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REALLY SideTracked - Lyminge Traditional Geocache

Hidden : 4/19/2014
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:


The station building at Lyminge was of Kentish clapboard  beneath a hipped slate roof. A wide canopy, with a curved cross section and  attractive valance, sheltered the platform; a smaller canopy was provided above  the entrance door from the forecourt. The building comprised from north to south:  gents toilets, ladies room, general waiting room, booking hall, booking  office and stationmaster's office. At the north end of the building there was a  lamp room, coal store and a clapboarded roader shed for handling large items  such a barrels and crates. A standard SER clapboard waiting shelter was  provided on the up platform. A footbridge was never provided at the station,  with passengers having to use a barrow crossing at each end of the platform.

A livestock market was established in Lyminge in 1904 mainly for the trading of sheep. The market in Station Road, two  hundred yards south of the station, had its own dock and pens adjacent to the up  line. The market was very busy between 1922 and 1939, with up to 205 wagons being loaded with sheep on one day. The coming of the railway was probably  responsible for the market opening, and the closure of the railway in 1947 was partly responsible for its end. During the 1950s the markets became less frequent.  Furniture sales were added in an attempt to diversify, but by the mid 1960s the  market building had become so dilapidated and unsafe that no further markets could be held there.

During September 1915 King George V and Lord Kitchener arrived at Lyminge station by royal  train; they then rode on horseback to Beachborough House to inspect the Canadian troops who were billeted there.

Lyminge  was the largest village and the busiest passenger station on the line, and the  station was well sited in the centre of the village. In the year ending September 1940 (the only year for which figures survive) 16,548 passenger tickets were  issued (compared with 4,946 at all the other stations combined) and 7,438 were  collected. 646 parcels were sent and 2,129 were received. 38 tons of general  merchandise were received - which is a lot more than at any other station on  the line - and 231 tons dispatched. Livestock traffic at the old horse dock was  negligible: six horses accounted for the entire year’s traffic. This does not, however,  take account of traffic from the livestock market, with its own dock south of  the station. Lyminge still handled considerable quantities of both coal and  milk with 1,807 tons of coal being received and 2,747 cans of milk; in addition  312 cans of milk were dispatched.

On 25  October 1940 the passenger and goods services north of Lyminge were suspended when the line came under military control, but the service between Folkestone and Lyminge continued to run until 3 May 1943. The Elham Valley Military Railway provided its own passenger trains for military personnel, but members of the public were allowed to travel on these at their own risk. Special tickets were issued. Extra sidings, for military use, were laid  north of Lyminge station to accommodate two 12-inch railway guns which arrived shortly after the evacuation of Dunkirk;  after an air raid they were moved to Elham.

The goods service was reinstated on 19 February 1945, and a passenger shuttle  between Folkestone and Lyminge started running on 7 October 1946 with six trains Monday, Friday and seven on Saturday, but no Sunday service. The passenger service had been reinstated reluctantly by the Southern Railway, and  it was very short-lived as most passengers had switched to more convenient road transport, with 14 buses along the valley road seven days a week. Some trains were almost empty, so it came as no surprise when the line closed, with the passenger service being withdrawn from 16 June 1947. Goods trains continued to run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until alternative road transport had been arranged. The line closed completely on 1 October 1947, and the track through Lyminge was lifted in the late summer of 1953.

The old station building has been used as Lyminge Library since the 1980s

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Orfg gb fvg naq cbaqre jurer gur pnpur vf

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)