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Engineering a Monopoly Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Monkeybrad: 18 years and 1,035 finds for a cache placed on a whim is a good run. I hate to archive this one, but it looks like the Short Line has been removed. I can only assume that the Smithsonian has taken it to restore and enshrine memorializing its obvious historical significance. Thank you to all who hunted it over the years, but all things must come to an end.

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Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Sometimes history is right in front of you...


Everyone loves to play Monopoly, but did you know that all of the spaces on the board were inspired by real places. The B&O Railroad, was the Baltimore & Ohio, Reading Railroad was named for a line in Reading, Pennsylvania, this cache takes you to the original Short Line that was immortalized on the Monopoly board.

Located outside Cadiz, Kentucky, the Short Line was an integral part of the local economy, hauling cattle, pigs and other agricultural commodities for local farmers. They instituted passenger service in 1893 and the Short Line quickly became one of the most important lines in the area. Advertising from the time period shows that you could run the length of the line for a penny when it opened and when it finally went out of service in 1978 the same ride cost you only 48 cents. The Short Line was unable to handle higher speed trains and eventually fell victim to larger engines and longer trains. Even with it's relatively low cost to operate or to use, the larger engines and longer trains made the trip unprofitable. On August 1, 1978 the Short Line made it's last run with many dignitaries on board including then Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger and Mr. Milton Bradley. The last train was engineered by none other than Red "Sparky" McClanahan, who had run two trips a day on this train every day for the last thirty years.

If you stand on the high ground near the cache coordinates you should be able to see the entire length of the Short Line, although you might need binoculars.

The cache is a gray-painted magnetic keyholder placed on the old work engine sitting at the coordinates. That statement is true, unlike the rest of this cache page which is a total fabrication.

Member of Middle Tennessee GeoCachers Club - www.mtgc.org

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gurer vg vf ba gur fgrcf ntnva, gurer vg tbrf hc ba gur genva, gurer vg vf va n ubyr ba gur fgrcf, gurer vg tbrf, ghea gur cntr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)