Sunset Railway #6 Traditional Cache
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(regular)
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This series of caches is dedicated to the Sunset Railway and to those who worked it. The Sunset line was instrumental in developing the oil industry in western Kern County.
This cache is placed where I could no longer follow the tracks west. Too much oilfield construction in the area to see where the tracks went from here. The container is an ammo can with a few trading items, a log & pen. I found a few spikes from the old line while placing these caches and I will put them in this cache. Please take one if you have something along a railroad theme to trade. If you are not from the area you may have to take a few dirt roads until you find the right one. If all you want is the cache then that’s it, have fun. If you are interested in a brief description of the Sunset line, then read on…
The Sunset Railway was built in the late 19th century primarily for petroleum transportation for the booming oilfields of western Kern County. The railway was owned and operated jointly by Southern Pacific Railroad and Santa Fe Railroad until they ceased operations in the area in 1996. Sunset Railway was then taken over by San Joaquin Valley Railroad.
The Sunset line begins at Gosford Station (Gosford Rd. and Pacheco Rd) and heads south towards Maricopa. The line then turns northwest and travels through Taft and then west to Fellows. The line ran through Gardner Field, a WWII U.S. Army Air Base.
The Sunset line currently ends at “Levee Station”, near Southlake Road where it is still used today. The line south of that has been abandoned and removed. Although the rails and ties have been removed, the old line is still easy to spot in the flatlands near Maricopa. A bike path is now in place where the line once ran through the industrial section of Taft. The bike/jogging path is a 1.25-mile paved trail and was built as part of the Rails to Trails program. Spotting the old line west of Taft is a little trickier. Most of the cuts through the hills have been converted to oilfield access roads or pipeline rights-of-way. Using Google satellite imagery you can still see where most of the line once ran.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
50 cnprf qbjafgernz sebz 1925
Treasures
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