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SideTracked - Taplow Traditional Geocache

Hidden : 7/13/2012
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:

SideTracked - for the commuting GeoCacher on the go!

The cache has been moved following the original disappearing. Here it is a bit safer there is no need to go down. Just do what the hint says!

This is a special SideTracked cache for a special station! Bigger than the average SideTracked cache!


Picture by Ben Brooksbank

There have been 2 Taplow stations....this is the current station....The first station was opened on 4 June 1838 as Maidenhead (referred to as Maidenhead Riverside check out GC4E2BY). The station was the terminus of the Great Western Railway for just over a year until the opening of Maidenhead Railway Bridge and the line to Twyford on 1 July 1839. The station was renamed Maidenhead and Taplow in August 1854. It was constructed of wood, and situated west of the skew bridge that carries the railway over the Bath Road (the modern A4)

With the opening of the present Maidenhead station 1.5 miles to the west on 1 November 1871, Maidenhead and Taplow station was renamed Taplow, it was closed less than a year later on 1 September 1872, when a new Taplow station was opened at its current location 0.25 mile to the east. As with Burnham station, the actual station is a significant distance south of the village that it takes its name from.

The current station was opened on 1 September 1872. It is unusually large and grand in appearance, despite the fact it only serves a relatively small number of passengers during the day. The reason for this was because several major GWR shareholders lived nearby and therefore used the station in Victorian times.

During World War II Taplow station played an important part of transporting tanks stored at "the dump" which is now at the site of Slough Trading Estate. The concrete and steel reinforced road that was laid to take the weight of the tanks can still be found in the station's south car park. Just to the north of the station on a rail siding was a large Barbed wire dump. The siding has long since been removed.

The remaining buildings of the station are outwardly little changed since their original construction. The picturesque 1884 built station footbrige had a major refurbishment costing £250,000 in 2006. The footbridge was in a very poor state of repair before the work began. This project also included a repaint of the station buildings, partial resurfacing of the island platforms and renewal of the flower beds.

Built into the main station building is a Victorian postbox on the platform 4 side which is still fully operational. The station is a popular location for railway photographers and enthusiasts owing to the secluded location, long views of track alignments and the low number of station users at off-peak times. When there's a special train due, the footbidge and platforms are the best places to get amazing pictures as they fly through!




Bring Tweezers.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Hc gur onax ng gur sbegl fvta

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)