But very soon a convincing demonstration of the strength of iron vessels brought them into favor. A great storm, sweeping along the coast of Great Britain in 1835, drove many vessels on shore, among them an iron steamboat just making her maiden voyage. The wooden vessels without exception were wrecked, most of them destroyed, but the iron vessel, although subjected to the same conditions, escaped without injury, thanks to the material and method of her construction. From that time the position of the iron steamship was assured. And whereas sea voyagers had formerly looked askance at iron passenger boats they now began to distrust those built of wood. By the middle of the century, iron shipbuilding was at its height, and in the decade immediately following, the _Great Eastern_ was finished--possibly the largest and most remarkable structure ever built of iron, on land or sea. In recent years larger ships have been constructed, but these ships are made of steel. The _Great Eastern_ marked an epoch in shipbuilding. In size she was a generation ahead of her time, but the innovations in the method of her construction gave the cue to modern revolutionary shipbuilding methods. Sir George C. V. Holmes gives the following account of the great ship: "She was originally intended by the famous engineer, Mr. I. K. Brunel, to trade between England and the East. She was designed to make the voyage to Australia without calling anywhere _en route_ to coal, a feat which, in the then state of steam-engine economy, no other vessel could accomplish. It was supposed that this advantage, coupled with the high speed expected from her great length, would secure for her the command of the enormous cargoes which would be necessary to fill her. Mr. Brunel communicated his idea that such a vessel should be constructed for the trade to the East to the famous engineer and shipbuilder, the late Mr. John Scott Russell, F.R.S., and he further persuaded his clients, the directors of the Eastern Steam Navigation Company, of the soundness of his views, for they resolved that the projected vessel should be built for their company, and entrusted the contract for its execution to the firm of John Scott Russell & Co., of Millwall. "Mr. Scott Russell and Mr. Brunel were, between them, entitled to the credit of the design, which, on account of the exceptional size of the ship, presented special difficulties, and involved a total departure from ordinary practice.