Before Sloss Had A Furnace... Traditional Cache
L&N Railroad: I haven't been able to get on the trail and this one has sat inactive for too long.
Before Sloss Had A Furnace...
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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...He Ran A Railroad
The cached has been replaced and is now a micro. Please don't over-tighten and damage the gasket. Coordinates have been slightly changed from the original.
James W. Sloss was a native of Limestone County in Alabama. He is best remembered because of his connection to the formation of Birmingham, Alabama and Sloss Furnaces, but he was also president of the railroad that constructed the earth fill where this cache is located.
First, some notes about the cache. I added 1 to the terrain rating because of the distance from parking to the cache. The cache can be retrieved while standing on the trail. While there are very steep trails down either side of the fill you do not need to climb down the side to get this cache. (If you want to see what one of these stone culverts looks like without breaking your neck you should visit GCHG0D instead of climbing here.)
You must come in on the trail to reach this cache. If you choose another route to reach this cache you will be on private property. The recommended starting place is the Elkmont depot, although there are several spots at road crossings that allow parking. Elkmont has a store and you're not leaving your car in an isolated spot.
Horses are allowed on the trail so watch your step. You can bicycle on the trail. There are some rough patches, but I used a road bike to reach the cache location. Flying insects will not be much of a problem while riding a bicycle. The bugs can be a problem for pedestrians.
Benches are located along the trail. There are few garbage cans on the trail so be prepared to pack out your trash.
Just after the Civil War Sloss consolidated three antebellum railroads that linked Nashville, Tennessee with Decatur, Alabama. These three smalled companies became the Nashville and Decatur Rail Road, with Sloss as the president.
After a few years Sloss made a deal with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. L&N would be allowed to lease the N&D if they would extend a rail line further south to what eventually became Birmingham, Alabama. At the time Birmingham did not exist.
Sloss was one of the pioneers in the creation of Birmingham. The Birmingham district has all of the natural resources needed for iron production - iron ore, coal and limestone. All that was needed was transportation and workers. By the 1880s Sloss was producing iron in his furnaces.
Today Sloss Furnaces is no longer producing iron, but unlike many of Birmingham's pioneering industrial sites it is preserved as a museum. Sloss Furnaces was noted for the production of high quality foundry iron that was used to make items ranging for water pipe to frying pans. While the furnaces are cold the company formed by Sloss lives on as part of Walter Energy.
James W. Sloss is buried in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery. This cemetery, located near the civic center, is the final resting place of many notable figures in Alabama history.
The cache is located above Sulphur Creek. When the railroad was originally built a wooden trestle was constructed to span the valley created by this creek. Trestles were cheap to build, but required more maintenance as well as being subject to fire and rot. The Nashville and Decatur Rail Road replaced the trestle with this massive earth fill, with Sulphur Creek passing through a cut stone culvert. The 1870 stock report to the shareholders give the length of the fill as about 600 ft. and the height as 77 ft. The stone arch culvert cost $19,770.26. The fill cost $13,999.10, or about fourteen cents per cubic yard.
This rail line was part of the supply line to Chattanooga and later Atlanta for the Union Army during the Civil War. A battle for control of the trestle was found, resulting in the capture of Eli Lilly, the Union commander, by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Lilly later formed a pharmaceutical company bearing his name and also served as chairman of the Grand Army of the Republic. Earthworks constructed in defense of the trestle survived, but some were obliterated by the construction of a house.
The L&N built a new rail line to the east that ran from Athens, Alabama to Brentwood, Tennessee. This line went into service before the U.S. entered World War One. This line continued in service as a secondary line until a portion north of Athens to Pulaski, Tennessee was abandoned. The Alabama portion that was abandoned became the Richard Martin walking trail.
When the N&D was in operation Elkmont was not listed as a station. Stations in 1870 that are on what is now the walking trail were Hays' Mill, Fort Hampton and Veto.
When I updated this cache I was getting 13-14 ft. accuracy on the GPS. There can be GPS problems because of the tree cover.
FTF was by geedunk.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jrfg, whfg orybj rlr yriry
Treasures
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