Manawatu rail: Manchester Sawmill Traditional Cache
Hidden : 5/29/2013
Difficulty:
1.5 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' Taonui Branch service to Taonui! Start of the line! Next stop Taonui, end of the line.

Here, in the middle of thick bush, the government had reserved a valuable stand of totora for use as railway sleepers. West and Miller ran the Manchester Mill (the land here was known as the Manchester Block) under contract for the Public Works Department, using wagons and engines supplied by the Railway Commissioners. The engines where not dedicated to this line and so were brought in as needed from Palmerston or Halcombe. A few months in, the Public Works Department took over the running of the line, dropping the engines, and simply using gravity to get the loaded wagons to Taonui, with a brakeman riding each car. Horses would tow the empty wagons back to the mill. NZR charged Public Works ten times the normal freight charge for this work!

The Taonui Branch was opened in November 1879 and was closed just sixteen years later, in August 1895. The rails and sleepers were then removed and sold for reuse elsewhere.

The rail line ran up the same side of the road as the cache, and the sawmill was in the paddock beside. The house opposite the cache was built from timber from the mill. They know about the cache and are expecting you.

References:
Cassells, K.R.: "The Foxton and Wanganui Railway", published by the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, 1984.

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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