Cobourg and Peterborough Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was one of the first rail lines to be built in Central Ontario, Canada
, having been founded in 1834 as the Cobourg Railway Company. The line was proposed to extend from Cobourg
to Peterborough
, though plans for construction were constantly put on hold or shelved until 1846, particularly due to the Upper Canada Rebellion
of 1837
. The railroad was finally constructed as the "Cobourg and Rice Lake Plank Road and Ferry Company" by Samuel Gore and was 17 km in length, reaching the shores of Rice Lake, but the railway barely survived the first two winters it faced. The Cobourg and Rice Lake Plank Road and Ferry Company was fairly successful, using a plank road
and ferry to cross Rice Lake, delivering lumber from the newly-founded town of Peterborough to the port in Cobourg, but ran into financial difficulties.
. Construction started in 1853, but was halted due to a cholera
epidemic
among the German immigrants who signed up to work at the construction sites. The bridge was constructed in the summer of 1854, was completed on November 19, and, opened for use on December 29, 1854. At the time, it was one of the longest trestle bridges in North America
. The main bridge started in Harwood, Ontario
and continued towards Tic Island, and consisted of a long trestle set on piles, with 33 truss spans (24 m each) and a 36 m swing section
in the navigation between Tic island and the northern shore. The choice for using pure wood on the bridge was its low cost, and high abundance in nearby forests.
The railroad company did have one spur line at the time: the Peterborough & Chemong Lake Railway Company. This was established as an eventual extension of the Cobourg & Peterborough in 1857, while the first four miles (six kilometers) opened in 1859. The line was taken over by the GTR in March 1888 and extended the line the remaining four miles by July 1891.
Each year, massive ice dam
s would form on Rice Lake, and extensive repairs were needed to keep the bridge safe and operational. The bridge was even more vulnerable due to the construction contractors using simple wooden pilings instead of using crushed rock surrounding the wooden piles, which allowed them to shift when ice dammed up against the bridge, warping them. When the Prince of Wales
visited in 1860, he was not allowed to cross the bridge due to fears it would collapse. By the winter of 1860–1861, the bridge was completely destroyed, along with the town of Cobourg's hopes of becoming a major Great Lakes
port, and the rails were removed from the remaining portions of the bridge. The railroad had gone bankrupt in 1865. The town's citizens had raised over $1 million for the 48 kilometer long railroad, which was later merged into the Marmora Ironworks in August 1866.
investor
s of the Port Hope, Lindsay, and Beaverton Railway bought remaining portion of the rail line, and the Marmora Iron Mine, and renamed it the Cobourg, Peterborough & Marmora Railway & Mining Company in 1867. The railway would later get an extension to Trent Narrows on the Trent River
, and further north to the iron mine in Blairton, while barges would load the coal from the trains onto the Trent River, and sail down the river and Rice Lake to the port at Harwood, where they would continue their journey to Cobourg. This would be moderately successful, until the economic crisis of 1873 that struck North America. While the town of Cobourg continued to pressure Peterborough to help it rebuild the Rice lake trestle bridge after 1873, Peterborough was reluctant to do so, due to having other railroad projects to attend to. The CP&MR&MC would later go bankrupt in 1880. This would not be the end of the railroad, yet.
In 1885, a Belleville
business man purchased the railroad company for $30,000, and renamed it the Cobourg, Blairton & Marmora Railway & Mining Company. The company quickly found itself in financial distress from a lack of investment, from depletion of the forests nearby, and the depletion of the iron mine near Blairton and Havelock. In 1893, the railroad's (and town of Cobourg's) suffering was ended when the railroad was merged with the Grand Trunk Railway
, now today's Canadian National Railway
. Grand Trunk Railway may have purchased the Cobourg railway to gain access to its harbour, as it did not have any previous track leasage or ports there, and used its rail link to Harwood on rare occasions until the early 1910s. With the start of World War I
in 1914, this stretch of railroad was torn up, and the rails were transferred overseas to be used in France
.
When the Trent-Severn Waterway
was constructed in 1920, the lake was flooded, and the land causeway that was formed along the collapsed bridge was submerged. The rails to the Cobourg harbour were removed in the 1980s.
is reclaiming the former railbed, and erosion is eliminating its evidence.
One portion of the bridge remains, stretching from the south shore of Rice Lake at Harwood, to Tic Island, while the other portions have since been washed ashore and removed, or sunk to the bottom. It appears as a land causeway, with trees and bushes growing on it.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, having been founded in 1834 as the Cobourg Railway Company. The line was proposed to extend from Cobourg
Cobourg, Ontario
Cobourg is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario 95 km east of Toronto. It is the largest town in Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is located along Highway 401 and the former Highway 2...
to Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, though plans for construction were constantly put on hold or shelved until 1846, particularly due to the Upper Canada Rebellion
Upper Canada Rebellion
The Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...
of 1837
Rebellions of 1837
The Rebellions of 1837 were a pair of Canadian armed uprisings that occurred in 1837 and 1838 in response to frustrations in political reform. A key shared goal was the allowance of responsible government, which was eventually achieved in the incident's aftermath.-Rebellions:The rebellions started...
. The railroad was finally constructed as the "Cobourg and Rice Lake Plank Road and Ferry Company" by Samuel Gore and was 17 km in length, reaching the shores of Rice Lake, but the railway barely survived the first two winters it faced. The Cobourg and Rice Lake Plank Road and Ferry Company was fairly successful, using a plank road
Plank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...
and ferry to cross Rice Lake, delivering lumber from the newly-founded town of Peterborough to the port in Cobourg, but ran into financial difficulties.
The wooden causeway
The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway was the successor company that was incorporated in 1852, and had the railroad extended along a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) single-tracked wooden trestle bridge across Rice LakeRice Lake
- Communities :In the United States* Rice Lake, Minnesota, a census-designated place in Clearwater County* Rice Lake , Minnesota, in Dodge and Steele counties* Rice Lake Township, St...
. Construction started in 1853, but was halted due to a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
among the German immigrants who signed up to work at the construction sites. The bridge was constructed in the summer of 1854, was completed on November 19, and, opened for use on December 29, 1854. At the time, it was one of the longest trestle bridges in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The main bridge started in Harwood, Ontario
Harwood, Ontario
Harwood is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the township of Hamilton in Northumberland County. It is named for Montreal merchant Robert Unwin Harwood....
and continued towards Tic Island, and consisted of a long trestle set on piles, with 33 truss spans (24 m each) and a 36 m swing section
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
in the navigation between Tic island and the northern shore. The choice for using pure wood on the bridge was its low cost, and high abundance in nearby forests.
The railroad company did have one spur line at the time: the Peterborough & Chemong Lake Railway Company. This was established as an eventual extension of the Cobourg & Peterborough in 1857, while the first four miles (six kilometers) opened in 1859. The line was taken over by the GTR in March 1888 and extended the line the remaining four miles by July 1891.
Each year, massive ice dam
Ice dam
An ice dam occurs when water builds up behind a blockage of ice. Ice dams can occur in various ways.-Caused by a glacier:Sometimes a glacier flows down a valley to a confluence where the other branch carries an unfrozen river...
s would form on Rice Lake, and extensive repairs were needed to keep the bridge safe and operational. The bridge was even more vulnerable due to the construction contractors using simple wooden pilings instead of using crushed rock surrounding the wooden piles, which allowed them to shift when ice dammed up against the bridge, warping them. When the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
visited in 1860, he was not allowed to cross the bridge due to fears it would collapse. By the winter of 1860–1861, the bridge was completely destroyed, along with the town of Cobourg's hopes of becoming a major Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
port, and the rails were removed from the remaining portions of the bridge. The railroad had gone bankrupt in 1865. The town's citizens had raised over $1 million for the 48 kilometer long railroad, which was later merged into the Marmora Ironworks in August 1866.
The Americans intervene, and Grand Trunk Takes Over
After the bridge had collapsed, a group of United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
s of the Port Hope, Lindsay, and Beaverton Railway bought remaining portion of the rail line, and the Marmora Iron Mine, and renamed it the Cobourg, Peterborough & Marmora Railway & Mining Company in 1867. The railway would later get an extension to Trent Narrows on the Trent River
Trent River (Ontario)
The Trent River is a river in southeastern Ontario which flows from Rice Lake to empty into the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario. This river is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway which leads to Georgian Bay. The river is 90 km long...
, and further north to the iron mine in Blairton, while barges would load the coal from the trains onto the Trent River, and sail down the river and Rice Lake to the port at Harwood, where they would continue their journey to Cobourg. This would be moderately successful, until the economic crisis of 1873 that struck North America. While the town of Cobourg continued to pressure Peterborough to help it rebuild the Rice lake trestle bridge after 1873, Peterborough was reluctant to do so, due to having other railroad projects to attend to. The CP&MR&MC would later go bankrupt in 1880. This would not be the end of the railroad, yet.
In 1885, a Belleville
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
business man purchased the railroad company for $30,000, and renamed it the Cobourg, Blairton & Marmora Railway & Mining Company. The company quickly found itself in financial distress from a lack of investment, from depletion of the forests nearby, and the depletion of the iron mine near Blairton and Havelock. In 1893, the railroad's (and town of Cobourg's) suffering was ended when the railroad was merged with the Grand Trunk Railway
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
, now today's Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
. Grand Trunk Railway may have purchased the Cobourg railway to gain access to its harbour, as it did not have any previous track leasage or ports there, and used its rail link to Harwood on rare occasions until the early 1910s. With the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, this stretch of railroad was torn up, and the rails were transferred overseas to be used in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
When the Trent-Severn Waterway
Trent-Severn Waterway
The Trent–Severn Waterway is a Canadian canal system formerly used for industrial and transportation purposes and now for recreational and tourism purposes, connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to the Georgian Bay portion of Lake Huron at Port Severn...
was constructed in 1920, the lake was flooded, and the land causeway that was formed along the collapsed bridge was submerged. The rails to the Cobourg harbour were removed in the 1980s.
Today
Today, very little evidence remains of a railroad linking Blairton, Harwood, Peterborough, and Cobourg, as vegetationVegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
is reclaiming the former railbed, and erosion is eliminating its evidence.
One portion of the bridge remains, stretching from the south shore of Rice Lake at Harwood, to Tic Island, while the other portions have since been washed ashore and removed, or sunk to the bottom. It appears as a land causeway, with trees and bushes growing on it.
External links
- Cobourg and Peterborough Railway at CobourgHistory.ca
- Cobourg and Peterborough Railway at TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com
- The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway history by Daniel Dixon
- The Cobourg & Peterborough Railway Company at The Ontario Railway History Page
- Destiny Derailed: A History of Cobourg's Railroads 1833-1893
- Capsule Railway History of Peterborough County
- HarwoodMuseum.ca