Trafford Park: Railway Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Proogs: Indeed, the tracks have gone, the cache has gone and so I'll archive this. I may resurrect the idea elsewhere in Trafford Park at some point :-)

More
Hidden : 12/2/2012
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

Another minty micro cache in Trafford Park.

I've placed this as another cache in my Trafford Park series, trying to make the industrial estate interesting and introduce people to something of the history of the area.

This cache is placed on a section of the old Trafford Park Estates railway. Its origins lie in a gas-powered tramway that opened to transport workers around the Trafford Park estate in its early days; over the years it was transformed into a railway carrying goods and raw materials to and from the factories and premises around the area.

Nearby rails running alongside Ashburton Road West seem to have disappeared in the past year or two and I can't help but wonder if someone has helped themselves to them as they were disused. It's a shame to see the network decaying, really, rather than standing testament to the industrial past of the area. There are still plenty of points that you can see the rails and crossings if you keep an eye open as you walk, cycle or drive around here.

There doesn't seem to be a great deal of information available on the web about it, but if you'd like to read more or see some pictures then these following links are useful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafford_Park_Railway (Wikipedia)

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Uk/uk.railway/2007-08/msg06444.html (a discussion on uk.railway)

http://picasaweb.google.com/114055995890255140096/TraffordParkEstatesRailway (some photos of the network a few years ago)

The railway network around the estate itself that runs alongside and over the roads and roundabouts is largely disused, closing in 1998, but there is still an active part of it (owned by the Manchester Ship Canal company) that still serves the Containerbase sites/internation freight terminal, running past Kellogg's. You sometimes get held up on Mosley Road when a container shunter trundles past...

I'd like to know more about the network so if anyone knows anything, please do comment about it or contact me directly.

This cache is an easy to find micro. It's round the corner from Bowlers Exhibition Centre, which has a regular computer market on a Saturday and a Car Boot on a Sunday, and The Guardian's printworks. Please try to replace the cache as found, so it's not too conspicuous. Normally, obviously, railway lines are very dangerous places to be - even disused ones can be dangerous due to old mechanics and engineering, but this particular area was chosen carefully as the sleepers aren't too much of a trip hazard; the ballast and accumulated earth between them gives a reasonable surface to walk on. Please do take care as you walk to find the cache though. There are a couple of bus stops nearby that you may be able to use if you want to do this as a cache and dash.


Congrats to CRAZY BONES and phspid (the usual suspects, it seems!) for the FTF!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Onyynfg-bsyntrq zntargvp zvpeb.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


Advertising with Us