Puffing Billy Railway

The Puffing Billy Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway in the Australian Dandenongs in Melbourne. The track width is 762 mm (2 ft 6 in ).

History

The originally leading from Upper Ferntree Gully after Gembrook line was opened in 1900 to link the local agriculture and forestry to the railway network. She was one of four narrow gauge railways in the Victorian Railways, which emerged as the Walhalla Goldfields Railway at the beginning of the 20th century. The regular operation of the railway in 1953, closed after a landslide between Selby and Menzies Creek blocked the route. On 1 October 1955, the Puffing Billy Preservation Society was founded with the aim of maintaining the operation of trains on the track. As a result, the Association for the Victorian Railways trips conducted on weekends. 1958, the section of Upper Ferntree Gully was shut down after Belgrave, he was later restored to broad gauge as part of the Melbourne suburban network. Trains could the Puffing Billy Preservation Society only perform again in 1962, when the section from Belgrave to Menzies Creek was reopened. Gradually other sections was reopened: 1965 and 1975 reached to Emerald Lake Side. Since 19 October 1998, the route is continuous to Gembrook for traffic again.

With the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977 the property was transferred to the track on a specially created body called the Emerald Tourist Railway Board, which is composed of representatives nominated by the Puffing Billy Preservation Society members are mainly and also for the preservation, development, marketing and is operating the train in charge.

The operation is maintained primarily by volunteers of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society. Adjacent to it is the association is to get the train in the state of the first third of the 20th century, where the focus is on the early 1920s.

Operation

Operation center is Belgrave, where there are parts of the administration as well as the roundhouse and maintenance facilities. Most trains start in Belgrave, lead to the station Lakeside or the terminus Gembrook and return again. The train runs every day except Christmas Day, where daily basis, at least two and up to six -advertised sailings.

Irregular runs the Dinner Train from Belgrave to an earlier siding with Nobelius ( Nobelius Siding ), where the travelers in the previous Umladeschuppen a nursery have dinner.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

The museum railway has all thanked narrow gauge locomotives of the former Victorian Railways, namely six 1'C1' steam locomotives and locomotive of the type Garratt.

In addition, located in the locomotives, which do not originate from the Victorian Railways. These include a Peckett 0-4 - 0ST and a decauville 0-4 - 0T, both from the Metropolitan Gas Company Ltd, the Melbourne gasworks. The only extant in Australia gear steam locomotive of the type Climax ( built in 1928 by the Climax Manufacturing Company in USA) comes from the Forests Commission of Victoria. These machines Stringing exclusively special trains.

Furthermore, the web has two vice spurts on narrow gauge diesel locomotives from Tasmania and Queensland, which are used when the steam locomotives, do not run around because of forest fire danger.

Car

The passenger car park form mainly 15/2 open car of the NBH, which were partly built in 1920 specifically for the route Upper Ferntree Gully - Gembrook. There are also some closed cars with compartments and saloon cars as well as car, 1st class; latter were procured and umgespurt 1963 by the Tasmanian Mount Lyell Railway. Finally, in the summer is also an open passenger cars, which originated from a freight car, used.

The Puffing Billy Railway, representatives of many types of wagon and brake van find (including a combined braking and passenger cars), from which work or museum freight trains are formed.