Farewell, but not goodbye
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The trip from Bairnsdale to Melbourne on the train, seems to be a fairly popular mode of transport and Chaplain Mike has had to say farewell to Smart Sassy Siren on at least one occasion, but not goodbye.
GZ is where we said farewell last time; the cache is within view a short distance away.
BYO pen and no room for swaps.
Difficulty rating is high due to the possibility of high muggle activity at times depending on the time of day
A BIT OF HISTORY
In the days before the railway reached Bairnsdale, passengers were forced to leave the train at Sale. The train would arrive in Sale at 12:50pm, from there a coach would take passengers on to Bairnsdale, arriving by 7pm, taking almost as long to traverse the bad roads as the train took to travel from Melbourne to Sale.
In January 1888, a canvas town sprung up around the railway area in Macleod Street, and arrangements to build the terminal began. Early January saw the arrival of the first train in Bairnsdale with a parcel of orders for Joseph Messenger, an agent for Permewan Wright.
On 15th January, the direct link with Melbourne was established when a flag-bedecked train left the temporary Bairnsdale station at 1:30pm, arrived at Stratford at 3:30pm, and returned to Bairnsdale in time for dinner.
On 8th May, 1888, the railway was officially opened. A train left Traralgon with bandsmen, picking up more at Stratford. This was followed by a train from Sale with more Bandsmen. This large bands concourse paraded the streets of Bairnsdale to the cheers of the citizenry. The official banquet, which was to have been held that day, was delayed, and held on the 20th June, when 500 guests gathered at Payne’s Hall to greet the Premier.
In December, 1889, a contract was awarded to R.Krockel to builds the Bairnsdale Railway Station. This was completed in 1891, originally with a slate roof, but apart from that, much the same as it is today. The first station Master was a Mr Woodcock, who remained there 2 years.
In 1891, too, the railway was extended to the Bairnsdale wharf, adversely affecting the Bairnsdale–Sale steamer trade, making Bairnsdale the centre of steamer traffic to Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Bruthen, and the newly settled area of Orbost.
Extract from: “Some Historic Buildings in Bairnsdale” – Local History File 78900434d
On the 10th April 1916, the railway was opened between Bairnsdale to Orbost. On Friday 21st August 1987, the last freight train left the Orbost Rail yards and the Bairnsdale-Orbost Line was closed and lost forever as a transport corridor.
Following the cessation of log trains in December 1995, the Bairnsdale to Sale Railway Line was closed down, under the Liberal Government. It was partially reopened for in mid 1999 for log trains only. Following funding from the Labor Government to re-open country lines, which allowed major infrastructure repairs, the passenger service was reinstated on 3 May 2004. Until mid 2009, a five day a week freight train hauling logs from Bairnsdale to North Geelong was in operation.
Congratulations to **Bill and Diana of Greynomads** on the **FTF** for this Cache
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Lbh zhfg fvta gur ybt obbx gb pynvz n svaq