This cache is located near the former grade of the Pere Marquette Railroad, at the former depot and junction of Pickands. The cache is not at the posted location. To locate the final, solve the puzzle below. The cache is hidden on land owned by the State of Michigan.
1900 Fruitport Township Map showing Fruitport and Pickands Junction
Pickands was a station located at the Junction of the C&WM main line and the C&WM freight main. The junction got its name from Colonel Pickands, one of the five investors in the Spring Lake Iron Works. At the junction, there was a small passenger depot. Shortly after the turn of the century the GRGH&M Railway,an interurban, built through and also used the depot. When the Spring Lake Iron Works shut down, there was no longer a need for the freight main. It was abandoned, as was the junction and depot.
1910 drawing of the Spring Lake Iron Works
The Freight Main
In 1891 the Chicago & West Michigan Railway abandoned most of the old C&MLS main line between Muskegon and Holland via Fruitport in favor of the more direct, Grand Haven Railroad (previously Michigan Lake Shore Railroad). A four mile long connection known as the Freight Main was built by the C&WM from Pickands, just north of Fruitport, to Kirks, one mile north of Ferrysburg. This line also served the Spring Lake Iron Works, which became an essential industry during World War I, and was heavily used to transport pig iron to Holland, Grand Haven, and Muskegon so it could be shipped off for use in the war effort. After the war ended in 1918, the line was used less and less. The freight main was abandoned in 1934.
The Cache
To locate the cache, solve this simple puzzle based on information in the cache description.
N 43°08.ABC W 086°10.DEF
- A = Number of letters in the last name of the man the junction is named after, minus 1
- B = Second digit in the year the C&WM abandoned most of it's line between Muskegon & Holland, via Fruitport
- C = Number of investors in the Spring Lake Iron Works, plus 3
- D = Last digit in the year the C&WM abandoned most of it's line between Muskegon & Holland, via Fruitport, Minus 1
- E = The distance (in miles) of the Freight Main, plus 3
- F = Last digit in the year the PM abandoned the Freight Main, minus 2
Sources:
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