This cache is near the site of the former flag stop station at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia, on the Pere Marquette Railroad. The posted coordinates are at the approximate location of station. The cache is not at the posted coordinates. To locate the cache, solve the puzzle below based on contents of the cache description.
"Postcard image courtesy Michigan Genealogy on the Web, Ionia County. Click on the image."
Michigan Reformatory, Ionia, Michigan
Warden:
Warden was the name used by the railroad to designate the stop for the Ionia State Prison system. It is not clear if there was actually a station, or any kind of shelter at this stop or not. It is presumed that the railroad was used to transport prisoners to and from the facility. From Main Street, the grade can be clearly seen curving away from the Grand Trunk grade and proceeding up the big hill. The stop was part way up the hill.
Ionia and Lansing Railroad
The Ionia & Lansing Railroad extended its existing line from Ionia, through Warden (name of the station at the Ionia Prison), Orleans (formerly known as Palmer), Chadwick, Kidd and on to Greenville in 1870. That same year, the line was purchased and consolidated into the Detroit, Lansing & Lake Michigan Railroad. The goal was to reach Pentwater on the Lake Michigan shoreline. In 1872, the Patterson Railroad completed a 1.67 mile line from Kidd into Belding (formerly known as Patterson Mills). Upon completion, that line became part of the DL&LM. In 1876 the DL&LM, in receivership, was reorganized as part of the Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad. In 1896 the DL&N was reorganized as the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad. In 1899, the Grand Rapids, Belding & Saginaw Railroad extended its recently purchased Lowell and Hastings railroad from Lowell to Belding, connecting with the DGR&W, which apparently had a lease of the GRB&S. This line was opened on January 1, 1899 by the Pere Marquette Railroad and eventually became the main line between Saginaw and Grand Rapids.
The original line from Ionia to Kidd(ville) was abandoned in 1942, leaving the line from Elmdale through Lowell, Belding, Greenville, Stanton, Edmore and on to Saginaw. In 1947, the PM became part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. In May of 1981, the Chessie (C&O) applied to abandon the original I&L line between Portland and Ionia and it was removed within three years, prior to when the C&O was merged into CSX Transportation (1987).
Cache:
To locate the cache, solve this simple puzzle based mostly on information in the cache description.
N 42 58.ABC W 085 05.DEF
- A = The fourth digit of the year the DL&LM was reorganized as the DL&N.
- B = The fourth digit of the year the DL&N was reorganized as the DGR&W.
- C = The third digit of the year the original line from Ionia to Kidd was abandoned.
- D = The length of the Patterson Railroad, not counting the fractional part (round down).
- E = The fourth digit of the year the I&L was consolidated into the DL&LM.
- F = The number of years the line past Warden was in service, divided by 12, then subtract 1.
Sources:
Ionia and Lansing Railroad
Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railraod
Patterson Railroad
Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad
Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad
Pere Marquette Railroad
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