HI Don great video just an FYI the locomotive engine people are talking about in the comments was successfully salvaged from dry lake march 16 2024 I did get a few drone shots …cheers
@@DonJoyce yes on Saturday.. from what I’ve heard it will be put on display somewhere in the area no local news stories on the salvage which I find a bit odd I heard about it from friends of local people, nothing even on social media except my little blurb on FB
Looking forward to hearing more...email DonDronesOn@gmail.com I hope the fact that it is being kept quiet is not due to trespassing on this private property.
Fascinating video. Great footage and loved the eerie sound track. Amazing how nature reclaims the land back from man. Those ruins are well hidden, and such a huge factory that once was. Massive thumbs up fellow pilot.😎👍👍👍
Kim Foskett Thanks Kim!!! It's a very strange place, including the glowing dredge lines. I'm planning a follow up, based on some of the comments people have left.
Great video Don, thanks. The "lines" straight and curved are where the railway tressels were for the shunt train to bring marl back to plant. The engine is sunk in the lake when tressels collapsed and I am told the smoke stack is visible in really low water levels sometimes in summer.
Wow! So there were trestles running right out into the lake! I assumed some sort of cable-driven barge arrangement. Very cool! Any pictures around showing that? I'll have a down-low look one day to see if I can spot that engine, or remnants of the trestles. Thanks for the info!!
My grandfather worked there. I was told the train was accidently driven off the track. Brake wasn't secure or some such thing. There is an historian who wrote about this. I should ask my aunt.
Hello Don, this is what a drone is for. To see and find things and if you have the knowledge, combine them like you did. Absolute interesting. Greetings from Germany. LuBi
LuBi Bochum thanks LuBi! Yeah...I enjoy doing videos like this... combining some history or story with drone material. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Yeah, its a pretty weird story and set of ruins. Be sure to also watch the follow-up "more cement factory stories"...where I interview a guy sitting on a ....beaver dam!!!
Great video. I visited the area a few years ago to seek out special plants that thrive in limy soil around the shore of Dry Lake. The plants are classified as chalciphiles - plants that grow in limy substrate, which is generally a hostile place of "normal" plants to grow. The area is a little known part of Canadian / Ontario industrial history attributed to local geological conditions.
Brilliant interesting video my friend. Really had my attention. Very impressed how your story is told using photos and your drone. Very good indeed. Looking forward to seeing your future videos. Cheers 😊✈️👍
Hey! I guess you HAVE watched this before! (BTW, My White Lake Aerial Tour shows the same green colour...for the same reason...and it changes with temperature)
Ozbeach Andy Thanks Andy! What are the odds that your Australian sand pit video and my Canadian cement factory video would both be published within the hour? Strange connection across space and time!
This is great my ma grow up here. My grandpa lives right near dry lake and i use to swim in that lake. Its great to see people talking about this place.
@@DonJoyce i just watched it. My grandpa traps all over the creeks of Marlbank. And yes the train is right in that little pond you use to be able to see the top of it but it has sank so far down that its impossible to see. To bad you weren't able to speak to my grandpa he is a funny man and knows the whole history of the place. And as well we know of a second train but we shall keep that to our selfs. 😏😏
Excellent, excellent, excellent! Great video Don! Incredible aerial footage and such an interesting rich history to the location. Love the story my friend! You have a new subscriber. Thanks!
Pinetree Line Outdoors Thanks, Doug!! I have a follow up video where I interview a local familiar with the plant. I do the interview ON TOP OF A BEAVER DAM!!! Hilariously Canadian!
HI Don Back in the mid 50's, my uncle, Frank Cassidy ran the only gas station in town on the southwest corner as you entered the village. As a kid, I used to go exploring thru the ruins while my parents visited my uncle. I would pretend it was a cavalry fort like the ones I would see at the movies with stars like John Wayne and Henry Fonda. I always found the lake to be very spooky but the ruins were always great fun. Carl Cassidy
Interesting stuff and amazing footage! Always great to learn about the history found in our own back yard. I knew Marlbank was the site of a former cement plant but had no idea it was on that scale.
Yes, it is quite amazing! And, to think that one was actually the SECOND plant in the area!! Find out more in the "more stories of.." here: th-cam.com/video/p8-lTkKLLp8/w-d-xo.html Thank you for watching and commenting, Paul!
Hey, Bertil! Glad you enjoyed this. There was also a follow-up with more 'stories' of the cement factory. And yes, there is a small locomotive in a round pond just beside the lake. It's about 4 feet below the surface of the water. Here's the part 2 video: th-cam.com/video/p8-lTkKLLp8/w-d-xo.html
I have researched the cement works in great detail, on site and in the archives. I have copies of the fire map (engineering drawings) showing the purpose of every building what it was made of, and accurate dimensions. The stone building by the road was the fire hall, with a steam powered pump, and a water cistern under the floor to keep a ready supply of water for it. It had to be separated from the clinker grinder room next door. They had several devastating fires in the short history of the plant. The tall concrete tanks were not kilns, they held the slurry of raw materials consisting of marl, clay and some gypsum or other materials and water. The slurry was then fed into the kilns with coal ground to about 1 inch in size for rapid and complete burning. The tall stone wall at the back with the windows was the kiln room. The concrete bases for the kilns are still there. The kilns were about 5 feet in diameter, and 45 feet long each. I have a photo of the inside of the kiln room while it operated. The first 5 chimneys were brick lined steel chimneys, the last 4 were concrete clad steel, all about 5 feet in diameter, and 60 feet tall to create a strong draft. There were originally 5 kilns until 1900, then 4 more were added in a new building beside it. They needed large windows and sky lights to see what they were doing. They did have some electric lights, hand crafted bulbs that ran on their own DC power. Not very efficient. Most of the machines were belt driven from the steam engine out near Marlbank road, which is built on top of the railway. The red brick chimney base is visible from the road. I have published a book on the subject too. I have also examined their locomotive, now on the bottom of the lake. The plant closed in 1915. Marl was exported to the cement plants near Belleville until about 1945. I have a photo of the men and their names doing it. It is a great story. www.thefirstspikebook.com
Okay, should have watched this first! LOL For some that hated history in school, I find that tid bits of history such as this is really interesting. Great job Don!
Brenda that would be great info to know, she have any old pictures? I often get pictures of interesting history and scan into computer or share with vintage Kingston photos.
I am almost positive there are two locomotives because it the middle of the lake around the islands there is a locomotive 4 feet under water my mom told me
There's a rusty hulk of an old steam tractor in the water just offshore from the factory. There's also a brick lined channel that extend from end end of the large ruins to near where the ruins with the roof. It starts out about 8' deep and end up around 2' deep. The shallow part end in a loop that create a small circular island. There are bushes and saplings in the channel that would obscure it from the air. The brick kiln is in the same area as the concrete kilns but saplings would also obscure it. Also visible from the road is the ruins of a large concrete and brick chimney from what was the original powerhouse.
The marl in Dry Lake is still valuable, as it is highly sought after for cosmetics. Also, a major part of the shore belonged to a cult that owned a large commune on the land (called Philoxia), famous for their beeswax candles. It was sold a couple of years ago to a Chinese businesswoman who has plans to convert the commune into and elite business retreat.
doug poirier who had the marlbank store compiled a booklet of info about marlbank; perhaps the former owner, kerry, still has that duotang,( which will need many grammatical and spelling corrections).
Wow, I'm glad you pointed me to here. What an amazing place this is! "I guess they had some spare cement lying around..." gee, ya think? Looks like Fall was the perfect time to capture this. Well done. If you haven't seen any of the Ted-Ed clips, but I think you are almost the voice double for their main speaker. I unsubscribed long ago - too far left for me - but always will remember that talent for telling a story, getting a point across. If you're looking for something to do, search TH-cam for Ted-Ed King Midas.
Dennis Lovelady thanks Dennis. I do get a lot of positive feedback on my voiceovers. I'm working on a follow up the to this video. So many more cool stories!!!
@@DonJoyce Google the trenton transfer station / dump it's just up the street from there....I think you would be fine with a drone there its a long way from the base
I have explored this site extensively when I was a teenager. Funny to see how it has changed since the early 70's.
Thank you for watching and sharing your memories. And again, very sorry to hear of Larry's passing. Such a nice guy.
HI Don great video just an FYI the locomotive engine people are talking about in the comments was successfully salvaged from dry lake march 16 2024 I did get a few drone shots …cheers
What!? Yesterday! Amazing. What did they do with it???
@@DonJoyce yes on Saturday.. from what I’ve heard it will be put on display somewhere in the area no local news stories on the salvage which I find a bit odd I heard about it from friends of local people, nothing even on social media except my little blurb on FB
Looking forward to hearing more...email DonDronesOn@gmail.com I hope the fact that it is being kept quiet is not due to trespassing on this private property.
Award worthy production and fantastic record of local history. Be proud.
Wow! Thank you for the kind words! Much appreciated!
Great video thanks for posting. Well researched and presented.
Thank you!
Fascinating video. Great footage and loved the eerie sound track. Amazing how nature reclaims the land back from man. Those ruins are well hidden, and such a huge factory that once was. Massive thumbs up fellow pilot.😎👍👍👍
Kim Foskett Thanks Kim!!! It's a very strange place, including the glowing dredge lines. I'm planning a follow up, based on some of the comments people have left.
Exciting place to make a horrior movie.. your choice of dramatic music is spot on.. good work ,good doco..
Thanks! There's a follow-up video, BTW!
Great video Don, thanks. The "lines" straight and curved are where the railway tressels were for the shunt train to bring marl back to plant. The engine is sunk in the lake when tressels collapsed and I am told the smoke stack is visible in really low water levels sometimes in summer.
Wow! So there were trestles running right out into the lake! I assumed some sort of cable-driven barge arrangement. Very cool! Any pictures around showing that? I'll have a down-low look one day to see if I can spot that engine, or remnants of the trestles. Thanks for the info!!
My grandfather worked there. I was told the train was accidently driven off the track. Brake wasn't secure or some such thing. There is an historian who wrote about this. I should ask my aunt.
Brenda Switzer Wow! Let me know what you find out...or if there are more pics!
Hello Don, this is what a drone is for. To see and find things and if you have the knowledge, combine them like you did. Absolute interesting. Greetings from Germany. LuBi
LuBi Bochum thanks LuBi! Yeah...I enjoy doing videos like this... combining some history or story with drone material. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
wow very interesting history👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Yeah, its a pretty weird story and set of ruins. Be sure to also watch the follow-up "more cement factory stories"...where I interview a guy sitting on a ....beaver dam!!!
lol for sure, shall do
Great video. I visited the area a few years ago to seek out special plants that thrive in limy soil around the shore of Dry Lake. The plants are classified as chalciphiles - plants that grow in limy substrate, which is generally a hostile place of "normal" plants to grow. The area is a little known part of Canadian / Ontario industrial history attributed to local geological conditions.
Very interesting, Andy! How unusual!
Great video Don, very well presented and such an interesting place.👍👍
Thanks, Steven! Hope you watched the 'sequel': th-cam.com/video/p8-lTkKLLp8/w-d-xo.html
Brilliant interesting video my friend. Really had my attention. Very impressed how your story is told using photos and your drone. Very good indeed. Looking forward to seeing your future videos. Cheers 😊✈️👍
Georgewrigley Thanks, George! My fav is the ice fishing derby...and the cattle search is good too. I like telling stories!
Don Joyce well very professional. Will definitely be checking out all your stories. Thank you 😊
Don Joyce now I know why the water colour is what it is. Cheers my friend:)
Hey! I guess you HAVE watched this before! (BTW, My White Lake Aerial Tour shows the same green colour...for the same reason...and it changes with temperature)
Loved this video Don I watched from beginning to end. Thumbs up here and rang the bell. Great editing and commentary. Cheers
Ozbeach Andy Thanks Andy! What are the odds that your Australian sand pit video and my Canadian cement factory video would both be published within the hour? Strange connection across space and time!
This is great my ma grow up here. My grandpa lives right near dry lake and i use to swim in that lake. Its great to see people talking about this place.
That's really cool, Tyler! I have another video with more info too: th-cam.com/video/p8-lTkKLLp8/w-d-xo.html
@@DonJoyce i just watched it. My grandpa traps all over the creeks of Marlbank. And yes the train is right in that little pond you use to be able to see the top of it but it has sank so far down that its impossible to see. To bad you weren't able to speak to my grandpa he is a funny man and knows the whole history of the place. And as well we know of a second train but we shall keep that to our selfs. 😏😏
I just supported your channel . I'm in Quebec Canada . Very nice video and also I like the story behind them very nice flying and footage
Canadian Drone Network Thanks...was just starting to watch your videos. Check out my latest...an hour ago!
Excellent, excellent, excellent! Great video Don! Incredible aerial footage and such an interesting rich history to the location. Love the story my friend! You have a new subscriber. Thanks!
Pinetree Line Outdoors Thanks, Doug!! I have a follow up video where I interview a local familiar with the plant. I do the interview ON TOP OF A BEAVER DAM!!! Hilariously Canadian!
Took a drive-through that little village today!
Cool!
HI Don
Back in the mid 50's, my uncle, Frank Cassidy ran the only gas station in town on the southwest corner as you entered the village. As a kid, I used to go exploring thru the ruins while my parents visited my uncle. I would pretend it was a cavalry fort like the ones I would see at the movies with stars like John Wayne and Henry Fonda. I always found the lake to be very spooky but the ruins were always great fun. Carl Cassidy
That's a very cool story, Carl!! Was it as overgrown then as it is now?
@@DonJoyce No it was fairly open and quite accessible. A great deal of at least some parts of the walls of the building were still standing.
wow ,, awesome video !!
Thanks!
Interesting stuff and amazing footage! Always great to learn about the history found in our own back yard. I knew Marlbank was the site of a former cement plant but had no idea it was on that scale.
Yes, it is quite amazing! And, to think that one was actually the SECOND plant in the area!! Find out more in the "more stories of.." here: th-cam.com/video/p8-lTkKLLp8/w-d-xo.html Thank you for watching and commenting, Paul!
They have the train out!
That's cool and I've seen some pics...but why is it so hush hush?
Watched this old one...interesting story! The lost locomotive? Is there one in the lake?
Thanks for sharing Don and have a nice day!
Hey, Bertil! Glad you enjoyed this. There was also a follow-up with more 'stories' of the cement factory. And yes, there is a small locomotive in a round pond just beside the lake. It's about 4 feet below the surface of the water. Here's the part 2 video: th-cam.com/video/p8-lTkKLLp8/w-d-xo.html
+1👍 Thanks for the history, i love seeing "abandoned" things.
LOL. Me too. There may even be a 'chapter 2' to this story, given all the local interest and comments. Thanks for watching.
Very nice loved the video.
Thanks 4x4 / Hildreth!
Another great video. Love mystery and exploration vids.
Thanks, Paul
Really interesting. I think this is the first drone documentary I've seen. Very cool story, excellent footage and commentary.
Thank you! I have quite a few more on my site. Enjoy!
I have researched the cement works in great detail, on site and in the archives. I have copies of the fire map (engineering drawings) showing the purpose of every building what it was made of, and accurate dimensions. The stone building by the road was the fire hall, with a steam powered pump, and a water cistern under the floor to keep a ready supply of water for it. It had to be separated from the clinker grinder room next door. They had several devastating fires in the short history of the plant. The tall concrete tanks were not kilns, they held the slurry of raw materials consisting of marl, clay and some gypsum or other materials and water. The slurry was then fed into the kilns with coal ground to about 1 inch in size for rapid and complete burning. The tall stone wall at the back with the windows was the kiln room. The concrete bases for the kilns are still there. The kilns were about 5 feet in diameter, and 45 feet long each. I have a photo of the inside of the kiln room while it operated. The first 5 chimneys were brick lined steel chimneys, the last 4 were concrete clad steel, all about 5 feet in diameter, and 60 feet tall to create a strong draft. There were originally 5 kilns until 1900, then 4 more were added in a new building beside it. They needed large windows and sky lights to see what they were doing. They did have some electric lights, hand crafted bulbs that ran on their own DC power. Not very efficient. Most of the machines were belt driven from the steam engine out near Marlbank road, which is built on top of the railway. The red brick chimney base is visible from the road. I have published a book on the subject too. I have also examined their locomotive, now on the bottom of the lake. The plant closed in 1915. Marl was exported to the cement plants near Belleville until about 1945. I have a photo of the men and their names doing it. It is a great story. www.thefirstspikebook.com
Thank you for the additional details and reference, Steven.
Okay, should have watched this first! LOL For some that hated history in school, I find that tid bits of history such as this is really interesting. Great job Don!
Glad you enjoyed it! I have a number of history oriented videos...you might like the train wreck one.
Great video Don and I love the history part. Subbed ya, Tony
Thanks Tony!!
Thats pretty cool!.
Thanks! Appreciate you watching!
Is this where the train went off the end of the tracks right into the lake? Rumor has it the train is still in the lake.
Could be! Robert Storring said there were trestles right out into the lake to bring in the marl. Sounds like a closer look will be in the works!
Brenda that would be great info to know, she have any old pictures? I often get pictures of interesting history and scan into computer or share with vintage Kingston photos.
I will ask my cousin.
Great informative video.
Glad you enjoyed!
Is the locomotive in tact
It is deep in a pond and not visible.
I am almost positive there are two locomotives because it the middle of the lake around the islands there is a locomotive 4 feet under water my mom told me
Get some pictures!
@@DonJoyce ok I'll try
There's a rusty hulk of an old steam tractor in the water just offshore from the factory. There's also a brick lined channel that extend from end end of the large ruins to near where the ruins with the roof. It starts out about 8' deep and end up around 2' deep. The shallow part end in a loop that create a small circular island. There are bushes and saplings in the channel that would obscure it from the air.
The brick kiln is in the same area as the concrete kilns but saplings would also obscure it.
Also visible from the road is the ruins of a large concrete and brick chimney from what was the original powerhouse.
Thanks for these new bits of info about the ruins and area, Kevin!
G,day Don, you got some cool videos on your channel mate, I will take a look at more later cheers (Subbed yu) Cheers from Spike (Western Australia)
iSpike hey Spike! Thanks for the praise. Btw, my fav one of my videos is the Ice Fishing Derby...just a lot of fun!
we pulled the train out this week!
The marl in Dry Lake is still valuable, as it is highly sought after for cosmetics.
Also, a major part of the shore belonged to a cult that owned a large commune on the land (called Philoxia), famous for their beeswax candles. It was sold a couple of years ago to a Chinese businesswoman who has plans to convert the commune into and elite business retreat.
Interesting! Thanks for this, Kevin!
Great video and very good documentation! Subbed! Thanks for a return!
Eva Guerin Thanks for subscribing, Eva! I'm already subscribed to yours. Funny how we both had factory videos so close together!
doug poirier who had the marlbank store compiled a booklet of info about marlbank; perhaps the former owner, kerry, still has that duotang,( which will need many grammatical and spelling corrections).
That would be interesting to see!
Wow, I'm glad you pointed me to here. What an amazing place this is! "I guess they had some spare cement lying around..." gee, ya think?
Looks like Fall was the perfect time to capture this. Well done.
If you haven't seen any of the Ted-Ed clips, but I think you are almost the voice double for their main speaker. I unsubscribed long ago - too far left for me - but always will remember that talent for telling a story, getting a point across. If you're looking for something to do, search TH-cam for Ted-Ed King Midas.
Dennis Lovelady thanks Dennis. I do get a lot of positive feedback on my voiceovers. I'm working on a follow up the to this video. So many more cool stories!!!
Don Joyce looking forward to the follow up. I've smashed that bell, so I should know. 🤗
Hi um I live 20 mins away from dry lake and tomorrow I'm going to look for it
Keep in mind that this is private property.
Dont get caught out there big trouble lol
Thanks, Eric! Yeah, it's a bit spooky from the air!
@@DonJoyce have you done a fly over of the munitions plant in trenton very neat place also
@@ericjohnston6035 I don't know where that is, Eric! But, hey, isn't Trenton mostly in DND airspace?!
@@DonJoyce Google the trenton transfer station / dump it's just up the street from there....I think you would be fine with a drone there its a long way from the base
@@DonJoyce www.quintenews.com/2018/10/07/quinte-west-library-marks-munitions-plant-explosion-anniversary/
Great flight and footage my friend, come check my channel too
Lol...loved your channel and subscribed. Come back soon!
Informative and entertaining. Love the vid...fully watched
Drone Bum Thanks! Might be a chapter 2 coming on that story!