W Somerset Mineral Railway - Brendon Hill Incline Traditional Cache
W Somerset Mineral Railway - Brendon Hill Incline
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Cache and dash at the top of the incline
Inspired by other ‘Forgotten Railways’ series, I have decided to start one of my own in Somerset. “The West Somerset Mineral Railway was constructed under an Act of 1855. The line was opened in stages from Watchet on the coast to Comberow, a hamlet some six miles to the south at the foot of the Brendon Hills. In order to reach the ironstone mines at the top of the hill, an incline was constructed. This was 1100 yards long on a gradient of 1 in 4, lifting the railway 800ft to the top of the hill. Although not completed until 1861, this was opened to traffic in May 1858. Ore was sent to the Ebbw Vale Ironworks in South Wales, the Ebbw Vale Company being closely associated with the railway. From the top of the incline, the railway was extended westwards in 1864 to serve other ironstone mines. But recessions in the demand for ore, due to imports of cheaper foreign ore and a general fall in production of the industry, caused a reduction in the activity on the railway after 1883. In 1898 the railway was closed, most of the locomotives and rolling stock going to Ebbw Vale. There was a brief reopening of the mines by a syndicate between 1907 and 1910, using the lower section of the railway, the incline and a yard close to the head of the incline. The westward extension remained derelict. The railway was last used between 1912 and 1914, when the Angus system of automatic train control was demonstrated on the line near Watchet. After this the railway was abandoned, being lifted in 1917-1918.” This information is taken from the West Somerset Mineral Railway by Sydney A Leleux – more details can be found at: http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/26/WSMR.htm You can park within a few metres of the cache. However visibility is poor if you are turning right out of the parking area and vehicles speed along this stretch of road. GPSr reception at the cache site is not good due to an embankment and trees. I took an average of 10 readings but the co-ordinates are still not likely to be spot on, therefore the hint is specific. The cache is a very small lock and lock plastic box. You can explore the winding house and inside it there is an information board, which is worth a read. More information can be found at: http://www.westsomersetmineralrailway.org.uk/
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ba gur abegu fvqr bs gur tngr. 5 srrg hc va n ubyr