This cache was hidden as part of the Abandoned Railroads of Newaygo County Geocache Rail Tour, presented by the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center and Silent Whistles. Record the milepost value contained on and/or in each cache container on the Ticket to Newaygo County form. See the additional information below for specific tour requirements.
This cache is hidden on the grade of the Marl Lake branch of the Pere Marquette Railroad where it left the Pere Marquette main line to Petoskey. The cache is hidden on USFS land. Recommended approach is from north parking. Basswood Drive south of 58th is not in very good shape. The walk is further from the north parking coordinates, but less steep. You can follow existing trails to the cache. Difficulty is due to sandy hills and relatively long hike. You should not walk the existing railroad grade, as that would be trespassing.
Small station at Erwin (Croton Switch) on the Pere Marquette
Map of Newaygo Portland Cement Co. Ry, or PM Marl Lake Branch.
In 1901, the Newaygo Portland Cement Company built (or had the Pere Marquette build for them) a two mile branch line to Great Marl Lake (now known as Emerald Lake) for the purpose of dredging marl from the lake bottom to use as the base for Portland Cement. The line was in operation from 1901 to 1906, at which time the NPCCo reformulated their recipe to use a different base. There is some evidence that the branch line was owned by the PM. The company ran its own trains from Marl Lake to the plant in Newaygo, over the Marl Lake branch and the PM main. Marl dripped from the cars coating everything in a shade of gray. The photo below shows marl cars on the dock and the dredge barge at Marl Lake. These railcars were pushed on to the barge, and the barge was towed to the dredge site. The cars were filled by the dredge, then the barge returned to the dock to offload the filled cars to be pulled to the plant in Newaygo. The pilings for two docks there are clearly visible from aerial imagery and pilings for one of the docks still stick out of the water.
Map of private (pink) and railroad (yellow) at Erwin site.
Access from the north (P1, preferred) following established trails or southwest (P2, alternate), but be careful to avoid trespassing on private land. Access from P1 is a longer hike. Access from P2 requires greater elevation change and greater care to avoid private property (see map). 58th Street is a far better road than Basswood Drive. 4WD is recommended for the latter. Do not walk along the railroad right-of-way.
To claim a prize:
- Download and print the Ticket to Newaygo County form (PDF). See alternate below.
- Find 28 of the 35 cache hides in the table below.
- Find at least five of the seven mystery and multi caches in any combination.
- Record the milepost number from the label or log of each cache you find on a printed copy of the form. Milepost numbers are on cache labels and log book covers.
- Each individual GC account holder making the find must sign and date the paper log book in the cache with their GC account name. No group logs please.
- Optionally, upload a photo of your log entry. Be careful to not include the milepost value in the photo.
- Send the completed form via US Mail to the address on the form. Each GC account holder must send in a form.
Once your answers have been verified, the prize will be sent back to you via US Mail to the address you provide on the form.
The first 95 cachers to complete the tour will be awarded a Silent Whistles pathtag commemorating the Big Rapids Branch of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad.
One prize per completed form. One prize per GC Account.
Download the Ticket to Ride form:
Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PDF) to download a printable version the form (PDF).
Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PNG) to download an alternate, less clear graphic version of the form.
If you don't have access to a printer, printed copies can be obtained at the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center, or by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to the address on the bottom of the form.
Sources:
- Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad
- Chicago and West Michigan Railroad
- Pere Marquette Railroad
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
- Michigan Shore Railroad
- RRHX: This Location
- RRHX Home Page: Railroad History of Michigan
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1877, R.L. Polk & Co.
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1897, R.L. Polk & Co.
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1907, R.L. Polk & Co.
- Atlas of Newaygo County, Michigan, E.L. Hayes, 1880
- Standard Atlas of Newaygo County, Michigan, G.A. Ogle & Co., 1900
- The October Project, Newaygo County, Michigan
- Lumbering in Newaygo County, Harry L. Spooner, © 1946, Cooper Press, reprinted 1976 by the Newaygo County Historical Archive
- Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, © 1986 Wayne State University Press
- Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon M. Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
- Michigan Railroad Lines, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
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Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center at: 12 Quarterline Road, Newaygo, Michigan (at the downtown light).
Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center on Thursday, September 11th, 2014 at 7:00PM for the Heritage Speaker Series topic: Logging and Railroads in Newaygo County by Dr. Carl Bajema. Reservations are required