Driving Creek Railway (Coromandel) Traditional Cache
Driving Creek Railway (Coromandel)
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
The cache is hidden on the perimeter of the Driving Creek Railway Complex. Well worth a look inside the complex even if you don't decide to ride on one of the trains. Free to have a look at the sculptured garden, the kilns and other fasinating surprises.
Commercial operations
Built by Barry Brickell
Original gauge 15 inches (380 mm)
Preserved operations
Stations Two
Length ca 3km
Preserved gauge 15 inches (380 mm)
Commercial history
Opened 1975 (initially for private use only)
Preservation history
The Driving Creek Railway is a narrow gauge bush and mountain railway on the outskirts of the provincial town of Coromandel on the northwestern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on New Zealand's North Island. The railway leads up the mountain to a viewing platform building 165m high above the surrounding Coromandel west coast country.
History
The line was built by the potter Barry Brickell on his 22-hectare property, which he had acquired in 1961, aiming to start a pottery collective. He started construction of the 15-inch gauge rail line in 1975, originally mainly using it to transport clay and pine wood fuel to his kiln.
The Driving Creek Railway (DCR) was slowly expanded over the next 25 years to become one of the very few completely new railway lines in New Zealand in recent years. The project required significant civil engineering works due to the steep and complex terrain that the line traverses. Among these are a double deck rail bridge, three tunnels, five viaducts and inclines as steep as 1 in 15. The trip takes approximately 1 hour return.
The attraction now brings over 30,000 people to the railway per year, with much of the proceeds funding nature conservation works.
Trains
The line operates a number of items of rolling stock, the most important of which are the three diesel railcars, which were built on site by the owners. Possum is an 14-seater two-car unit and Snake and Linx are 36-seater, three-unit vehicles.
Site features
The line climbs the hill behind Brickell's pottery, changing direction five times at reversing points to zigzag across the face of the hill. At the terminus is a wooden building, the "Eyefull Tower". Although this is a pun on the name Eiffel Tower (and on the wide land and sea views from the tower), its octagonal design is based on a much nearer landmark, the Bean Rock Lighthouse in Auckland Harbour.
There are a variety of other features on the site, such as a growing areas of re-planted native forest (including kauri), a wildlife sanctuary and a sculpture park (throughout the site and along the rail line, varying pottery and brick artworks abound, and also include retaining walls made of glass bottles)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Orfvqr fznyy Cbatn & Synk. TY. Gbbg, Gbbg