At the end
of the 19th century horse omnibuses operate on established lines in
Sofia
City between the Sveta Nedelya Square and the Railway Station,
Gorna Banya and
Knyazhevo districts.
The history
of
the electric transport dated from 01.12.1898, when the
Municipality gave the
concession for supplying the city with electricity and building of
tram lines
from French company “Marsilia” and from anonymous Belgium company
“Electric
tram”
The first are
small tram coaches and have 2 axles, 2 motors of 18 kW each, open
-
top platforms surrounded by metal grills. The cabin has first
class and second
class compartments. The trailers are open - top, the passengers
get on and off
from the side and the conductor moves on a special step
around.
As of 2006 the
tram transport system has been transporting passengers articulated
17
lines with a total length of 308 km of single track railway, and
at an average
speed of 12,56 km per hour. During the weekdays 176 trams are at
work.
But it’s
true that all the 308 kilometers of railroad tracks are placed in
the heart of the
capital of Bulgaria – Sofia. And that is a vast city landscape,
much filled with
busy streets, people always in hurry and erratic cars running in
all directions.
Well… almost
all of the tracks do fit in that description. Because there is
still a place;
right in the heart of the city, believe it or not, where the old
tram cars run
in an ancient forest, among long quiet paths below the tall trees,
where no
cars; nor nervous people ever go.
Let me take you
there and show you the Heart of the Sofia’s tramcars
network.
And so, this
is where your journey begins.
But before you
go, let me clarify one thing:
IN ORDER TO
FIND THIS GEOCACHE, YOU DO NOT NEED TO WALK ON THE RAILWAYS, SO DO
NOT DO IT (OR
IF YOU DO; IT’S ON YOUR OWN RISK). Thank you. Now, let’s
go!
Stage 1 –
The
“Vishneva” tram station (N42 40.704 E23 20.011)
Translated from
Bulgarian; the “Tram station of the cherries” is your first stop in
the cycle of
your great adventure. All you have to do here is find out the two
numbers of the
two lines that stop here. As you find them out, you will have
found two
two-digit numbers. Now, calculate:
N42 40.747
E23
20.0xx , where (xx) = (first line’s number) + (second line’s
number) + 60
Stage 2 –
The
old railroad signal
As you find
your Stage 2 and approach it, you will see an old railroad signal
lamp, attached
to one of the poles that are placed at the one side of the tracks.
When a
tramcar passes under the signal; it will turn on. What is the
light of the
signal lamp?
If it’s red,
go
to N42 40.779 E23 20.141
If it’s
green,
go to N42 40.708 E23 20.136
Stage 3 –
Tram
station “The Summer Cinema”
As you walk
down to station three, you will find yourself standing on a secure
platform,
placed at the side of the railroad tracks. You can easily see that
this platform
is a tramway stop. Once, tramcars stopped always here; but today
the station
might be closed. Some people say that if you stay calmly on the
sidewalk, a
tramcar will stop to pick you up. It’s up to you to either verify
or bust that
myth! Stay secure on the platform and wait for a tramcar to come
around (don’t
wave at the driver, just stay calm). Did it stop for
you?
If it stops;
don’t get on. Just go to N42 40.713 E23 20.088
If the tramcar
slowly passes by, go to N42 40.800 E23 20.069
Final Stage
–
The Cache
Aha! You have
reached the final stage! Have you? Well, let’s find out. Look
around. If you
need; use the spoiler pictures and the hint. And … as you find the
box; stay
around for a while. Don’t be in a rush to get back to your
ordinary busy life.
Yes, I know that it’s important. Yes. I know. Just stay. For a
moment in time.
Stay and contemplate your fate, your past, present and the future.
Wait for at
least a few tramcars to pass around. Listen to the sound of their
small wheels
around the ancient forests. You should feel better now… OK, now
you can go. :-)