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Seven wonders of the industrial world. The great ship / written and directed by Christopher Spencer ; a BBC/TLC co-production.
- Format:
- Video
- Series:
- Academic Video Online
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Brunel, Isambard Kingdom, 1806-1859.
- Brunel, Isambard Kingdom.
- Great Eastern (Steamship).
- Civil engineering--History.
- Civil engineering.
- Steamboats--History.
- Steamboats.
- Technological innovations--History.
- Technological innovations.
- Genre:
- Historical reenactments (Television programs)
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (50 minutes)
- Other Title:
- 7 wonders of the industrial world
- Great ship
- Place of Publication:
- London, England : BBC Worldwide, 2003.
- Language Note:
- In English.
- System Details:
- video file
- Summary:
- An encounter with the most brilliant pioneers of the industrial age. Recreating their stories of burning ambition, extravagant dreams, passion and rivalry as great minds clashed, this programme delves into the history of seven epic monuments spanning the industrial revolution. Using spectacular CGI, the seven stories that are revealed here are: the SS Great Eastern, the London sewer system, the Bell Rock Lighthouse, the US Transcontinental Railway, the Panama Canal, the Hoover Dam, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Isambard Kingdom Brunel's colossal ship, the Great Eastern, is the only wonder described here that has not survived to the 21st century. In the early 1850s, Brunel hoped the ship would be his masterpiece, and that it would provide an enduring link to even the most far-flung parts of the empire. At a time when most ships moored in the Thames were built to traditional designs in wood, and powered by sail, Brunel's 'Great Ship' was almost 700 feet long, a floating island made of iron. His vision was that it should carry 4,000 passengers, in magnificent style, as far as the Antipodes - without needing to refuel. The design was revolutionary, incorporating a double hull that made the ship unsinkable, and enormous engines as high as a house. Brunel faced considerable criticism: his ship was too big, it was too expensive, it would sink, or break its back on the first big wave - if, that is, he could actually manage to launch it. In fact his concept became the blue print for ship design for years to come.
- Participant:
- Narrated by Robert Lindsay.
- Notes:
- Title from resource description page (viewed August 26, 2019).
- OCLC:
- 1119611680
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