About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breath taking 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
About Moonah Station
The railway line between Hobart and Launceston was built by the
Tasmanian Main Line Railway Company in the mid-1870s. The line through
the district that later became Moonah was laid in 1874. The ownership of
this railway was transferred to the Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR)
in October 1890.
The railway station was built at the Station Street site in 1877. When
opened, the station was called 'New Town (Cooleys)', a name it carried until
1890 when it was renamed 'South Glenorchy'.
The surrounding district and the railway station
were both renamed 'Moonah' in October 1894.
The railway line from New Town to Glenorchy was duplicated between
1911 and 1916 and a new platform and station building was built at Moonah
between the original line and the new line. The building featured a signal
cabin, office and waiting rooms under a gable roof which incorporated
wide verandahs. The two lines required points and signals to be located in
the Moonah yard. These were controlled from the signal cabin.
In July 1923, a third railway line was built between Moonah and Derwent
Park. From then onwards, passenger trains between Hobart and the Risdon
zinc works used this line. These trains ran to and from the main lines at
Moonah. For many years, a railway ballast loading siding was located
between the running lines and Gatehouse Street.
In the early hours of 2 January 1941, 26 year
old porter, Eric Robinson, was murdered in
the signal cabin shortly after the last train to
Hobart for the day ran through the station.
A metal train staff was found to be missing and is thought to have been the
murder weapon. The station safe was also opened and money inside stolen.
The murderer was never identified and the crime remains unsolved.
The TGR's suburban passenger services ceased on 31 December 1974
resulting in the closure of Moonah Station and the third line to Derwent
Park. The station was boarded up for a few years and was demolished in
1981 with the railway lines through Moonah reduced back to a single track
at around the same time. Freight trains to and from Hobart continued to
use the line until 22 June 2014 when it was closed.
The Cache
The cache is hidden along the old Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) railway line between Hobart and Launceston
Please watch out for muggles and rehide the cache well when you replace it.