About the area
The London & South Western Railway (LSWR) line reaching
Wokingham from Ascot was opened on 9 July 1856, using running
powers over the already existing South Eastern Railway (formally
the Reading, Guildford & Reigate Railway) metals to reach
Reading. LSWR electric services began on 1 January 1939.
Although many intermediate stations either lost or reduced
ticketing facilities with multi-skilling conductor guards being
introduced on trains by British Rail in 1967, Wokingham received a
new station building, although regrettably, it is of the rather
unphotogenic concrete (or CLASP) design, which was already standard
on ex-Southern lines, with other stations being similarly
treated.
Wokingham's signal box, brought into use in 1933 to replace the
junction and goods yard boxes, is still in use to control the lines
in the area as well as the level crossing and Wokingham Junction
(the divergence of the lines to Waterloo and Guildford). It is now
the only intermediate signal box between Reading, Guildford and
Feltham. In the early 2000s, part of the emergency wartime loop
south of the station was reinstated and electrified. Originally
this was undertaken for the berthing of a peak-hour
Waterloo-Wokingham service, which did materialise but was very
short-lived.
Wokingham Station from the cache
About the cache
The cache is a magnetic keysafe container containing just the
log. I recommend standing on the raised plinth just to the left of
the transmission box, and pretend to take interest in the passing
trains. Please bring your own pen/pencil to record your find.
Finally, please be very careful when retrieving and replacing
the cache. Wokingham is a busy station and you will probably be
observed. Please choose your moment with care.
The cache is NOT on the platform side of the
wall.
Good luck.