WMRT Indigo Tunnel Letterbox Hybrid
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Part of the Western Maryland Rail Trail series.
Indigo Tunnel was built in 1904. The drilling equipment was barged in on the adjacent C&O Canal. The tunnel was drilled at a length of 4,350 ft. just short of one mile. The gray slate from the tunnel was hauled out during drilling and dumped at the west portal making a large flat area. There was a eastbound signal here #130.1 along with a phone box. On the east end there was a phone booth and a westbound signal, now all gone.
During construction of Western Maryland's Indigo Tunnel, a man who was working in the tunnel was injured when a timber fell on him. The man ended up in the hospitial and lost his leg. He later lived in Little Orleans after leaving the hospital. He worked for the Western Maryland as a "portal man" for 10 years in the very same tunnel where he had lost his leg. The man was replaced by his son, after difficulties incountered while working with a missing leg. The man's son worked the night shift as portal man at WM's Indigo Tunnel for over 44 years. He was responsible for maintaining the track in the tunnel, keeping them free of rocks and debris that may have fallen. One particular day during a severe downpour the man had checked one end of the tunnel and was at the other end when he heard a "terrific racket" at the end of the tunnel he had just checked. It turned out that a approaching train had hit a rock slide. The train had wrecked and the man was blamed for the accident. However, he was later cleared after an investigation proved "he could not have been at fault."
story from railfan
A WM trackman I used to know told me when he first went to work on the RR he lived on one side of the mountain and reported to work on the other side. Rather than drive his car to work he called the dispatcher and walked thru the tunnel when no trains were coming. It was long enough and had enough curve to be dark but he could still see the rails enough to walk, may have been Indigo but I am not sure. His territory started at the other end of the tunnel and went away from the tunnel so he never had cause to work in the tunnel or ride thru it. This went on for several years. One day a train was stopped at the tunnel as he was starting to walk to work and the engineer asked him what he was doing. When he said he was walking to work the engineer ask him if he was completely out of his mind. His response was no, why? The engineer told him the tunnel was a rattle snake den and was full of snakes. They saw them in the headlight. The trackman did not believe the engineer so the engineer insisted he ride with them to the other end and he would slow down enough to let him off. Sure enough the tunnel was full of rattle snakes from one end to the other. Needless to say the trackman drove to work every day for the rest of his career! He worked in Hagerstown for years before he retired.
A small work camp was built at the east portal. A saloon was built directly over top the tunnel along High Germany Road that keep the workers on high spirits during construction.
The WM had a telephone booth located here and westbound signal 129.0. A large rockslide now covers the right-of-way and a portion of the canal. It's a very large slide, as if a section of the mountain just let go.
This cache may be accessed by riding or hiking west from the current end of the WMRT at Pearre Station along the C&O Canal. While the WMRT is blacktopped the C&O Canal is hardpack only. Please be aware of this when choosing your bike.
Located amongst the rockslide a few feet off a foot trail is a letterbox/geocache. No large scale moving of rocks or debris are needed. Please be concious of snakes and other reptiles that may choose to sun themselves on the rock fall.
Many thanks to julia51:) for the idea to place a cache here.
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Co-FTF honors go to Chere, GoGayleGo, jfigel, and Simulatmore !!! Congratulations you four!!! 
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Arne onfr bs tebhcvat bs gerrf. Vs lbh unir gebhoyr svaqvat vg.....vg'f frira srrg sebz ZGN. 1277+68. Unir sha!