GC2WAKN 1st Terminus (Lawrence, South Otago) (Traditional Cache) in South Island, New Zealand created by Onslow Fisherman

This cache has been archived.

TheCur8or: As there's been no cache to find for months, I'm archiving this to keep it from continually showing up in search lists. Just contact us when you have the cache repaired, and assuming it meets the current guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.

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TheCur8or
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GC2WAKN ▼

A cache by Onslow Fisherman Message this owner

Hidden : 5/23/2011

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

The Roxburgh Branch (Railway) Series.

"Principal Stations - Termini"

The Roxburgh Branch was a branch line railway built in the Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island that formed part of the country's national rail network. Originally known as the Lawrence Branch, it was one of the longest construction projects in New Zealand railway history, beginning in the 1870s and not finished until 1928. The full line was closed in 1968.

The original reason for the line's construction was to provide better transport access to Lawrence, then known as Tuapeka, the site of New Zealand's first significant discovery of gold. Contracts for construction were let by mid-1873, and work on the line was well under way by the next year, with a junction with the Main South Line established at Clarksville. Slips and contractor bankruptcies presented delays, but on 22 January 1877, the line opened to Waitahuna, followed by Lawrence on 2 April 1877, 35.27 km from Clarksville.
Most of the route between Beaumont and to a point near Millers Flat (Minzion) has been made in to a public rail trail/track and can now be driven, cycled or walked over. This track is known as the Millennium track and a panel explaining the significance of the rail trail route and other interesting facts is at the site of the old Beaumont railway station at Beaumont just before the SH8 bridge crossing the Clutha river. Several of the old railway bridges alongside the eastern bank of the Clutha River were left in place after the line was lifted through the area in October/November 1968 and later in May 1969 after the Railways Department agreed not to remove the bridges with the then Tuapeka County Council. The trail track through the Beaumont gorge diverts briefly from the old rail corridor to pass over a hill at point known as the Lonely Graves where "Somebody's Darling" lies buried. This burial site was highlighted in Billy Connolly's World Tour of NZ filmed in 2004. The old railway at this point goes around a bluff alongside the Clutha River known as Horseshoe Bend. Past this point heading up to Millers Flat the Millennium trail forms part of the old rail line again until it joins up with up the old Millers Flat - Craig Flat road nearer to the old Minzion station site. Stockyards remain at the sites of Mount Stuart, Beaumont, Evans Flat, and Millers Flat stations, with the latter two also still in possession of their platforms. Loading banks can be found in Manuka, Evans Flat, Bowlers Creek, and Craigellachie, and now preserved goods shed is in Teviot (With a Historic Places Trust plaque explaining its significance to the district). A number of relics remain in Roxburgh from its days as a railway terminus; these include a water tank for steam locomotives, the station building converted for farm use, loading banks, a turntable pit, the old rail cement discharge silos at the southern end of the yard (used when cement was transported by rail for the Roxburgh dam construction), and even the concrete stop block that signified the end of the branch.

A proposal has been made to convert most of the branch's former route into a rail trail much like the Otago Central Rail Trail that follows the route of the former Otago Central Railway. Although progress on the proposal has been made, only part of it through the Beaumont Gorge (as described above) and the short Manuka Rail tunnel section has, at this time, come to fruition.

The above information has been gleaned from Wikipedia

The cache is placed where the trains heading towards Roxburgh exited the Lawrence yards. The "way' was flanked by two creeks, Hospital Creek on the south side and Wetherstons Creek on the north. You will have to cross either one of these by either one of the footbridges.

A signature type container. Please take care when extracting and replacing

Congratulations ....wallaceDuo ..... FTF

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ybbx haqre Abegu raq

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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1st Terminus (Lawrence, South Otago) Traditional Cache

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