The original steam train era South Coast (aka Gold Coast) railway line was via the inland route from Ernest Junction (between Helensvale and Molendinar) and Tweed Heads. The line opened in 1903 and closed in 1961. There were 25 rail bridges between Nerang and the terminus at Tweed Heads. This cache takes you to remains of the bridge built to cross Mudgeeraba Creek. The official name of this bridge on the engineering plans is Bridge Number 9, hence the cache name. The bridge numbers were counted from Nerang.
The bridge was constructed from 32 spans with hardwood piers driven into the ground via a steam hammer. Thirty of these spans were 20 feet apart with two 18 feet making the bridge 636 feet long.
When the rail line closed much of the formation south of Nerang was redeveloped into what is now the M1. The road bridge adjacent was the first bridge built when the Pacific Highway extended through this area in the 1970s. What is surprising is that the remains of some of the rail bridge piles are still intact, although cut close to the water line. Also interesting to us are the markings on the piles of the north bound road bridge. Another historical puzzle to be solved.
Pile driving during the construction of the rail line to Mudgeeraba, Queensland, 1900. Photo courtesy of the Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
The cache is a small preform container. Access to Ground Zero is via a paved pathway which travels under the existing road bridges. We’ve found the best access is from Cobber Park – see parking co-ordinates. No need to leave stash or swaps in this container, its a log only cache.