The town of Whitbourne is located just off the Trans Canada Highway on Route 81. Unlike most Newfoundland communities that came before it, Whitborne is an inland town. Up until the late 1870’s the interior of Newfoundland had yet to be developed since the island consisted of a network of outports that were connected to each other by sea.
Founded around 1880, Whitbourne was the first inland town to develop thanks to the Newfoundland Railway. It was originally named Harbour Grace Junction since it was here that the branch line to Harbour Grace intersected with the main line but was renamed Whitbourne after Sir Richard Whitborne, one of the most colorful early settlers of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Newfoundland Railway reached Whitbourne in 1883 on its way to Harbour Grace and Carbonear.
In 1893 Whitbourne became a very important town in the railway system. Robert Gillespie Reid had just obtained the contract for the construction of the railway from Placentia Junction to Hall's Bay and Whitbourne became his headquarters and this decision caused the community to develop rapidly. Although the Newfoundland Railway is no more, Whitbourne still has many amenities of a small town and remains as a regional service centre.
When finding this cache, the link to the Newfoundland Railway is evident as GZ is located on Station Road and the cache is located on a prominent railway feature.