Peter Crerar (1785 in Breadalbane, Scotland – 5 November 1856 in Pictou, Nova Scotia) was a Scottish-Nova Scotian civil engineer. He designed the first railway in British North America, and the first standard gauge railroad in North America, at Stellarton, near Pictou, Nova Scotia. The 1836 Albion Mines Railway Crerar had shown an early interest in railways as early as 3 February 1836 when he wrote a lengthy letter concerning a proposed railway between Halifax and Windsor. Later in 1836 the General Mining Association of London, England, owners of the Albion Mines, now Stellarton, decided to build a railway from the Albion Mines to its loading grounds on the East River. At that time there were few construction engineers in the area. Peter Crerar, a government land surveyor, was given the task. The plans were sent to the head office of the Mining Association in London, with the request that an engineer be sent out to execute them. When the plans were submitted to George Stephenson, builder of the locomotive who had engineered the construction of the Stockton and Darlington, England’s first railroad, he reported to the Mining Association that, in his opinion, the person who prepared the drawings was capable of executing them. The railway was then built under the supervision of Peter Crerar. Seven original maps and charts drawn by Crerar for the project between August 1837 and December 1838 were unearthed in a building being vacated by the Department of Mines in Stellarton. They are now preserved in the Nova Scotia Museum of Industry. The building of the Albion Mines Railway began in 1836 and the road was opened for traffic in 1839. The line, in length, was so nearly straight that the least radius of its curves was 1″ — . The estimated quantity of excavations was 400,000 cubic yards. At the water terminus there was a wharf long by wide, commanding a fall of above high water level at the shoots. The masonry, bridges, culverts, etc., were of cut freestone, from a nearby quarry. The total cost of construction was $160,000. While the railroad was being constructed, three locomotives were being built in England by Timothy Hackworth. They were landed at Pictou in May 1839 and brought up the East River in lighters, towed by a Mining Company steamship. The locomotives were Samson, Hercules, and John Buddle. The three locomotives were accompanied by John Stubbs,