Rattlebrook Peat Works Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This cache was originally hidden on the route of Cornish Gazza's walk across Dartmoor, the intention being to leave it there permanently.
The peat works here probably started about 1850 with the extraction for peat to be used locally. Duchy records show that peat was being cut in the 1860s. In 1878 the Duchy granted a licence to “The West of England Compressed Peat Company Ltd” to extract peat. It planned to dry the peat by compression and sell it as a replacement for coal. The licence also allowed the construction of a tramway which was completed in 1879 connecting the works with the L&SWR at Bridestow. Over its five mile length the line had to climb about a thousand feet. The route seems to wander all over the place but if one cycles it one finds that a steady gradient is maintained over its length. On the side of Corn Ridge, where there wasn’t space to build a wide curving loop, there is a reversal point. This is where the group of trucks was stopped while the points were changed and the horses moved to the other end for the ascent to continue. Although built to be operated using horses mechanised engines were introduced. The business was a failure and the company was bankrupt within a few years. There were many further attempts to exploit the peat continuing through the First World War until about 1930. The tracks of the tramway were removed about then. In 1936 the Duchy granted a licence to “Holford Processes Ltd of London” to extract peat for the production of oil, charcoal and chemicals. This activity closed in 1943 when the area was used for military training. In 1951 “The Christow Manufacturing Company” was given a licence to take peat for agricultural and horticultural purposes but this also resulted in failure. In 1955 “Messrs Renwick, Wilton & Dobson” took over the works also for horticultural use but that didn’t last long either. The ruins we see on the site today are the result of the Duchy asking the army to demolish the buildings. This was done in 1961 to reduce the danger to animals etc.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq n fgbar naq haqre n fznyy 3' k 1' fybcvat ebpx. Vg vf abj n terra Crgyvat ghor.