The Puffing Billy Railway is a 2 ft 6 in 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 and its operation as closely as possible to the way it was in the first three decades of its existence, but with particular emphasis on the early 1920s.
Emerald is a town in the Greater Melbourne area of Victoria, Australia, 44 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shires of Cardinia and Yarra Ranges local government areas. Emerald recorded a population of 5,890 at the 2021 census.
Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Ferntree Gully recorded a population of 27,398 at the 2021 census.
Belgrave is a town and outer suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 36 km east of Melbourne's central business district, within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Belgrave recorded a population of 3,894 at the 2021 census.
Selby is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 37 km east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Selby recorded a population of 1,626 at the 2021 census.
Upper Ferntree Gully railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Upper Ferntree Gully in Victoria, Australia. Upper Ferntree Gully is a ground level premium station, featuring an island platform with two faces. It opened on 4 December 1889, with the current station provided between 1960 and 1962 respectively.
Tecoma railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Tecoma in Victoria, Australia. Tecoma is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring one side platform. It opened on 1 December 1924, with the current station provided in 1962. It initially closed on 30 April 1954, then reopened on 19 February 1962.
Belgrave railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Belgrave line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Belgrave in Victoria, Australia. Belgrave is a ground level premium station, featuring an island platform with two faces. It opened on 18 December 1900, with the current terminus station provided in 1962.
The Belgrave line is a commuter railway line on the Melbourne metropolitan railway network serving the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, the line is coloured dark blue and is one of the four lines that constitute the Burnley group. It is the city's fourth-longest metropolitan railway line at 41.8 kilometres (26.0 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Belgrave station in the cities east, serving 31 stations via Burnley, Box Hill, Ringwood, and Upper Ferntree Gully. Beyond Belgrave, the narrow-gauge line has been restored as the Puffing Billy Railway, which runs tourist services to the original terminus of Gembrook.
The Melbourne rail network is a metropolitan suburban and freight rail system serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The metropolitan rail network is centred around the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and consists of 221 railway stations across 16 lines, which served a patronage of 182.5 million over the year 2023–2024. It is the core of the larger Victorian railway network, with regional links to both intrastate and interstate rail systems.
The Walhalla Goldfields Railway is a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge tourist railway located in the Thomson River and Stringers Creek valleys in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, near the former gold-mining town and tourist destination of Walhalla.
Gembrook is a town in Victoria, Australia, 54 kilometres (34 mi) south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Gembrook recorded a population of 2,559 at the 2021 census.
The former Victorian Railways, the state railway authority in Victoria, Australia, built a number of experimental 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge lines around the beginning of the 20th century. Although all were closed by the early 1960s, parts of two have been reopened as heritage railways.
Rail transport in Australia involves a number of narrow-gauge railways. In some states they formed the core statewide network, but in the others they were either a few government branch lines, or privately owned and operated branch lines, often for mining, logging or industrial use.
The Victorian Railways G class is a class of steam locomotives built for the Victorian Railways 2 ft 6 in gauge branch lines by Beyer, Peacock & Company. They were introduced in 1926 to increase train sizes, eliminate the practice of double heading NA locomotives and reduce losses on these lines. Their tractive effort was comparable to the most powerful branch line locomotives on the Victorian Railways 5 ft 3 in, the K class.
The Victorian Railways NA class is a 2-6-2 tank locomotive built for their four 2 ft 6 in gauge branch lines.
Unlike the broad-gauge, the Victorian Railways' 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge network never had four-wheeled trucks. Instead, a single design of 249 underframes was constructed, with identical structure, bogies, couplers and brake equipment. Different bodies were provided on these frames for each purpose. The most common, by far, was the convertible flat/open truck, followed by cattle, louvred, insulated and boxcar types.
This article outlines the history and types of passenger rolling stock and guards vans on the narrow-gauge lines of the Victorian Railways in Australia. The types were constructed in parallel with very similar designs.
Bus 693
Belgrave line
