{"id":"a3074b1d-9162-407a-a1d6-fc7ae5d34ac9","name":"Puffing Billy Railway: Belgrave to Gembrook","slug":"puffing-billy-railway","links":{"human_path":"/experiences/puffing-billy-railway","machine_capability":"experience.get"},"media":[{"role":"hero","license":"CC BY 2.0","alt_text":"A Puffing Billy Railway steam train in the Dandenong Ranges.","position":1,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"Photo: Ashwin KC — CC BY 2.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/","ai_generated":false,"external_url":"https://live.staticflickr.com/686/31690326305_c411c94bff_b.jpg","rights_owner":"Ashwin KC","storage_path":"experience-media/hero/expansion1/puffing-billy-railway-648632ede5.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-20T10:59:05.691+00:00"}],"route":{"name":"Puffing Billy Railway: Belgrave–Gembrook","slug":"puffing-billy-railway-primary","stops":[{"lat":-37.90768,"lon":145.35659,"name":"Belgrave","role":"origin","country":"Australia","sequence":1,"country_code":"AU"},{"lat":-37.92083,"lon":145.40509,"name":"Menzies Creek","role":"via","country":"Australia","sequence":2,"country_code":"AU"},{"lat":-37.93366,"lon":145.43951,"name":"Emerald","role":"via","country":"Australia","sequence":3,"country_code":"AU"},{"lat":-37.9304,"lon":145.45965,"name":"Lakeside","role":"via","country":"Australia","sequence":4,"country_code":"AU"},{"lat":-37.93448,"lon":145.49149,"name":"Cockatoo","role":"via","country":"Australia","sequence":5,"country_code":"AU"},{"lat":-37.9521,"lon":145.54958,"name":"Gembrook","role":"destination","country":"Australia","sequence":6,"country_code":"AU"}],"direction":"Belgrave → Gembrook","journey_id":"913b210d-6563-48a3-bd34-2d659100a351","geometry_semantics":"representative_stops; no exact track geometry implied"},"operator":{"name":"Puffing Billy Railway (Emerald Tourist Railway Board)","slug":"puffing-billy-railway","official_url":"https://puffingbillyrailway.org.au/"},"countries":[{"iso2":"AU","name":"Australia","slug":"australia"}],"editorial":{"tagline":"Narrow-gauge steam through the Dandenong Ranges","why_take_it":"This is a working survivor of Victoria's narrow-gauge branch lines rather than a recreation, and it still uses open-sided wooden carriages on the original alignment, including the timber trestle over Monbulk Creek. You can take the full traverse to Gembrook on Friday to Sunday or the shorter daily section to Lakeside if you are travelling with children. Pre-booking is essential, so decide your section before you set out from Melbourne.","short_summary":"Puffing Billy Railway runs 24 kilometres of two-foot-six narrow gauge between Belgrave and Gembrook in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, calling at Menzies Creek, Emerald, Lakeside and Cockatoo. The line opened in 1900, closed in 1954 and has been reopened in stages by the Emerald Tourist Railway Board since 1962. 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