This narrow-gauge railway near Melbourne, the kind of train Harry Potter might have ridden had he grown up in Australia, was slated for the scrapyard by the mid-20th century. Volunteers had other plans, and today it’s one of the country’s most beloved tourist attractions.
Puffing Billy was built in 1900 for local farmers and loggers, winding through the forested Dandenong Ranges. As roads expanded, the line was deemed unprofitable and nearly shut down, but volunteers stepped in and kept it running, not as transport, but as a journey back in time.
The tracks, the uniforms, the original coal-fired locomotives, fully restored, all still belong to another century. Carriages keep the old style too, letting passengers sit on the ledges, legs dangling as the scenery rolls by. Even the wooden trestle bridges are original, the grandest being the Monbulk Creek trestle, rising nearly 13 meters above the ground
P.S. Stopped serving transport. Started serving memory.
🚂🌳🇦🇺
#PS_NPS #NationalProjectConstruction #PS_NPS_Explained
Puffing Billy was built in 1900 for local farmers and loggers, winding through the forested Dandenong Ranges. As roads expanded, the line was deemed unprofitable and nearly shut down, but volunteers stepped in and kept it running, not as transport, but as a journey back in time.
The tracks, the uniforms, the original coal-fired locomotives, fully restored, all still belong to another century. Carriages keep the old style too, letting passengers sit on the ledges, legs dangling as the scenery rolls by. Even the wooden trestle bridges are original, the grandest being the Monbulk Creek trestle, rising nearly 13 meters above the ground
P.S. Stopped serving transport. Started serving memory.
🚂🌳🇦🇺
#PS_NPS #NationalProjectConstruction #PS_NPS_Explained