The Coronado Subdivision, originally built as part of the Canadian Northern Railway, was a typical rural branch line. Its construction made life significantly easier for the settlers in the region through which it passed. The line fulfilled its purpose: the colonization and development of the prime mixed farming region in north-central Alberta.
The Coronado Subdivision roughly runs alongside the North Saskatchewan River east of Edmonton to the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. The railway crosses several tributaries, necessitating a number of bridges, and encounters moderate to heavy grades that tested the steam locomotives used on the line.
At this site, you will see a mammoth pile-and-frame timber trestle 2,300 feet long and 60 feet high just NE of the town of Gibbons. Further along the line is a low timber trestle across the Vermilion (Redwater) River valley, and then further along a high timber bridge just east of Waskatenau.
There is no access to this trestle bridge as it is surrounded by private land. It is however an amazing sight as you head into the valley, especially during late autumn, winter, and early spring when the leaves are off the trees.
Further information about this virtual site can be found at:
https://railways.library.ualberta.ca/Excerpts-8-1-8/
To log this cache as a find you must do two things.
1. Email or message me the number of vertical posts holding up the high rails on both sides of the single-lane vehicle bridge.
2. In your log, post a photo of yourself or a personal item showing the trestle bridge in the background.
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.