"Mr. Scott Russell had systematically, in his own previous practice, constructed iron ships with cellular bottoms, but the cells had only five sides, the uppermost side on the inside being uncovered. Over a large portion, however, of the bottom of the _Great Eastern_ the cells were completed by the addition of an inner bottom, which added greatly both to the strength and to the safety of the ship. It was also Mr. Brunel's idea that the great ship should be propelled by both paddles and screw. Mr. Scott Russell was responsible for the lines and dimensions, and also for the longitudinal system of framing, with its numerous complete and partial transverse and longitudinal bulkheads. "The following are some of the principal dimensions and other _data_ of the _Great Eastern_: Length between perpendiculars 680 feet Length on upper deck 692 " Extreme breadth of hull 83 " Width over paddle-box 120 " Depth from upper deck to keel 58 " Draught of water (laden) 30 " Weight of iron used in construction 10,000 tons Number of plates used in construction 30,000 Number of rivets used in construction 3,000,000 Tonnage, gross 18,914 tons Nominal power of paddle engine 1,000 H. P. Nominal power of screw engines 1,600 " "The accommodation for passengers was on an unprecedented scale. There were no less than five saloons on the upper, and as many on the lower deck, the aggregate length of the principal apartments being 400 feet. There was accommodation for 800 first-class, 2,000 second-class, and 1,200 third-class passengers, and the crew numbered 400. The upper deck, which was of a continuous iron-plated and cellular structure, ran flush from stem to stern, and was twenty feet wide on each side of the hatchways; thus two spacious promenades were provided, each over a furlong in length. The capacity for coal and cargo was 18,000 tons.