The Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway was a company authorised by Act of Parliament in 1845. It was opened in stages between 1852 and 1853 with connections to the Great Western Railway (GWR) at both ends. It was known at the time, apparently with good reason, as the Old Worse and Worse.
In 1860 the OWW amalgamated with the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford and the Worcester & Hereford to form the West Midland Railway. This in turn was absorbed into the GWR in 1863. Its life as an independent line lasted only ten years but the name, or at least, the initials live on. If you look at the bridge information plate on the nearby railway bridge, you will see that OWW forms part of the bridge description along with the distance in miles and chains from London Paddington Station (metrication has not yet fully reached the railway system but it is in hand. For those of you too young to remember, a chain is 22 yards, the length of a cricket pitch between the wickets).
The cache is near the site of Fladbury Station which was opened in 1854 and closed on January 3rd, 1966. Along with passenger traffic it dealt with seasonal goods, heavy at times, associated with the market gardening enterprises active in this part of the Vale of Evesham. A quarter mile long private siding lead from the south side of the station to Springhill Farm where there was a large packing plant. Initially traffic on this line was horse-drawn. Later a tractor was used to push the wagons to and from Fladbury Station goods yard. Sections of the track are still visible.
The cache is a magnetised screwtop tube. The location is by a footpath which is reasonably well-used by dog walkers in particular, so caution is required. Parking is available just off the road to the north of the railway bridge or on the roadside in the village
******* Congratulations to Richard [Team Huish] for FTF! *******