 The Peterborough & Port Hope Railway (P&PH) was duly chartered in 1846.Worried that business from north of the lake would bypass Cobourg, in the spring of 1846 the Cobourg Plank Road and Ferry Company was formed.With initial capital of 6,000 pounds, the company purchased 300,000 feet of three-inch wide planks, 12 or 13 feet long.