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
The original station was built by the Midland Railway in 1859 on its line to the Great Northern at Hitchin. The extension to St Pancras opened in 1868 and, in 1890, fast lines were added to the west to allow expresses to bypass the station. Serious damage occurred during World War II when a bomb destroyed the booking hall's glass ceiling.
The current station was opened by Sir Peter Parker (chairman of BR) on 9 October 1978. The £1 million station, which was resited about 110 yards (100 m) north of the original 1857 station. From May 1984, services over the Marston Vale line to/from Bletchley were transferred here from the old LNWR St Johns station, using a new chord to permit this. By 1983, Midland Main Line electrification under British Rail reached Bedford, though the track through platform 4 towards the East Midlands remained unelectrified until the 2020s.
The cache is a small. magnetic tube.