matters include completing the connection between the ash hoist and the donkey engine in the screw boiler compartment, supplying rubber packings made from Moulton's rubber to replace the ones currently in the joints of the iron masts, completing the jacketting and clothing of the steam cylinders of the paddle engines over the whole surface of the slide box and steam passages and providing a proper communication tunnel for carrying off the waste steam from the auxiliary engines to the paddle boxes or to the tunnel of the large boiler and removing it from the main mast. The letter also instructs Russell to immediately increase the work-force who are engaged on making the holes in the webbing between the two iron skins of the hull. A fair copy of the letter and memoranda were entered into Brunel's letter-books of Great Eastern Correspondence (DM1306/11/1/1/ folio 191-192 and folio 192-193). The sheet has been folded in half to create a total of four pages, and the letter and memo cover all four pages. A note in different ink at the top of the first page explains that this is a copy of the letter sent to John Scott Russell and that the copy was handed to the writer of the annotation by Mr B. on 20 August 1859. The sheet has been further folded to create a slim packet and a title and date has been written on the outside of the packet, crosswise to the pencil note at the end of the letter instructing Russell to have the coaling holes finished and a sketch showing how Brunel wanted the doors.

Production date 1859-08-18 - 1859-08-18

Object namememorandum

Object categoryreporting

Materialpaper

Techniquehand-written

Dimensions

Credit lineBy Courtesy of the Brunel Institute – a collaboration of the ss Great Britain Trust and the University of Bristol

Item request date
Expected return date
Destination