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Difficulty:
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Size: 
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A two-stage stroll of about a mile round-trip, through what was an old rail-yard and appears destined to remain open space. The cache is at ground level with some camo on top.
It might not appear as such today, but Alameda has a rich history of railroads. Alameda became the first Bay Area terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad on September 6, 1869. Alameda actually became an island in 1902 due to a railroad that allowed construction crews to dig a tidal canal connecting the estuary to San Leandro Bay, severing the peninsula that connected it to Oakland. Several generations of commuters and travelers rode the rails to an ornate Alameda ferry terminal for the boat ride to San Francisco. With the increased popularity of the automobile, the age of passenger rail in Alameda came to an end on January 19, 1941. But still, until 1998, trains in Alameda continued to service industrial clients such as Del Monte, Pennzoil, and Weyerhaeuser.
Even though the trains no longer run through Alameda, there are still remnants of the railroad's presence. The old Alameda Belt Line property where this cache is located is one of those vestiges.
A BRIEF BELTLINE HISTORY:
In the early part of last century, there were a number of industries along Alameda's northern waterfront that had a need for a railroad for more efficient freight service. Additional industrial development and increased tax revenue was possible only with trains serving the businesses along the estuary. Since the established railroad companies had no interest in laying the required trackage and establishing service, city leaders took matters in their own hands and built 1.2 miles of tracks along Clement Avenue in 1918. The Alameda Belt Line (reporting mark ABL) was incorporated in 1925 to take over this original trackage and subsequently acquired various parcels of property including the 22 acre railyard between Constitution Way and Sherman, a 7 acre corridor along Atlantic Avenue, two smaller parcels near Grand Street and a parcel near Sherman Street. Through most of the century, the company was originally jointly owned by the Western Pacific Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, but due to mergers, was eventually jointly owned and operated by the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad.
The ABL shunted freight cars back and forth to their various industrial customers until 1998, when its major shipper, a Del Monte cannery, closed. The Union Pacific then operated over the same rail lines through trackage rights to serve it's one remaining shipper, Pennzoil, until late 2001, which marked the last trains ever to cross into Alameda. The final ABL locomotive was acquired by the Central California Traction Company in Stockton. The only major asset left remaining of the Alameda Belt Line was the property...
THE COURT BATTLE:
When Alameda Belt Line announced it planned to sell off it's property to a developer for $18 million, the city of Alameda went to court to get the land returned to the city, in order to turn the former rail yard into a public park. A local retired teacher, Jean Sweeney, spent countless hours researching the issue and discovered the original contract between the city and the railroad, in the process finding a long-forgotten clause which would allow the city to buy back the property for the original purchase price of $30,000, plus the cost of any improvements the railroad had made. A heated and prolonged legal battle ensued. The city ultimately prevailed in court, and the railroad's attorneys just recently announced they would no longer contest the court's decision. The city could now repurchase the Belt Line's property for the bargain-basement price of $996,207. The future of this land seems to be open space after all.
THE CACHE:
The listed coordinates mark an easy access point to the Belt Line property. At that spot, look for a large cement block near one of the few remaining railroad tracks here, and helps prevents vehicle access. On the back of that block are two bright green, spray-painted graffiti letters that should be familiar to most geocachers. Do a simple alphanumeric substitution (A=1, B=2,etc) on those two letters to determine two numbers, and call them X and Y. Sum your two numbers X and Y to get Z. Add Z to the final significant digits in the following coordinates to find the cache. The cache is located at N 37 46.(779+Z), W122 15.(857+Z). For example if the spray painted letters are AY, A (1) + Y (25) = 26. The cache would be at N 37 46.(779+26), W122 15.(857+26) or N 37 46.805 W 122 15.883. Got it? Good. Now go find it! I'd recommend following the rail trail for several minutes until you get amongst the berry bushes for a scenic outbound stroll. Turn left at the intersecting trail at N 37 46.744 W 122 16.223 to get back on course.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Orybj n fvta sbe bhe snibevgr ohvyqvat naq ybna va Orqsbeq Snyyf. Be, zber nccebcevngryl, gur anzr bs gur jbeyq'f ynetrfg envy lneq bjarq ol Havba Cnpvsvp va Abegu Cynggr, AR.