Steam Jenny Quarry Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Located near a former granite quarry
The cache was hidden near an very old Steam Jenny which was used to produce steam for the winches for hauling large pieces of granite from the granite quarry to the side of the CP Railway to be hauled away to be used for building construction. There are actually two quarries in the area which where the source for large slabs to be used for building construction. (see waypoints for West Quarry and East Quarry)
From "Pic, Pulp and People: A History of the Marathon District" by Jean Boultbee (1967) revised by Jesse Embree (1981)
"The first report on record of nepheline-bearing rock occurring anywhere in Canada appeared in the 1846 Report of the Geological Survey of Canada which noted the existence of Nepeline Syenite in the Port Coldwell - Heron Bay area.
This report was follows by six different surveys between 1893 and 1907 by geologists interested in studying in detail this most interesting and, at the time, rare eruptive. Numerous other occurrences have been found elsewhere in Canada.
Probably due to the lack of any major mineral discoveries, the area was neglected by both prospectors and geologists, until the late 1920's when a few groups of claims were staked in the more accessible regions, such as Playter Harbour (gold), Louis Lake (copper-nickel), Bamoose Lake (iron) and Commercial Granite (syenite) at Peninsula [former name of Marathon]. The last mentioned operated successfully for several years, shipping granite to both eastern and western Canada as well as to the U.S.A. The stone was used in Eaton's College Street store and the Creed Building in Toronto and in numerous buildings in Chicago and Detroit. The major part of the Hoover Memorial is of Peninsula Granite. A second quarry, complete with polishing plant, producing both black and red granite, operated successfully for a year or two at Angler."
When you are in the area take a look at the old equipment used in the 1920's to "mine" the quarry. You will be able to see the Steam Jerry, the remains of a flume to bring water to the steam jenny, various steel cables, several piles of discarded large slabs of granite and a steam driven engine to haul the granite slabs to the railway tracks for shipment.
The cache is a small lock-n-lock container covered in camo tape with a MBGA Sticker on it.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vf vg arne be vf vg ba?
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