GCAPQ4R Tour of the Georgia Railroad Subdivision Depots (Unknown Cache) in Georgia, United States created by talk2azs

GCAPQ4R ▼

A cache by talk2azs Message this owner

Hidden : 4/23/2024

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

ANOTHER TALK2AZS CACHE HIDE ORIGINAL!!!

***THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES.
But it is starting coordinates for this hunt.

In Memory of Mark Nichols
AKA: Hobo Shoestring
Drowned in Boone Lake, behind his home base apartment in Johnson City, TN
March 27, 2024

ARE YOU READY FOR A 200+ MILE ROAD TRIP CACHE HUNTING EXPERIENCE???

FTF GOES TO:
fourdezzzz, TFreck, Team Shurtle, and GeoMonkeyTiger!

LIST OF CACHE HUNTERS THAT LEGITIMATELY HUNTED THIS CACHE

On this cache hunt, you will be going on a 200+ mile round trip drive, visiting the remaining historical Passenger and Freight Depots of the
Georgia Railroad Subdivision

A little history of the" Georgia Railroad Subdivision
The Georgia Railroad Subdivision has a deep-rooted history intertwined with the evolution of rail transport in the southeastern United States. Originating from the establishment of the Georgia Railroad in 1833, this subdivision played a pivotal role in connecting Georgia's inland regions with the bustling port city of Savannah.

Chartered in 1833 and completed in 1845, the Georgia Railroad was among the earliest railroads in the state. Its primary function was to facilitate the transportation of agricultural goods, particularly cotton, from Georgia's interior to Savannah for exportation. The Georgia Railroad Subdivision significantly contributed to the economic development of the state, fostering trade and commerce along its route.

Spanning approximately 171 miles from Augusta to Terminus(The city we all know as Atlanta today.), the Georgia Railroad Subdivision, often known simply as the "Georgia Subdivision," served as a critical corridor for both passenger and freight traffic, linking major urban centers and rural communities alike.

Throughout its existence, the Georgia Railroad Subdivision experienced various transformations and changes in ownership. Like many railroads nationwide, it encountered challenges such as competition from alternative modes of transport, economic downturns, and technological advancements. Despite these obstacles, the subdivision remained an indispensable transportation artery in the region.

During the latter half of the 20th century, amid the decline of railroads across the country, the Georgia Railroad Subdivision underwent several alterations. Some sections were abandoned or sold to other railroads, while others underwent upgrades to accommodate heavier freight loads.

Rail Line Usage In Today's Transportation Landscape
Today, the line still witness active freight traffic operated by various railroads. The main line from Atlanta to Augusta is operated by CSX, which currently runs only 2 intermodal trains a day. (Intermodal trains are those trains that transport shipping containers.)

One of those two daily trains on this line is the I197, which runs from the Southover Yard in East Savannah, GA to Etowah, TN. While in route, the train works the newly reopened Hulsey Yard in Inman Park, GA to do some rail car transfers. This train usually arrives and runs through Stone Mountain inside the 10:00am hour.

The other of the two daily trains on this line is the I198, which runs from Etowah, TN to Southover Yard in East Savannah, GA. It also works the newly reopened Hulsey Yard in Inman Park, GA. This train usually arrives and runs through Stone Mountain in the late afternoon hours.

This line also runs Local trains out of Lithonia, Social Circle, and Camak, GA.
* The locals out of Lithonia, The L840, and L841 make daily runs to Conyers and Covington. One of the biggest customers of CSX is General Mills located off of Industrial Park Blvd in Covington. If you ever drive by at the right time, you can smell the Cheerios being made.
* Out of Social Circle, the L838 and L839 make daily runs to Lithonia and Howells Yard in Atlanta, but usually in the overnight hours.
* Out of Camak are the L835, L836, and L837, which run local supply and freight trains from the town of Camak to Augusta, Thomson, Greensboro, and the Sparta Quarry.

In Social Circle, GA, there is also a branch line that runs to Monroe, GA. As of this writing, that line is currently operated by the Great Walton Railroad Company. Their primary customer is PowerRail Locomotive Services, located at: 780 State Hwy 11 in Monroe, Georgia 30655. You can usually see some old V12 AND v16 Diesel engines laying out in their yard. These things are huge!

In Madison, there is branch line located as well. Madison is the home to the end of the line, and the Northern most point of Georgia Central Railway, owned by Norfolk Southern. That branch line runs to and from Macon, GA. More history can be found online about this railroad.

THE CACHE HUNT
During the railroads heyday, there were a total of 20 towns that had depots on this Georgia Railroad line. Starting from Atlanta, those towns are: Decatur, Stone Mountain, Lithonia, Conyers, Covington, Social Circle, Rutledge, Madison, Buckhead, Greensboro, Union Point, Crawfordville, Barnett, Camak, Thomson, Dearing, Harlem, Berzelia, Grovetown, and Augusta.

The only towns that still their have historic passenger and freight depots left standing are marked in bold text above, which are the depots you will be visiting on this cache hunt, with the exception of the Decatur Depot. Today, the Decatur Depot is a restaurant, and I was unable to gather enough information in the area that could be used in this hunt. So I decided to keep this one off of the travel list. But the depot is located at 303 E Howard Ave, Decatur, GA 30030, if you would like to go visit it anyway.

Below is a list of depots that no longer exist:
Lithonia: Demolished in the early 70s to make way for street widening.
Buckhead: No information as to what happened to this depot.
Union Point: Burned down in the late 1930s. Rebuilt in 1939. No other information available.
Barnett: No information as to what happened to this depot.
Dearing: Demolished in the 1970s.
Harlem: Torn Down 1965.
Berzelia: No information as to what happened to this depot.
Grovetown: Demolished in 1973.
Augusta: Union Station closed in 1968. Was later demolished and is now a post office.

Tips For Your Road Trip Journey
1> It is suggested for you to have 2 or more people with mobile devices from 2 or more different mobile providers just in case one mobile carrier has too weak of a signal at any of the locations. The person with the good cell signal can start a WIFI hotspot for the other hunter to use.

2> If you have a radio scanner, you can listen for Railroad Communications on the following frequencies:
160.23 Mhz
160.245 Mhz
160.29 Mhz
160.32 Mhz
160.41 Mhz
160.485 Mhz
160.59 Mhz
160.86 Mhz
160.95 Mhz
161.07 Mhz
161.1 Mhz
161.37 Mhz
161.52 Mhz
Since you will be driving within 2 miles of of the tracks, you should have no problem picking up any of the signals from the above frequencies.

Game Play Instructions
NEW GAME FEATURE as of 2/15/2026
As time goes on, some locations will change or have some construction at them, preventing you from finding or accessing the information needed. Since it is not possible for me to know at all times if a location is compromised, I have enabled 2 ONE time use passcodes in the game app. They are called bypass answer codes. Use these to answer the question at a compromised location.
REMEMBER:, These bypass codes can only be used once each in your game play. So only use them if the answer cannot be found.
PLEASE NOTE: The bypass codes are disabled at the Stone Mountain location!

For this cache hunt, you will be using a web app I created. When you arrive at each location, you will need to tap on the image below that represents the town of the depot you are at. You can find the links to the web pages below the user disclaimer on this cache page. When a web page opens, you will see some text with a little history about the depot you are visiting. Below the history, you will be given a question you will need to answer about the area at that depot before being able to move on to the next depot.
WARNING!!! Once your current location has started, the web app will NOT let you move on to your next location until the question is answered!

You MUST start your game at the Stone Mountain Depot, located at the posted coordinates. Once you answer the question, you will be asked to proceed to the next location. Just follow the instructions given in the web app until all 11 tasks have been completed. The 11th, and final task will take place back at the Stone Mountain Depot, where you will be asked one last question about the area.

Below is a list of the GPS locations for each depot you must travel to before launching the web app.
NOTE: I also added virtual waypoints in the cache page.
Stone Mountain Depot: N33 48.399 W084 10.228
Conyers Depot: N33 39.988 W084 01.082
Covington Depot: N33 36.258 W083 51.841
Social Circle: N33 39.241 W083 43.072
Rutledge Depot: N33 37.579 W083 36.717
Madison Passenger Depot: N33 35.955 W083 28.196
Greensboro Depot: N33 34.673 W083 11.036
Crawfordville Depot: N33 33.281 W082 53.605
Camak Depot: N33 27.173 W082 38.746
Thomson Depot: N33 27.965 W082 30.110

Once you have answered all 11 questions in the web app, you will also be given the option of entering your name, which will appear in the cache page Game Play E-log shown at the top of this cache page, recognizing you as having completed this cache hunt legitimately.
PLEASE NOTE: Entering your name is NOT required and is only optional.
Once you have added your name, (if you chose to do so), the E-log will show your name as "*pending_approval", until I verify that the name entered is Family Friendly.

You now have all the information you need to start this hunt.
REMEMBER: You MUST visit the Stone Mountain Depot first to start the game. Once you arrive at the posted coordinates TAP the image link on the cache page that represents the location you are currently at. My web app will open in your web browser. Just follow the instructions and you will be on your way.
NOTICE: Each image also has a QR code next to it. If you are the type who likes to print out the cache page for a cache hunt, you can scan the QR Codes next to each location with your mobile device, which will open up the respective locations Q&A web app. But before you visit that website, please read the following disclaimer first:

WARNING!!! PLEASE READ THE BELOW DISCLAIMER FIRST!!!
You are about to visit a web page located on a server other than geocaching.com in order to obtain further details needed to find this Geocache. As the cache owner and web app builder, I represent that the website is safe for everyone to view and use, although the web page has not been checked by Groundspeak or by the Geocache Reviewer for possible malicious content. As a result, you will be using the web page at your own risk.

TAP ON or SCAN the QR code with your mobile device camera to visit the web app.
NOTE: The web app will ONLY launch on a mobile device!!!