This cache is on the former grade of the Pennsylvania Railroad, now the White Pine Trail, at the site of Osceola Junction. If you are not on a bike or on foot, park on Hibma road to access the trail. The cache is between the north leg and south leg of the wye. It is believed the station here was near the north leg of the wye.
Osceola Junction, south leg of wye. Branchline grade curves off the WPT right of way, crosses the field and into the trees through the dip. The north leg of the wye is just north of Hibma Road.
The Osceola Branch of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad was built to support the timber harvest in the extreme northwest reaches of Osceola County and just into the extreme north-east corner of Lake county and also to Hoxeyville, just into southern Wexford county. The line was constructed from Osceola Junction to the Olga lake area in 1885 and extended three more miles in 1892. These last three miles were abandoned in 1897. The three miles from Sutliff's mill, on the North branch of the Pine River, in section 4, to Olga were abandoned in 1904. Three and one half miles from just outside the junction to Sutliff were abandoned in 1906 and finally the wye itself was abandoned in 1907.
1890 plat of Osceola Junction, Burdell and Sherman Townships, Osceola County,Michigan
The GR&I began service between Grand Rapids and Cedar Springs on Christmas Day, 1867. By the middle of 1869, the rails were down as far as Morley and on to Paris in the fall of 1870. Trackage was also completed between Grand Rapids and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1871, the GR&I acquired the Cincinnati, Richmond & Fort Wayne Railroad Company, extending the GR&I to Cincinnati. Trackage was extending northward as well. By late 1872, a branch was completed between Walton to Traverse City. By the end of 1873, the line reached Petoskey and in 1882, Mackinaw City, becoming the longest north-south line in the country, at that time. As such, it had a large role in the settlement of northern Michigan. In 1886, the railroad also built a line connecting Grand Rapids and Muskegon.
The primary business in the early years was timber and lumber. This shifted to tourism and the GR&I advertised itself as "The Fishing Line". In partnership with the Michigan Central Railroad, the company built and opened the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in 1887. In 1918, the GR&I was acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which operated it until 1975. The Michigan DOT purchased it and leased it to the Michigan Northern Railroad until 1984.
Today, most of the line is gone. The portion of the line between Grand Rapids and Cadillac has become the White Pine Trail. The trail, a state park, is open to hikers and bicyclists in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter.
Sources:
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad depot photos/
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad
Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, L.H.D., © Wayne State University Press, 1986
Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
Michigan RailroadLines, Graydon Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
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