GHOST TRAIN #2 Traditional Cache
MeerRescue: As we have recently had to archive the original GHOST TRAIN in the series due to theft, seemed little point in keeping these going. Thanks to all who visited.
MeerRescue
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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In the dark days of 1940, just after the Battle of Britain, the German Army began installing large calibre guns along the coast of occupied France and soon began firing huge shells across at Dover and allied shipping using the English Channel.
Exsaerpated by our own weak defences, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the installation of large calibre guns along the coast line either side of Dover capable of retaliating against the German shell fire. Later, he ordered the existing guns be supplemented by 3 huge railway guns. The guns were issued to the Royal Marine Siege Regiment at Dover to bombard German batteries and shipping in the Calais area.
As was common practice, the three guns were given names, the names being Gladiator - PieceMaker and Scene Shifter.
They were all model BL 13.5 inch Mk V's, which were originally a gun made for the Royal Navy. They were breech loading, hence the designation BL. Introduced in 1912 as the main armament for the new super-dreadnought battleships of the Orion class. The guns alone weighed approximately 168,000lb (76 tons) (excluding the breech), and in its original form fired a 1,250lb (567kg) armour-piercing capped (APC) or high-explosive (HE) round.
Much of the track used by the railway guns was that of the East Kent Light Railway. This is the link to our original GHOST TRAIN cache (GCW88Q) on a former part of the E.K.L.R track. The E.K.L.R. received substantial compensation for damage the heavy railway guns caused to the track beds.
To protect the railway guns from the prowling Luftwaffe and retaliatory fire from the German guns, they were frequently shunted by diesel loco from their varied firing points along the E.K.L.R. system into local railway tunnels around Dover, Lydden and Shepherds Well. One of the tunnels, the Guston Tunnel can be seen from the cache site.
THE CACHE: Limited roadside parking is available West of the footpath used to reach the cache.
The FP starts at N51 09.183, E001 19.802.
The FP will lead you on a short walk roughly south towards and through a small strip of trees and bushes running North/South. This was the old railway track bed the railway guns used, not the thinner tree line ahead. Continue along the FP towards the cache, which is a plastic screw top container containing a logbook, pencil and usual goodies, so please remember, Trade up – Trade equal – Or Don’t Trade.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Tebhaq Yriry
Treasures
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