The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately 35 km (22 mi) east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rolling hills, rising to 633 m (2,077 ft) at Mount Dandenong, as well as steeply weathered valleys and gullies covered in thick temperate rainforest, predominantly of tall mountain ash trees and dense ferny undergrowth. The namesaked Dandenong Creek and most of its left-bank tributaries originate from headwaters in these mountain ranges. Two of Melbourne's most important storage reservoirs, the Cardinia and Silvan Reservoir, are also located within the Dandenongs.
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 as near as possible to how 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.
Belgrave is a town and outer suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 36 km east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Belgrave recorded a population of 3,894 at the 2021 census.
Upper Ferntree Gully railway station is located on the Belgrave line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Upper Ferntree Gully, and opened on 4 December 1889.
Tecoma railway station is located on the Belgrave line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Tecoma, and opened on 1 December 1924.
Belgrave railway station is the terminus of the suburban electrified Belgrave line in Victoria, Australia, and serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of the same name. The current station opened on 19 February 1962.
Menzies Creek railway station, formerly known as Aura railway station, is located on the Puffing Billy Railway in the town of the same name.
Emerald railway station is situated on the Puffing Billy Railway in Victoria, Australia. It was opened with the Railway on 18 December 1900 and comprised a platform track and a loop siding.
Nobelius railway station is situated on the Puffing Billy Railway, and opened in 1927. It was named after the founder of the nearby Gembrook Nurseries, Carl Axel Nobelius, and his family.
Wright railway station is situated on the Puffing Billy Railway, Melbourne, Australia.
Fielder railway station is situated on the Puffing Billy Railway in Australia.
The Belgrave line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, 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 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 line operates for approximately 19 hours a day with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hours, headways of up to 15 minutes are operated, with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours. Trains on the Belgrave line run in a two three-car formations of X'Trapolis 100 trainsets.
Cockatoo is a town in Victoria, Australia, 48 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Cockatoo recorded a population of 4,408 at the 2021 census.
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.
The Victorian Railways NA class is a 2-6-2 tank locomotive built for their four 2 ft 6 in gauge branch lines.
Nobelius Siding is situated on the Puffing Billy Railway in Emerald. The siding was built in 1904 to serve the adjacent packing shed, built in the same year, from which nursery seedlings and plants were shipped throughout Australia by C.A. Nobelius' Gembrook Nurseries. The Nobelius nursery was once the largest plant nursery in the Southern Hemisphere with 200,000 trees grown on 180 hectares.
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.
