There’s something delightful and whimsical about riding a steam train. The chugga chugga of the engine is nostalgic. I can almost hear it saying “I think I can, I think I can” as it moves up a hill, taking me back to my childhood when trains were always a delight. Even the whistle, as it moves towards a crossing, has me making the hand signal as if I am 5 years old again.
Over the summer holidays, our little family of four headed to the Dandenong Ranges to ride the Puffing Billy. It was exactly how I remembered it from my youth, and we enjoyed every moment.
The Puffing Billy is Australia’s oldest steam railway. Thanks to the 300+ volunteers who keep it operating, it runs every day of the year (except Christmas Day).
The Puffing Billy Railway Victoria
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Puffing Billy History
The Puffing Billy was built back in 1900. It connected the communities living in the hills, moving everything from passengers to newspapers, home supplies to potatoes, timber and livestock, plants and more. It helped to open up these remote areas and became a much needed lifeline for the community.
The Puffing Billy was one of four experimental low-cost 2’6″ (762mm) gauge lines constructed in Victoria in the early 1900s. I was interested to note where the other three were and discovered that they were Wangaratta to Whitfield, Colac to Beech Forest and Crowes, Moe to Walhalla.
Unfortunately, a landslide in 1953 combined with continued economic losses (the railway never made a profit) led to the line being closed in 1954.
The Puffing Billy Preservation Society was created to save the railway, and in 1962 the line from Belgrave to Menzies Creek was reopened for tourists, followed by Emerald in 1965, Lakeside in 1975 and finally to Gembrook in October 1998. Today, the 300+ volunteers keep the railway operating, I understand with no funding from the Government!
Where is the Puffing Billy Located?
The Puffing Billy is located in the Dandenong Ranges, around an hour east of Melbourne. Your journey will start at Belgrave.
Puffing Billy Journey Options
There are a number of journey options to choose from for your trip: Belgrave to Lakeside return, Lakeside to Gembrook return, Belgrave to Gembrook return, Belgrave to Menzies Creek return. Not all journeys operate each day except the Belgrave to Lakeside.
We selected the Belgrave to Lakeside return trip for our excursion and made a few mistakes. Firstly, we chose a 2.15 pm departure for a 4,15 pm return, believing from what we had read, that an hour would be sufficient for lunch. We did not factor in that trains can be late so our time at Lakeside was reduced to 30 minutes,
My suggestion would be to head out in the morning and stay at Lakeside for a few hours if possible. Read on to discover what is at Lakeside that has led us to suggest this.
Puffing Billy Timetable
The Puffing Billy runs daily from Belgrave with the exception of Christmas Day. The timetable is listed each quarter, with Monday to Thursday and Friday to Sunday options.
The Puffing Billy can be cancelled on days of total fire ban. Running on coal with a fire is provides a high risk on these days. The ticketing team will contact you if your journey needs to be cancelled or postponed.
Where to Sit on the Puffing Billy
If you want good seating you need to arrive early. We discovered that the train seats open up around 15 minutes before departure and it is a race to the carriage (your tickets have assigned carriages but not seating) as those in the know, know which side is best,
So which side is best? In my opinion, you will want to sit on the right-hand side heading to Lakeside. This offers a great view over the wooden trestle bridge and views across the Dandenong Ranges as you head out.
On the return, the sun hits the right side (heading towards Belgrave) and might be a little hot for your little ones. We sat on this side returning. Whilst not considered the better side, it was the side where we saw the most wildlife including a buck with huge antlers.
The Puffing Billy features open carriages which means they have no windows. They are open to the elements. This allows passengers to sit off the sides of the train, swinging their legs outside. Children must be at least 5 years old to do this and wristbands are provided to identify which kids can or can’t do this during the ride.
What to Wear When Riding the Puffing Billy
Steam Trains are powered by coal which fuels the fire in the locomotive engine. The coal is used to heat water in the boiler, converting it to steam. The pressure of the steam turns the wheels. Soot and smut residual from the coal is often omitted and picked up by the wind and pushed backwards through the carriages. We wore sunglasses to prevent it going in our eyes, and we all needed a good shower when we got home to remove the soot from our hair.
If you plan to sit along the window sills you need to wear enclosed shoes to prevent them from falling off or brushing past some of the vegetation.
What to wear: enclosed shoes, glasses or goggles, hats with a drawstring to keep them on, sunscreen.
Puffing Billy Tickets
When we first visited the Puffing Billy you could rock up in the morning and secure a ticket. This is no longer the case and you will need to book ahead. For our trip, we booked four weeks in advance and still had limited options as summer is peak season. The website allows bookings up to 3 months in advance.
I suggest booking your tickets as early as possible. All tickets must be pre-purchased and you pick up the physical ticket an hour before departure. If you have concession tickets, you need to provide evidence of this when you pick up your tickets.
With both of our children over 15, we were not eligible for the family ticket so searched for a discount code online. PB2025 provided a 10% discount for our trip – saving us just over $20.00.
You can purchase tickets via the Puffing Billy website directly here.
Puffing Billy Lakeside
Our destination was Lakeside. It took around an hour to get to this location via the Puffing Billy. Unfortunately, we only had 30 minutes to explore the area before we needed to head back. In that time we enjoyed a picnic alongside Lake Treganowan.
Make sure you consider what you want to see at Lakeside and book Puffing Billy tickets that provide you with enough time to do this. If your train is delayed, like ours was, your time will be reduced as they don’t delay the departing trains to make up time.
What to do at Lakeside
Lakeside has a plethora of options to explore with your family, especially if you have given yourself plenty of time. Summer and autumn when the weather is warm would be my favoured times to visit with the kids as you would be able to make the most out of the location.
There is a swimming pool capsulated within the lake where the kids can swim, and there are paddleboats for 1-2 people.
The Lakeside Visitor Centre was very popular on our visit. It features displays from Puffing Billy’s history, including a replica of Puffing Billy Railway’s first ever locomotive, 3A.
While exploring Lakeside, you can visit the Model World and Minature Railway inside the Visitor Centre, one of the biggest model railways in the southern hemisphere, or hire a bike and head off on an adventure in the forest. The Emerald and District Museum is also nearby. Just make sure you have enough time!
Where to Park at the Puffing Billy
I must admit that I did not research parking options at the Puffing Billy, so was bewildered to discover that there was no on-site parking when we rocked up at 1 Monbulk Road with only an hour before our journey.
The easiest parking is at Belgrave Metro Station Car Park. It is multistory and we found plenty of parking on the higher floors. You can then follow the Puffing Billy pathway around to the station. We had a large esky bag with us, so dropped off half of the family outside the Puffing Billy station before heading around to the carpark.
Accessible parking is provided here.
Public Transport
If using public transport, catch a train to Belgrave Station and then follow the Puffing Billy pathway around to the ticket booth to pick up your tickets.