Manawatu rail: Taonui Traditional Cache
Hidden : 5/29/2013
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

One of a series of simple, easy to find, caches at railway stations in and around the Manawatu.

Welcome aboard the Government Railways' service to Wanganui! Last stop Trondjeim, next stop Aorangi. Service connects here via the Taonui Branch line to Manchester Mill, next stop Manchester Mill.

Henry Adsett's mill at Taonui was the second of three timber mills along this straight. Taonui Station had a longer than usual loop (a siding that joined to the main line at both ends) with a cross-over half way along. This was to allow simultaneous working on the main line and the Taonui branch line to Manchester Mill.

In 1886 a large fire broke out in Adsett's mill, staff from the nearby Bailey's mill turned out to help save what could be saved. A change in the wind saved the mill itself, but the houses and over 1.5 km of the tramlines that transported the logs to the mill were destroyed. Just prior to this the mill was producing over 500,000 meters of timber per year. This was used locally and sent on to Wellington and Wanganui. The original Wanganui Collegiate School was built from Taonui timber.

Eventually the bush was cleared and there was no longer a need for the mill here. After some time servicing the resulting farmland, the station was removed in 1963 and placed in a nearby paddock for a local farmer's use. The farmer donated it to the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society who restored it in 2002. The station house now sits at their depot in Feilding.

Note: Tracks are for Trains - there is no need to go near the rail line.

Taonui Station, 2002, recovered from the paddock.


Taonui Station, 2002, as it now stands at the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society depot.


References:
Cassells, K.R.: "The Foxton and Wanganui Railway", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1984.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 Feb 1886
Feilding and District Steam Rail Society

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Cbjre!

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)


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