Silver Lake Railroad
Excitement was in the air. The first passenger train on the Silver Lake Railroad was due to make its run from East Gainesville (now Silver Springs) to Perry on the 7.6 mile track. People were lined along the tracks to see this wondrous sight. The huge 4-4-2 Hagelin BC-52 locomotive,which had been manufactured in Schenectady, easily pulled the passenger cars along the eastern side of Silver Lake.
Silver Lake Railroad
Silver Lake Railroad
The first stop was at the Chace’s Station, where a couple of passengers departed and were met by a horse and wagon to continue their journey home. The next stop was the Silver Lake Station, where a joyous crowd greeted the arriving passengers. The passengers were destined to the Silver Lake Assembly, a popular religious retreat that had been established on the shores of Silver Lake. Many would be staying at the Epworth Inn, and some with friends and family in the houses on the Assembly grounds. The train continued along the lakefront, past Walkers Station (a flag stop) and turning east arrived at the Perry Station.
Epworth Inn
Assembly Station
The Perry Station consisted of a combination freight/passenger building, a turntable for turning the engines around, a small yard with runaround tracks, a coal chute for Fanning Coal Company, and a side track for the Martin Company to receive coal. The main line was a single track with automatic block signaling for both directions. There was a passing siding, and a couple of side tracks for spotting cars.
Perry Station
The Wreck
Now, we fast-forward several years to 1917. The same Hagelin locomotive was hauling a string of freight cars from Perry toward the main line when a defective rail connection failed and caused a horrific wreck. Because the United States had just entered the World War, there were questions on whether the wreck could have been caused by sabotage. Chief Railroad Inspectors Cletus Winston and James “Babyface” Nilson were dispatched to investigate the accident.
The Wreck
They quickly determined that the rail in question might have been tampered with, but couldn’t be sure that the accident wasn’t caused by poor track maintenance. But a golden spike was missing!!! Where could it be? They decided to delve further into the records of the Perry stationmaster to see if anything could be found there.
After extensive search of the records in the station, they had found nothing amiss, nor any clues to the location of the golden spike. As they were departing the Perry Station on the rear platform of the last passenger car, a young boy dashed up, handed Babyface an envelope and then quickly ran away and got lost in the crowd. The train chugged out of the station and sped down the tracks. They ripped open the envelope and inside they found a card:
| MESSAGE-AAAAAA |
| K G H D F |
E M D Q O |
T U I F T |
G I IQ Q |
R X J A N |
P M F U S |
| B C S I Q |
Y P Q M E |
N L I U F |
Z B U N X |
M A W E Y |
U G B G P |
| C T Q K J |
A P K M V |
E P S I H |
B K P N D |
J D P K R |
F A U V A |
| A P O B F |
A I J O Y |
Z I Y I K |
Perplexed, Cletus and Babyface discussed the possible ways to decipher the message. Could it be Vigenere Cipher? Beaufort Cipher? Playfair Cipher? Railfence? Some machine cipher? The possibilities seemed endless. Admitting defeat, they asked a code expert, you, for help. Can you help them find the location of the golden spike?
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