[2] The train journey begins departing the Walhalla Heritage Precinct, travelling through the station yard between Stringers Creek and the cliff-face that underpins the Happy-Go-Lucky Road.

Recognising the untapped potential of the railway, there were several attempts to reopen the line for tourist traffic, although these proved unsuccessful until the early 1990s.

One such project conducted during the 1970s was known as the Walhalla & Thomson River Steam Tramway; this project saw the construction of a brick station building (since demolished) and the acquisition of an ex-West Melbourne Gasworks steam locomotive, which is now in the possession of the Puffing Billy Railway and operated as locomotive no.

The former roadbed was overgrown with blackberries and heavy scrub, with numerous sections of the trackbed collapsed and all the bridges either derelict or in ruinous condition.

In more recent times, the WGR has adopted a much lower focus on heritage and its newer buildings (particularly at Thomson) are contemporary design and materials.

The passenger rolling stock was constructed from the frames and bogies from coal wagons from the now closed 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) narrow gauge Interconnecting Railway between Yallourn and Morwell, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Walhalla.

In late 2015, the railway purchased two X1 class trams 461 and 463 for the purpose of conversion to rail-motors to allow 7 days-a-week operation with reduced crewing.

[8] The first stage would extend through Platina to the site of O'Shea & Bennett's Siding at the junction of Boola Rd and the Walhalla Tourist Road.

[8] Completing the extension from O'Shea & Bennett's Siding to Erica will require the re-excavation of the former cutting where Boola Road crossed the railway on a bridge; from 1975, the cutting was used as a municipal garbage dump by the Narracan Shire Council, then entirely filled in and the road rebuilt across the top.

The Baw Baw Shire Council considered in late 2007 selling a large section of the Erica station site to the caravan park operators currently leasing the site, which would retain only an 18-metre-wide easement for the eventual reconstruction of the station by the Walhalla Goldfields Railway.

[citation needed] In late 2015, the railway purchased X1 class trams 461 and 463 for the purpose of conversion to rail-motors to allow 7 days-a-week operation with reduced crewing.

Reconstruction of the line from Erica to Moe would likely be impractical and uneconomical, as the original right of way was sold in many places, and is partly covered by the waters of the Moondarra Reservoir.