Ride the MRY #4: Big Meadow Run; Forgotten Graves Traditional Cache
nekom: Archived due to being in bad shape and the property being bought and developed.
Ride the MRY #4: Big Meadow Run; Forgotten Graves
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Another in a series highlighting areas related to the former Monongahela Railway..
This is not a difficult cache at all, and is accessible from any number of parking spots. You have the option of either parking at the former catholic church (just watch out for local muggles) or parking alongside the road (be careful, people drive past here at ridiculous speeds). Either way, it won't be a far walk, though you may have to deal with a short hill depending on your approach. In the summer months, call the terrain rating a 2 due to potential undergrowth.
This cache is at the southern terminus of what was once the `Big Meadow' yard of the Monongahela Railway. There is nothing left of this yard now, only a single tracked line which is now the Loveridge secondary, operated jointly by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern. Besides coal drags to and from Loveridge mine in West Virginia, there is a 4 day a week local that runs from Brownsville (possibly out of Newell yard) to Morgantown that serves a DuPont chemical plant there. In addition to the fact that there is still an active railroad, most of the former yard is now property of the federal government. The Amry Corps. of Engineers operates the nearby Maxwell Lock & Dam. There was a time when you could park there and watch barges go through the locks, however it seems that they discourage that with jersey barriers now. In any case, there is NO need to trespass on railroad or federal property to find this cache.
Oh and as for why this cache has the subtitle of `Forgotten Graves', see the additional waypoint. (update: whoops, I forgot to waypoint the grave markers. If somebody posts them I'll do so, but they're right on top of the hill, very hard to miss) You will find at least 2 headstones, both fallen over, one barely legible, and one not at all. This may have been a small family farm plot, or perhaps a small cemetery from the nearby catholic church. I grew up in this area, and as long as I can remember, noone has ever maintained this area. This area has been unmaintained for decades, however it once WAS a cemetery so please be respectful of where you are.
Now here comes the history. The big meadow yard is a bit of a mystery to me. It is only about 5 miles down the line from Bridgeport (now South Brownsville) yard, where the MRY had its main yard and base of operations for nearly a century. The next major yard to the south was the Maidsville yard in West by-god Virginia. Still, the Big Meadow Run yard appears to have been very important throughout the early days of the railroad.
Please rehide as found, etc. Happy caching.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Orgjvkg n srj gerrf, pbirerq jvgu fgvpxf naq fhpu.
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