The story of the last steam powered train in Niagara is one that is
almost forgotten. As diesel locomotives began to take over many of
the older engineers became steadfast in their resolve to keep the
old steamers running.
One such engineer, John Osbourne was determined to keep the
diesels out of Niagara. To prove that the steam engine could
perform as well as was needed John, or as 'Ozzy' as he was known
around the trainyard decided to take a train of seven cars and set
a new speed record from Fort Erie to Port Colbourne. To be fair,
one of each major type of train car was used. After the ENGINE came
the BUNKER, FLATCAR, BOXCAR, TANKER, HOPPER, and of course the
CABOOSE.
The caboose also held the journal of Ozzy's secret logbook of
modifications he had made to the Engine boiler to improve the
efficiency. This logbook was kept locked in a strong box.
Ozzy knew that no one could be trusted with the combination to
the lock of the strong box so he hid clues to the combination in
each of the other sections of the train. Knowing that his cypher
was hard to crack he would have time to catch anyone trying to open
the strong box.
On the fateful night, the train was readied and John climbed in
then looked back at the crowd. A strange look was on his face as he
yelled out "All Aboard" then laughed maniacally, and ducked into
the engine compartment. Steam began to push the pistons and the
train left the station.
As the train increased speed Ozzy felt fully justified in his
arrogance that diesels would never replace the steam engine. The
train raced down the track at break-neck speed. Steam billowing out
of the boiler, the squealing of the metal wheels on metal tracks as
they flew down the line all drove Ozzy on faster and faster.
As the train approached the station at Ridgeway, on its way to
the goal, the stationmaster radioed to the train to slow down. Ozzy
wouldn't listen, instead radioed back 'I know what I am
doing....'
Just then at 11:53pm the train jumped the track and derailed.
John screamed into the radio 'I'm going off the rails on a (static
covered the remaining message)'. When people arrived on the scene
they found twisted cars lining the track, and John had been killed
instantly.
The people at the station said it was hard to tell what was
uttered. Most said it sounded like John, but they decided that he
must have gone crazy.
John's distraught wife was swarmed by the press and other
parties wanting the rights to the 'John Osbourne' story, a
situation she was not prepared for. It didn't take long for the
situation to become unbearable. Soon after the accident she moved
to England with John jr. and they were never heard from again.
The strong box and the clues to open it were never found in the
wreckage of Ozzy's "Crazy Train".
New History Revealed: A bandit
trail was recently discovered. Seems the strong box was stolen, and
the bandits moved it to a new location. You can find the start of
the bandit trail as described below. This is only the start of the
new trail that leads to the the Caboose and the Strong Box, and
there is nothing else to find there.
This puzzle cache requires you to visit the 'wreckage' of the train
cars in the above story. At each site you will find a small
container with six cards. Each card has a single word on it, but
instead each word is spelled out using the equivalent Semaphore
symbol.
Once you reach the caboose, simply substitute the words you find
at each stage into the coded order on the Lock Box and you will
find out how to open the lock and complete the geocache.
Write the final sentence onto the bottom of your Quasy Train
Work Sheet
Be sure to count the number of Flagmen at each stage
Parking is located at
N 42d 52.938
W 79d 03.080
Stage #1: The Bunker
N 42d 52.952 (as listed above)
W 79d 02.862 (as listed above)
Stage #2: The Flatcar
N 42d 52.921 + # of Flagmen at Stage #1/1000
W 79d 02.626 + # of Flagmen at Stage #1/1000
Stage #3: The Boxcar
N 42d 52.931 + # of Flagmen at Stage #2/1000
W 79d 02.349 + # of Flagmen at Stage #2/1000
Stage #4: The Tanker
N 42d 52.951 + # of Flagmen at Stage #3/1000
W 79d 01.888 + # of Flagmen at Stage #3/1000
Stage #5: The Hopper
N 42d 52.956 + # of Flagmen at Stage #4/1000
W 79d 01.600 + # of Flagmen at Stage #4/1000
Spur Line: Start of the bandit trail
N 42d 52.960 + # of Flagmen at Stage #5/1000
W 79d 01.281 + # of Flagmen at Stage #5/1000
Final Stage - The Caboose
N 42d 52.798 + total # of all Flagmen/1000
W 79d 01.190 + total # of all Flagmen/1000
The hint section below gives North or South of path and number
of meters approximately, followed by a word hint.
Hope you enjoy the cache
Please ensure that the geocache is well hidden in the same
location that it was found.
The Blue Quasar
Cache Maintenance Performed On: 08 JUN 07
Details: ARCHIVED - Cache Container Removed
Thanks to all those that visited.
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you attempt this geocache.
Current weather conditions are:
This Geocache will be Archived on: 23 MAY 07
Any logs that contain SPOILERS will be
deleted without exception, and will have to be re-entered by the
seeker to be accepted.
This also applies to logs that contain content suggesting
inappropriate activity or do not conform to the guidelines as
listed on the Cache Page or no longer relevant.
Any needed assistance was included in the HINTS section, and was
provided by the Cache Owner.