Hyde Rail Disaster, Otago Traditional Cache
Hyde Rail Disaster, Otago
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The Hyde Rail Disaster Memorial is located on State Highway 87 between Middlemarch and Hyde (marked on maps).
On 4 June 1943 the Cromwell-Dunedin Express derailed. Of the 113 passengers on board, 21 were killed and 47 injured.
The remote location meant that help took an hour and a half to arrive and some survivors were trapped in the wreckage for six hours.
A Commission of Inquiry found that the train had attempted to round a bend at more than twice the posted speed for the curve and that the driver had been drunk. He was charged and found guilty of manslaughter.
This site commemorates the incident and the actual crash site is an easy walk from it. The Central Otago Branch Line is now closed. The rails were lifted and it is now the Central Otago Rail Trail, popular with walkers and mountain bikers.
The cache is a black snaplock container.
It is located within the fenced area of the memorial site. I won't give any other hints as there are limited places at the site where it could be. Accuracy when placed was 5 metres.
Additional Hints
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Treasures
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