The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway 1852-1898
It was important to establish a railway line between Cobourg and Peterborough. In fact, the citizens of Cobourg were largely responsible for this particular line, which opened in 1854. Unfortunate circumstances — including debilitating ice along the Rice Lake bridge — made the line unsafe and, ultimately, unprofitable.
Location:
On the east side of 3 Street in Cobourg, down at the north end of the Cobourg Marina
Themes:
Transportation systems and communications
Plaque text:
Largely financed by the citizens and town, Cobourg's railway to Peterborough was chartered in 1852 and opened in 1854. Like many others of this period, it suffered from excessive optimism, land speculation and faulty engineering. Ice made the three-mile-long Rice Lake bridge unsafe and finally destroyed it 1860-61, ending use of the northern section. Reorganized in 1866, the remaining part carried considerable iron ore from Marmora. The line was acquired by the Grand Trunk in 1893 and closed in 1898.
