Puffing Billy is Australia’s favourite steam train and one of the finest preserved steam railways in the world.
This century-old steam train continues to run on its original mountain track from Belgrave to Gembrook in the magnificent Dandenong Ranges 40kms east of Melbourne.
Puffing Billy was built to serve at the turn of the century and is a genuine relic of our more leisurely days. The Railway is the major survivor of four experimental lines used to develop rural areas in the early 1900s.
Puffing Billy Railway is now a major tourist attraction and operates every day except Christmas Day, thanks to the tireless efforts of more than 900 dedicated volunteers.
The Journey
Puffing Billy Railway travels from Belgrave to Lakeside and Gembrook in the picturesque Dandenong Ranges. Highlights along the Railway line include the historic Monbulk Creek Trestle Bridge, the site of the 1953 Landslide and the Nobelius Packing Shed.
Read More >History
The Puffing Billy railway was one of four low-cost 2'6" (762mm) gauge lines constructed in Victoria in the early 1900s to open up remote areas.
Read More >Narrow Gauge History to 1953
The major expansion of Victoria's 5 feet 3 inch gauge railway system occurred during the late 1880s and early 1890s. Between 1887 and 1892, no less than 1162 miles of track were added to the state's network, linking Melbourne with all of the major centres
Read More >Puffing Billy is Reborn
From the early 1930's, the Gembrook railway earned a reputation for being a financial liability on the Victorian Railways. The steep grades on the line limited the amount of goods that could be transported and the change of gauge at Upper Ferntree Gully..
Read More >Heritage
The first three decades of the 20th Century with particular emphasis on the early 1920s, focuses on the Railway's most active and optimistic period. It also offers the greatest scope in the presentation and interpretation of a whole range of developments.
Read More >Emerald Tourist Railway Board
The Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977 (No 9020) established the Emerald Tourist Railway Board (ETRB) with responsibility for the "preservation, development, promotion and maintenance of the narrow gauge steam railway (known as Puffing Billy)....
Read More >Locomotive Fleet
Each locomotive at Puffing Billy Railway has its own history and identity. The NA locomotive is the only class to have operated on the Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook railway prior to closure in 1954, and is the only "true" Puffing Billy locomotive.
Read More >Carriage Fleet
The narrow-gauge rolling stock classification system is based on the Victorian Railways broad-gauge classifications. With the prefix letter N to indicate a narrow-gauge car, each class of vehicle originally had code letters similar to its counterpart...
Read More >Walking Trails
Walking trails near Puffing Billy run from Upper Ferntree Gully to Belgrave and from Emerald to Cockatoo.
Read More >
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