About Fauvic station
The Jersey Eastern Railway opened its standard gauge line from St Helier (Snow Hill) to Grouville on 7 August 1873, the line being extended to Gorey (Village) on 27 August in the same year, and eventually to Gorey Pier on 25 May 1891. Fauvic station, at 4.5 miles from St Helier between La Rocque and Grouville, was originally called Les Marais and opened a week after the line, on 14 August 1873. The name was changed to Fauvic in 1904, to avoid confusion with the similar sounding Samarès.
At first, there was just a wooden building but this was soon replaced with a stone structure similar to those elsewhere on the line. This was in a style reminiscent of wayside stations in nearby Normandy, with two-storey stationmaster’s accommodation and the station facilities in a single storey wing. The buildings, and the 225 feet (68.6 metres) long platform, were all on the down (west) side of the line, just to the south of the level crossing across the main road from St Helier through St Clement to the coast at Fauvic. The gates here were operated by station staff.
Although the line was initially profitable, the early 1920s saw intense competition from motor buses, which could take the shorter route to Gorey via Grouville Hill, and also better serve the coastal population at La Rocque where the railway cut inland through open fields. Although the JER operated its own bus service from 1926, and introduced Sentinel railcars from July 1927, the end was inevitable, and the line closed throughout in 1929, with the last trains running on 21 June.
Today, Fauvic station building remains in a much altered and enlarged state, and the platform edge can still be seen running alongside a driveway to another private house, built on the old track bed to the south of the station. The track bed north of the level crossing, on a low embankment across the marsh, is now a footpath as far as the next level crossing.
About this cache
You are looking for a small 2 ml specimen tube. Please bring a biro or pencil (felt tips may not write on the waterproof paper), and tweezers or a small screwdriver to coax the log from the container. No room for TBs, coins or swaps. Suggested parking (see waypoint) is on the lane to the north, from which it is an easy walk down the former track bed to the station site. Please park close against the verge to allow traffic to pass. The main road at the station site is quite busy, and has restricted sight lines, so please take care with children and dogs.