Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the 'Taurus' (1866), a fast livestock carrier. The model is decked, fully equipped and rigged, and is a fine and early example of the builder’s style of modelmaking. Of particular interest are the cattle pens fitted on all available deck space.

The ‘Taurus’ was built by Preston Iron Shipbuilding Company, Preston, and measured 247 feet in length by 32 feet in the beam and a tonnage of 838 gross. It was powered by a direct-acting steam engine of 250 initial horsepower driving a pair of feathering paddle wheels, producing a service speed of 14 knots. It was owned by the General Steam Navigation Company and specifically designed for the cattle trade to the continent, running from London to Hamburg, Antwerp and Geestemunde.

Fitted to carry 650 cattle and 500 sheep, the ‘Taurus’ moved approximately 80,000 animals annually. However, with the growth of refrigerated imports, the cattle trade was in decline and she was sold to the City of London to bring cattle from Gravesend to Deptford. The ‘Taurus’ was eventually sold for scrapping in Holland in 1913.