SideTracked - Bishop Auckland Traditional Geocache
Owent2005: Cache has been removed/lost. Hopefully I'll replace it at some point.
SideTracked - Bishop Auckland
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This cache is part of the SideTracked series and is designed as a distraction for the bored traveller rather than an introduction to a place of interest.
Bishop Auckland gained its first rail link in 1842 when the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) backed Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway (BA&WR) gained the powers via an Act of Parliament to build a railway line from the S&DR's station at Shildon via Bishop Auckland and Witton-le-Wear into Crook, County Durham. After completion of the Shildon tunnel, the BA&WR erected a permanent station on the current site, which opened to freight on 8 November 1843, and passengers on 30 January 1843. As elsewhere the UK, rail traffic in the area declined after World War II, with the Wearhead branch the first to lose its passenger trains in 1953. The principal closures came in the 1960s mainly as a result of the Beeching Axe, with services to: Barnard Castle via West Auckland ending in June 1962; Durham in May 1964; and Crook in March 1965. This left only the former original S&DR line to Darlington line in operation, along with the freight-only branch traffic to Eastgate. The station remained more or less intact (although increasingly forlorn and run-down) for more than 20 years thereafter, It was eventually replaced by the current structure on 6 June 1986. This stands on the site of the former Crook branch platform, on a siding off the now single 'main' line which continues on towards Stanhope & Eastgate. The remaining station buildings were then demolished and the site sold off for retail redevelopment. The former goods yard is now a supermarket with carpark, and the Durham platform is now the site of a cycling and motoring store and a bank.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zntargvp, ovt oebgure