civil engineering project in North America at the time, consisting of a series of trestles, 31 Burr Truss bridges, and a centre pivot draw bridge, extending for two and a half miles across the lake. However, to save money, Zimmerman did not fill in the pilings along the northern sections of the bridge, which were noticed in the spring of 1854 to have shifted due to ice. The line was opened all the way to Peterborough on 29 December 1854, again with offers of a free ride the 28.5 mile length of the line. The line had only been running for three days when, on 1 January 1855, shifting ice on the lake pushed the bridge and it had to be closed for repairs. The bridge continued to be a serious problem throughout the railway's lifetime. John Fowler was brought in to replace Spaulding, and the bridge was gradually upgraded, starting with the construction of causeways in the shallower portions. Full service was restored in the spring, but by this time poor construction of the southern portions of the line was becoming evident as well. In spite of any problems, the railway under Boulton's directorship proved extremely lucrative for all involved. Building lots in Harwood jumped from $3 to $400 an acre, and incomes from the line proved to be considerably higher the similar lines in the area. Peterborough & Chemong Through the mid-1800s, what would become the Trent–Severn Waterway was slowly being constructed on the lakes north and west of Peterborough. It would not be complete through Peterborough until 1904, and as a complete waterway until 1920. Nevertheless, by the middle of the 19th century there was already considerable traffic on the canals, but no way to reach markets south or east. This led to the creation of a number of railways whose primary purpose was to act as endpoints for canal traffic to be carried to Toronto. On 30 May 1855 the Peterborough & Chemong Lake Railway (P&CL) was chartered to connect to the canal system at Lake Chemong, northwest of Peterborough. By the summer of 1859 four miles had been completed from the east side of the Otonabee River across a bridge built between 1867 and 1871, where it crossed the Midland Railway of Canada's branch to Lakefield. A lack of further funding prevented further expansion northward, and the bridge was eventually closed in 1882. When the