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In the early 1800s, before the first ocean-going steamship was built, a typical trip from Europe to America by sailing ship lasted an average of two months at sea. By contrast, the Great Western, the first paddle-wheel steamer built expressly for crossing the Atlantic, made its maiden voyage from England to New York in April of 1838 in sixteen days, and by 1875 a flotilla of iron-hulled steamships—with advanced steam engines and screw propellers instead of paddle wheels—were regularly crossing the Atlantic in seven days.
