Welcome to the ghosts tracks and train silhouette of a bygone era, now known as the Riesling trail. Enjoyed by bike riders, runners and walkers of all ages. To some of us older folk and those in another dimension it is remembered as the Riverton to Spalding railway line opened on 5th July 1918 to Clare and extended through to Spalding 9th January 1922. A devastating fire in February 1983 caused major damage to the infrastructure between Sevenhill and Penwortham with the line formally closed on 17th April 1984.
Today we hear the bells on bikes and the occasional whistle in the distance. On a quiet still night the odd chugga chugg the sound of venting steam with winter nights the smell of smoke in the air. Are we venturing down the path to ghost lore??
According to Wikipedia
Ghostlore is a genre of folklore concerning ghosts, ghostlore occurs throughout history, including contemporary contexts with common actions consisting of chain clanking, cemetery hauntings and so forth. Also in ghostlore a ghost train is a phantom vechicle in the form of a locomotive or train, the difference from traditional hauntings in that rather than a static location the apparition is the whole train.
At the location you have the chance to be onboard a ghost train. Step up the steps and let your imagination run wild. Are you a former train driver, conductor??? or perhaps you are a passenger of a bygone era? Perhaps you are onboard a runaway ghost train.
To log this cache.
- Take a picture of the silhouette with yourself clearly in the background. Be as creative as you like, there are steps at the back to aid with this, or if you have privacy concerns, something written with your geocaching name.
- Optional Write about your dfc experience or exercise your creative juices
Mrs froghoppin’s creation example
You are onboard a train bound for Clare in fact you are the Engine driver. It’s been a long shift and you’re startled to see an apparition sitting on the coal box in the shape of a dog. You rub your eyes and as you are doing that you hear one very happy sounding bark. What was that? You decide to forget about it must have been your imagination. Nope ….. the friendly dog ghost on the coal box wants to let you know it is your place he is going to for dinner tonight. You are in fact meeting the most famous dog in the Australian railway history Bob the Railway dog. Last seen in 1885, he is a ghost and he travels far and wide, still to this day. If you are the train driver or passenger on a train you may see him get on the train anywhere, anyplace or anytime he can, even the paddle steamers on the mighty Murray River may be lucky to find Bob get on and off. Be sure to be friendly and he may visit you again. If you are not, he won’t get on your train again and that is a shame as he is loved by all. Suddenly he barks and barks you feel a tug on your sleeve, you look up to see a truck across the track you slam on the brakes of the train. His job is done, he has stopped the collision and looked after another weary train driver. He made another friend and is going home to meet the family. So, look twice next time you see a stray you may have seen Bob the Railway dog getting on a train. Question to you is this a really true story? Is Bob a railway ghost? Its ghostlore after all.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.