This article is written with a bit of childlike wonder, as I heard the story when I was a child.
The story was about the village of Marlbank. The community grew to around 1,000 to 1,500 people in the late 1890s and early 1900s, due to the cement company, just west of town.
The mining for marl became huge. Marl is a deposit, rich in carbonate minerals, clay and silt and produces very durable cement. The marl mined in Marlbank was incredible and used in the building of the Panama Canal and the Quebec bridge, and around the world.
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A shot of the Marlbank Cement Works Factory
The marl would be mixed and shipped from the community. It went down rail tracks from Marlbank to the shores of the Bay of Quinte at Deseronto and out to many destinations.
Trains were used to move marl and other supplies around the manufacturing and mining site in Marlbank.
The cement plant was eventually moved to Point Anne on the shores of the Bay of Quinte.
This reporter remembers hearing about a train, being driven by miners on the property, into the mine. The rumour was the disgruntled miners ran the engine into the marl, mad that the mine was closing. The steam engine was never seen again. It was only in stories for generations. Well, not until 2024 that is.
Now we introduce Scott Trudeau. Trudeau hails from Tweed and is the owner of Scott Trudeau Construction. He owns the property where the remains of the cement factory can still be seen from Marlbank Road.
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A look inside a kiln where marl was mixed and heated. (Photo: Tim Durkin/ Quinte News)
The fact this wall still stands without support is the testament to how solid marl is in the use of cement.
As a local resident, Trudeau knew the stories of the mine and the story told for generations. The tale that a train was at the bottom of Dry Lake (west of Marlbank). He is someone who uses heavy machinery in his day-to-day job and made it a mission to find the train.
He says the steam engine was the workhorse of the cement factory.
“They would have dredges and old steam shovels out there digging the marl out. This (the train) was actually bringing the marl to the plant. This would have 13 or 14 train cars behind it and this is working every day, bringing the stuff in.”
On March 8, 2024 after more than a week of digging, Trudeau and his team were able to pull the train out of the base of the mine (Dry Lake). They pulled it onto dry land for the first time in more than a century.
The train was built in 1872 in Pennsylvania.
Trudeau says that a beagle dog would not have been able to make its way through the property in late February, however, he made a laneway on the old railbeds on the property, clearing a path to the old mine. He saw what looked like a train stack below the water and found the piece of history.
It was in the marl vertical, with the nose straight in.
Trudeau says the train is in incredible shape, considering it has been buried for a century.
“It still has some of the original paint on it and look at the front bumper on that train. That is a piece of timber and that’s put on there in 1872. That beam is from the 1700s.”
Trudeau says now that the train has started to oxidize, restoration work needs to happen as soon as possible.
“It would be a real treat to have this thing fully restored, at a static level, where people of all ages could come and see it and see how important our history is. A picture’s worth a thousand words they say, but when you put your hand on this thing, you’re touching a real piece of history here.”
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You will be able to follow the video journey of the train at Scott Trudeau’s Youtube Page above
You can hear the full interview below.
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
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