This cache is part of the 2018 Spokane Trains And Railroads GeoChallenge. If you are participating in this GeoChallenge be sure to download and print your STAR Passport and find other helpful resources at STAR Challenge and get started today.
This cache is placed and maintained by Onewheeler.
South of this cache is Espanola, where the BNSF line passes the grain elevators and the old schoolhouse. Not much is known about the town of Espanola, but like many other local communities it is a point on the map due to the grain elevator along the railroad.
In the summer months you will see hopper cars being loaded next to the grain elevator. Hopper cars have been around since the 1820s, long before this area was being cultivated. They have evolved from wooden box designs to a steel container. The primary reason for the design of hopper cars was to eliminate the need of shipping grain in bags. Hopper cars are sloped to funnel grain through a hatch at the base straight onto an elevator. The Spokane International Railroad hauled hopper cars along Great Northern lines such as the line that comes through Espanola.
The elevators here are steel silos, but many larger communities have poured concrete silos. The poured concrete silos were first built in the 1910s for both elevators and mills. Steel silos have been used for operations for roughly the same amount of time. The ones present in Espanola are steel storage bins most likely due to the smaller size needed and the reduced cost of construction. Steel can have problems with rust and durability as well as being susceptible to extreme weather, especially wind. A steel grain elevator collapsed West of here in Edwall, WA in 2017 due to unknown circumstances.
https://www.american-rails.com/spokane-international-railroad.html
This cache is part of the 2018 Spokane Trains And Railroads GeoChallenge. Spokane has a strong history as a major train hub, and in many ways still is. The STAR Challenge will take geocachers on an adventure, finding caches in places significant to railroads past and present. You will visit locations featuring retired train cars, streetcar rails, bridges, graves and rail yards. Successful completion of the STAR Challenge is rewarded with a trackable Geocoin.
- All caches begin with the series name STAR: followed by a location-specific name so they are easy to search. We also made a STAR Bookmark of the caches.
- To qualify for a Geocoin, find the code word or stamp in each geocache and record it on your passport.
- Visit STAR Challenge to find the challenge rules, a printable STAR Passport and map view of qualifying caches.
The Spokane Trains And Railroads GeoChallenge is sponsored by Cache Advance, and by donation from local cachers. We hope you enjoy!
