NOTE: I had another Old Maud cache farther down the creek to
the east. I decided to rename that cache, and place a "new" Old
Maud-themed cache in this location.
This ammo-can cache is placed near one of the few remaining
areas where you can still find traces of the old Palatine,
Lake Zurich, and Wauconda Railroad. Powered by it's own
little-engine-that-could “Old Maud,” the PLZ&W only ran from
1911 through 1924. It wasn’t until World War II that the tracks
were finally removed for good. Today, little visible evidence of
the old line exists. However, when you reach this cache, if you
look to the west you will see a portion of the original roadbed
(the two large embankments coming together on either side of the
water), plus the remains of a trestle that once carried “Old Maud”
over the creek into what is now the Deer Grove Forest Preserve
(look in the water below the north embankment). There are other
cool signs of the past in this area as well, such as an old stone
foot-bridge, and the remains of another structure on the south side
of the stream.
On September 16th 1911, though the whole line had not yet been
completed, “Old Maud” set out on her maiden run, bound for what was
then known as “Dr. Wilson’s Deer Grove Park.” As detailed in
Richard Whitney’s excellent book Old Maud: The Story of the
Palatine, Lake Zurich & Wauconda Railroad - “One hundred
and fifty feet north of Dundee Road, the line came to an abrupt
halt at the bank of a stream. Since the WR&ETrCo (later renamed
to the PLZ&W) had not yet completed the construction of a
15-foot-long timber pile trestle there, the passengers had to leave
Maud and walk the remaining quarter of a mile into Deer Grove
Park.”
You have a couple of options for reaching this cache. There
is a trail leading in right off of Dundee Road to the
stone foot-bridge near this location. I've seen people walk in this
way, but I'm not sure that it's a legit way to enter the forest
preserve (e.g. there is no sidewalk on that side of Dundee). Your
safest option may be to take the long way by parking in the forest
preserve lot, and walking west. You will find trails that lead
right down to the general area of the cache.
For more information on the PLZ&W, check out Richard Whitney's
book, and the following links:
Wikipedia: Palatine, Lake Zurich and Wauconda Railroad
The
Lure of the Railroad
