Narrow-gauge lines of the Victorian Railways

Politicians promoted narrow-gauge lines as a way to link remote communities, particularly in hilly country, without the expense of the 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) railways.

The amount credited to the lines did not cover the cost of running trains, and the more traffic the larger the loss.

Apart from light maintenance that could be done locally, the locomotives and rolling stock were maintained at the Victorian Railways' Newport Workshops in the suburbs of Melbourne, requiring the transport of the vehicles by broad-gauge flat wagons.

Victorian Railways' Newport Workshops assembled the parts to give an additional two locos, and subsequently built a further 13 of the simple cylinder version.

To decrease train mileage and therefore costs, two G class Garratt locomotives were purchased from Beyer, Peacock & Company in England.

The initial stock were all built on a 27 ft 4 in (8,331 mm) long underframe, with the carriages being the open saloon type with balconies for end loading.

Later some 31 ft 4 in (9,550 mm) side opening carriages were built to cope with increasing traffic.

There was only one lineside industry, a dairy at Moyhu, and the majority of stations were nameboards at road crossings.

The 18-mile (29 km) Gembrook line, running through the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, just east of Melbourne, opened on 18 December 1900.

[4] However, the Puffing Billy Preservation Society was formed in 1955 and, with the co-operation of the Victorian Railways, began to operate tourist services over the remaining usable section of the line between Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave stations.

Fifteen special excursion carriages, classed NBH, were built to cater for the tourist traffic.

Travelling through a region with rich soils and high rainfall, agricultural products such as potatoes formed much of the freight traffic.

Both the Colac and Crowes lines entered Beech Forest yard from the same end, creating a junction.

Trains had to be turned to run down the Crowes branch and a balloon loop was provided at the other end of the yard.

The primary traffic was sawn timber and firewood, with many sawmills located adjacent to the railway, or accessed by short tramways.

The arrival of the Great Depression and competition from motor vehicles saw traffic decline to a point where only one train each way operated over the line three days a week.

By the time the railway closed, the timetable listed only one train each way a week, and most of the traffic was pulpwood.

Local residents had long lobbied for a railway, as all goods had to be brought in by bullock cart over rough terrain.

A connection was made with the Tyers Valley Tramway at Collins siding, between Watson and Erica.

A series of "Back to Walhalla" days in the 1930s caused the railways to put on special passenger trains for these occasions, and such was the demand some were double-headed.