The posted co-ordinates are for the trailhead and parking.
In the early 1900's there was a collection of small single-line
electric railways connecting the City of Toronto to various
developing urban centres, including the City of Guelph.
Collectively, they are referred to as the Toronto Radial Railways.
They operated as the Toronto Suburban Railways (TSR). The Guelph
terminus of the line was at what is now the corner of Gordon and
James Streets. The Toronto end was Lambton Junction, in the former
village of Lambton Mills, where Dundas crosses the Humber
River.
The year after the Guelph Line was brought into service, the TSR
was transferred to Canadian Northern Railways. But ensuing
financial difficulties resulted in Canadian Northern being taken
over by government-owned Canadian Narional Railways. Although
popular, the Guelph Line was at best an underperforming business.
Competition from the automobile, and faster train service via the
CNR main line led to the closure of the line and bondholders being
paid out at 25 cents on the dollar.
The Halton County Radial Railway is the best place to go to
learn a bit more about the Radial Railways, and ride a small part
of the original line at their outdoor museum.
======================================================
The trail in front of you is the "Smith Side Trail", part of the
"Radial Line Trail" running from Guelph to Limehouse. The main
trail used to follow this trail from the trailhead to the dam
across the Eramosa for many years. The main trail now crosses the
Eramosa on the Watson Road bridge, follows Watson to the gate at
0688. The Smith Side Trail is a 4.5km loop on both the upper
section of the Smith property and the Eramosa valley along the
abandoned rail line.
The dam across the Eramosa has been closed and is now barricaded
by new gates at either end. Please use common sense in this
area.
The trail follows the Eramosa River Valley for about 300m before
it makes a left turn to climb the valley floor and loop back to the
trail head. A nice walk any time of year, especially the fall.
There are also a number of geocaches to find along the loop.
The radial railways began operating in 1889, and the last was
finally abandoned in 1948. To calculate the co-ordinates of this
cache's location, you will need to do some "Historical Research"
and find the answer to the following questions:
1. In what year did the Toronto Suburban Railway Company
complete it's line from west Toronto to Guelph? Substitute this
4-digit number for "A" in the calculation below.
2. In what year did the Toronto-Guelph line cease operations?
Substitute this 4-digit number for "B" in the calculation
below.
STAGE 1
=======
At the trail head, record the 4-digit fire number of the Smith
Property. Substitute this value for "C" in the calculations below.
Use the following formula to calculate the offset for the Stage 2
NORTH co-ordinates:
((A)________ - (C)_________) / 2965 = (D)_______________
Add (D) to the NORTH value of the posted co-ordinates to get the
Stage 2 North.
For the offset to the WEST co-ordinate:
((B) ________ + (C) ______) / 4785 = (E) _________________
Subtract (E) from the WEST value of the posted co-ordinates to
get the Stage 2 West.
STAGE 2
=======
To locate the cache you will need to project a waypoint from
here. The values below assume your GPS is set to TRUE North:
Distance from Stage 2: 180m
Bearing from Stage 2: 299.6 degrees.
================================
There are several websites that have some historical information
on the Guelph Line of the Toronto Suburban Railway. One of the
answers can be found by visiting the Halton County Radial Railway
Museum on the Guelph Line. There is an Ontario Historical Plaque
near the parking lot - it is not necessary to pay admission to the
grounds for this clue. (Note: The year 1948 is NOT the answer to
question #2!) The plaque can also be found on several web sites as
well. If you really get stuck, check the hints.
When searching, do not confuse the Guelph Line of the Toronto
Radial Railway with the "Guelph Radial Railway"! The Guelph Radial
provided electric streetcar and freight services in the City of
Guelph from 1895 to 1939. It was founded by a group of local
investors including George Sleeman and included a line that ran to
Puslinch Lake.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.