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[SL] - Pollard Traditional Cache

Hidden : 2/15/2015
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

The [SL] series is a trail of geocaches following the abandoned Maldon - Shelbourne railway. These caches are centred around the hobby of Railway Archeology, which involves tracing the remains of abandoned railway lines. I recommend beginning the series at Maldon. For a full history of the line see the geocache page for GC5MWN5 [SL] - Shelbourne Station or GC6X3P9 [SL] - Laanecoorie Junction.

The Shelbourne line only had one intermediate station. Originally named Bradford, the name was changed to Pollard in the early 20th century. Pollard station had no sidings, so any wagons that needed unloading at the station had to be left on the mainline. This resulted in some very unusual workings between Pollard and Shelbourne. Wagons to be left at Pollard were attached behind the guards van at Shelbourne and dropped at Pollard; the next train to Shelbourne would attach the wagons to the front of the locomotive and propel them to Shelbourne (with the locomotive sandwiched between the wagon/s and the rest of the train!). The wagons would then be incorporated into the return train's consist and eventually reach Melbourne or wherever they were destined.

I discovered some excellent photos of Pollard station online, taken by Weston Langford. They show the station site in 1987, 17 years after the line's closure. Interesting to compare to today's view.

Looking from Bradford Road towards Shelbourne:

Pollard station platform:

Pollard platform. The station building (if provided) would have been on this site:

Looking towards Maldon from Pollard station:

This geocache is located at the site of Pollard station platform. Please remember to leave the cache well hidden and trade fairly. Also watch out for snakes and other creepy crawlies. Most importantly, have fun!

 

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Uvqqra va n perivpr va gur cyngsbez snpr.

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)