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 traveler, but anyone else can go and find it, too. More information can be found on the SideTracked website.
This cache also qualifies for the Disappearing RR Blues bonus cache. This series highlights the railways of NW Oregon.
About Gilkey Station
Welcome to Gilkey! The Giley Station is just over the slight crest at the railroad crossing. Due to 150 ft restrictions from the tracks, and nearby driveaways I am unable to put the cache much closer Sorry, no photos of what was here, it may have only been a simple shelter, or just some wooden planks, but there is a historic sign telling the brief history of what once was. The sign with the station's history is located just east of the railroad crossing on the north side. I did find a webpage where someone tried to do more research and found some newspaper articles that mentioned the community of Gilkey. The rain still comes through here on occasion, as it is a line that links the mills up in Lyons/Mill City to Lebanon and onto Albany. The tracks were initially built by the Oregonian Railway as a narrow-gauge line around 1880. The Southern Pacific later took the line and eventually converted it to standard gauge. The line went from Woodburn to Coburg. It was connected to the Line to Idanha at Shelburn. The line north of Shelburn to West Stayon was abandoned long ago. Freight trains from the Albany & Eastern Railroad still run on this line today.
The cache is nothing special, but the history is.