In 1858, when an iron liner, the Great Eastern, was constructed with a gross tonnage of 18,337, a horsepower of 11,000, and a speed of thirteen knots, it was regarded as a triumph of marine engineering . The number of British steamships increased from 298 in 1830 to 3,178 in 1870, and their net tonnage rose in the period from 30,339, to 1,112,934. But it was not until the n1880's that the tonnage of Britain's steamships surpassed that of its sailing vessels.