Puffing Billy Railway
The Puffing Billy Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway in the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne, Australia. The railway was one of the five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways which opened around the beginning of the 20th century. It is close to the city of Melbourne and is one of the most popular steam heritage railways in the world, attracting tourists from Australia and overseas. The railway aims to preserve and restore 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.
| Puffing Billy Railway | |
|---|---|
Victorian Railways NA class 6A at Belgrave station in 2002 | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Termini | |
| Connecting lines | Belgrave line |
| Former connections | Upper Ferntree Gully line |
| Stations | 11 |
| Website | puffingbilly.com.au |
| Service | |
| Type | Heritage Railway |
| System | Puffing Billy Railway |
| Services | 3 to 6 services daily (except Christmas Day) |
| Rolling stock | Victorian Railways narrow gauge |
| History | |
| Commenced | 1899 |
| Opened | 1900 |
| Completed | 1900 |
| Closed | 1954 |
| Reopened | from 1962 in stages |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 25.1 km (15.6 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Single track |
| Track gauge | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) |
The primary starting point is Belgrave station which houses the railway's operations and administration centre. The line runs through Lakeside Station where a visitor information centre provides catering and an indoor interpretive space. The south-eastern terminus is Gembrook railway station. In 2022 the railway also returned the traditional Puffing Billy Railway dangling of legs from the train carriages which is a core part of the charm of the railway.