Welcome to READING STATION (RDG).
Reading is one of the most important transport hubs in the south of England. Located 58km west of London Paddington, it is sited on the northern edge of the town centre, near retail and commercial areas and close to the River Thames. Excluding London's stations, it is the eighth busiest station in the UK with more than 12 million passengers annually.
The station is managed by Network Rail and is served by four train operating companies: Great Western Railway, CrossCountry, South Western Railway and the Elizabeth line.
The first station was opened in 1840 with Brunel's railway from London. The line to Newbury was added in 1847 and to Basingstoke in 1848. The station saw significant improvements in the 1860's with the front of the station and clock tower being added.
Originally named READING, it became READING GENERAL in 1949 to distinguish it from READING (SOUTHERN) which was located to the east side for trains on British Rail's Southern Region. The Southern terminus closed in the 1960's and those lines were moved to new platforms in the main station. The main station returned to being known officially as READING in 1973.
Major redevelopments occurred in the early twenty-first century, with the rebuilt station reopened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014, and a programme of electrification was completed in 2018.
Today there are fifteen platforms, 1-3 serve services to the Newbury and Basingstoke, 4-6 serve Waterloo and Guildford/Gatwick, and the through-platforms numbered 7–15 serve long distance services to Penzance, Exeter, Swansea, Hereford, and Oxford, plus commuter services to London Paddington, Didcot Parkway and intermediate destinations.
Logging Requirements:
1 You MUST visit the published coordinates outside the station.
From this location, you will see a set of three large white READING station signs on the front of the eastern station entrance (to the right of the Three Guineas pub/old station entrance).
2 Take a photograph with a digital camera.
At the location take a photograph. This must prove that you have visited the location.
The photograph must contain both of the following:
- at least one of the three white READING signs without any of the letters obscured (that is, the entire name READING should be visible in the photograph)
- a picture of yourself showing your face (clearly identifiable as you, so no back of head shots please).
For those who are unable to show their face in a picture, you may alternatively show your GPS receiver and your caching name handwritten clearly on paper, in addition to the requirement to show the signage.
A photograph of just your hand or a foot or a kneecap does not demonstrate that you visited the station, nor does any photograph in which it may be apparent that you have digitally or otherwise altered it, including adding your caching name afterwards. Also not valid are evidence pictures submitted showing you anywhere else in the station such as on a platform or by another entrance (though additional photos are apprciated as long as you do what's asked).
Please adhere to the requirements above.
3 Log Online
Don't forget to upload your photograph. Logs not meeting these simple requirements will be deleted.
You do not have to enter the station to do this Virtual Cache, but it would be great to see logs from anyone on a train journey. Perhaps tell us that you're off on a geocaching adventure somewhere!
About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breathtaking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website. There are other SideTracked caches locally at: READING WEST, READING GREEN PARK, EARLEY, WINNERSH TRIANGLE, WINNERSH, and TWYFORD stations.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.