The Ballad of the Cobourg-Peterborough Railway

By Janelle Kelcey

The following is a song I wrote about the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway which was inspired from attending one of Dr. Al Kirby's Traditional Music Workshops at the Village. I am hoping to set it to a tune in the near future. Enjoy!

Oh, the year was 1854 - was built a railway, new
From Cobourg on to Peterborough, the train made its trip debut
O'er the largest trestle in the world, two miles ‘cross Rice Lake
Harwood o’er to Hiawatha, a short trip it did make

But eventually the winter came
The snow and ice surely to blame
Shifted the bridge’s wooden frame
The C+PR - what a shame

Mr. Fowler he fixed up the bridge, and opened up next spring
But the southern portions of the line , they did the strangest thing
The pilings weren’t held down with rock, the bridge started to sway
And on the shores of Tic Island, it washed up there one day

And eventually the winter came
The snow and ice surely to blame
Shifted the bridge’s wooden frame
The C+PR- what a shame

Then along came John Dumble, the most successful keeper,
He anchored the entire bridge, and drove the piles deeper
That winter it moved naught an inch, nor the winter after that,
But in 1859 Dumble fell prey to a rat

For Fowler had been busy o’er at the PHL & B
He hatched a plan to get rid of his competitor’s lucky spree
Dumble thought he was leasing his line to the ol’ Grand Trunk
But now instead the C+PR was very surely sunk

It was in 1861 or maybe ‘62
They took the pins, ripped out the rails, took nearly every screw
So when winter came around, and froze the lake once more
The bridge’s middle wound up moving to Rice Lake’s south shore

So eventually the winter came
The snow and ice surely to blame
Shifted the bridge’s wooden frame
The C+PR - what a shame

Cobourg & Peterborough Railway Bridge on Rice Lake (Source: Wikipedia)

Cobourg and Peterborough Railway Locomotive (Source: Wikipedia)

Rice Lake Bridge (Source: Wikipedia)

Janelle has been a seasonal interpreter at Lang Pioneer Village for three years. She is a recent graduate of Queen's University and her areas of historical interest include local histories, ethno and historical musicology and history education.