The line was opened in 1900 to serve the local farming and timber community. It originally ran from Upper Ferntree Gully station (now a suburban station on the broad gauge Belgrave line); it now begins at the Belgrave narrow gauge station, adjacent to the Belgrave broad gauge station.
The Victorian Railways closed the line in April1954. Shortly after, the Puffing Billy Preservation Society was formed and restored services over the remaining usable section, Upper Ferntree Gully to Belgrave. This continued for four years until the line was closed for conversion to a broad-gauge, electrified suburban line. The society then started work on restoring the Belgrave to Lakeside section, and in 1962, restored trains operations between Belgrave and Menzies Creek. Subsequently operations were gradually extended over the remainder of the original line to Gembrook which was completed in 1998. Today the railway operates daily (except for Christmas day) as a popular tourist activity over 24km with original steam engines, and is operated by a band of dedicated volunteers which still perform some of the practices of a railway person from the Victorian Railways era, such as using the old "Staff and Ticket" safeworking method and having conductors on board the trains.
List of stations
Only stations that are listed in bold print are stopped at by regular Puffing Billy services.
Belgrave (Puffing Billy station), adjacent to the Belgrave suburban station
Selby
Menzies Creek
Clematis
Emerald
Nobelius
Lakeside
Wright
Cockatoo
Fielder
Gembrook
External links
Official website (http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/)
Puffing Billy Country Communities (http://www.puffingbillycountry.org/)
The railway was originally one of four experimental narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways opened around the beginning of the 20th century.
The railway aims to preserve the line as near as possible to how it was in the first three decades of its existence, but with particular emphasis on the early 1920s.
Today the railway operates daily (except for Christmas day) as a popular tourist activity over 15 miles (24km) with original steam engines, and is operated with some of the railway practices from the Victorian Railways1900 to 1930 era, such as using the "Staff and Ticket" safeworking method and having conductors on board the trains.
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