Country Article / Postcards

Bygone Travel on Australia's Puffing Billy

Date: 10/12/2005

Dear International Living Reader,

To escape the Melbourne heat, my husband and I enjoy a day-trip through the cool Dandenong Ranges and the lush Yarra Valley, one of the finest grape-growing regions in Victoria. The highlight is a trip aboard the two-foot-six-inch gauge Puffing Billy, Australia's oldest operating steam train.

Narrow gauge railroad systems (now all but gone) were used in mountainous areas where the terrain was too steep for standard railroad. These short-line railroad systems linked mountain communities to each other and mining communities to the market.

Billy began his travels in 1900, transporting provisions, timber, potatoes, and local fruit to remote areas but, thanks to the scenic trip, the railway also became an immediate hit with visitors.

A landslide in 1953 closed most of the line but the Puffing Billy Preservation Society maintained service from Upper Ferntree, the original terminus, to Belgrave. Between 1958 and 1962, volunteers built a new station and yard, and part of the line reopened for the outings you can take today.

Highlights along the way include:

Belgrave, the main terminal (26 miles east of Melbourne) where the narrow gauge intersects with Melbourne's broad-gauge line. This it where it all starts. You travel along the southern reaches of the Sherbrooke Forest, a rainforest covering the foothills with gullies, lofty gum trees, giant tree ferns, and mountain ash.

Gembrook, so named because the town's first settlers found emeralds and sapphires in a riverbed. When the line from Ferntree Gully was completed in 1900, Gembrook's timber mills benefited. The line transported timber and potatoes from farms in the area.

Trestle Bridge is the line's lowest point and one of the most popular spots to photograph the train. As Puffing Billy rounds a bend coming out of the bridge, you'll come to Menzies Creek with magnificent view of Port Phillip Bay.

Emerald is the steepest grade on the journey and the highest point on the line. Gold was discovered here in 1858.

Lakeside offers picnic facilities and a large model railway.

Cockatoo, the line's lowest point, was named by miners prospecting for gold in the 1850s--they found a large number of the parrots in residence.

You can get to Belgrave from Melbourne by bus or electric train in about an hour. Puffing Billy will bring you to any of several stops along the old line (you should arrange your day to allow time to shop and visit museums). If you're going all the way, roundtrip tickets (high season) cost AUS$44 (U.S.$33) for adults, AUS$22 (U.S.$16) for children (under-4s are free), and AUS$89 (U.S.$67) for families; various deals and discounts sometimes apply. See http://www.puffingbilly.com.au for all the details.

Elise Warner
For International Living