franks pond

Uncovered After More Than 100 Years 20 March 2024 Marlbank Ontario - History has been uncovered in Marlbank. After decades of hearing all the rumours of, where is it? Did it really happen? It is over there? The discovery has finally happened when, on 8 Mar 2024, a locomotive that had been buried underground for over 115 years has been found. The locomotive ran off the tracks at the Marl Plant in Marlbank at the turn of the 20th century around 1909 and it has stayed there ever since. Since then, one legend holds that during a violent strike, disgruntled employees boarded the engine, opened the throttle and ran it into the part of Dry Lake where it has stayed since. Another story was that the steam engine, while running its last load back to the factory, was thought to be going too slow by the superintendent who opened the throttle wide open. The engine was unable to be controlled at this time and jumped the tracks, landing in the lake. Both of these stories have been told countless times over 100 years. At that time the engine could not be recovered. There were always rumours on where it could possibly be, with residents having their own opinion, but Scott Trudeau Construction of Tweed took it upon himself to look for the locomotive, and bring it up from the ground. Trudeau purchased land on Dry Lake in Marlbank and then took it upon himself to set the goal of finding the engine and bringing it up from ground after so many years. Trudeau began the process by building a laneway into the site, and once at the presumed site, Trudeau found where the old railway tracks were located. He then began digging on 8 Mar 2024 with excavators and shovels when all of a sudden there appeared the steam pipe. Does the author mean the smokestack? Once that was found they knew they were in the right location, with care taken at that point to not jeopardize the engine, not knowing what kind of shape it would be in. Once the steam pipe was found, the engine slowly appeared, and all was uncovered including a rail underneath the mud and water. Trudeau and his team were using pumps to keep the area clear of water due to the location so close to the lake. It will be a heavy move as the engine could weigh approximately 30 tons. In the late 1890s the marl native to the area was found to produce excellent cement and soon afterwards a plant was constructed. Within a short period of time there were many employees with the peak of operation producing 30 to 40 tons of marl per day. It took 100 men to operate this factory. The marl was then transported by the Bay of Quinte Railway. With the cement being such high quality it was used to build the famous Suez Canal, as well as bridges in Quebec. At the time, Marlbank was a thriving location with banks, taverns, blacksmith shops, churches, a railway station, schoolhouses, and numerous stores. In 1915 the plant closed and some of the stone blocks that were used at the site were then used to build Albert College in Belleville. Over the course of this past weekend, Trudeau and his team have completely removed the engine from its buried site and will be taking it to a yet to be determined location.

top of bridge just before it buckles, looks like charges being set off. weird

trudddd.mp4

sit down.mp4