Monbulk Creek Trestle Bridge, Vic

One of the most photographed locations in Victoria, the Monbulk Creek trestle bridge carries Puffing Billy from out of Belgrave and towards Menzies Creek. There is limited car park beneath the bridge for those wishing to stop and take photos. It is best suited for trains heading towards Menzies Creek.

The rail bridge, situated at Selby in The Dandenong Ranges, some 26.5 miles by rail east Of Melbourne, carries the Puffing Billy Heritage Narrow-Gauge (2'6") Railway over the Monbulk Creek and is part of a working railway that now carries considerably more traffic than in it's prime working era of the first 30 years of the 20th century. The journey into the hills, including the ride over this famous bridge, became a popular weekend recreational activity enjoyed by local and overseas visitors from the lines' initial construction in 1899, and after its reopening as the Puffing Billy Line in 1965.

The bridge is a curved, timber trestle bridge carrying a single narrow gauge track which spans the Monbulk Creek and the Belgrave Emerald Road. A viewing bay has been constructed for tourists, off Belgrave-Emerald Road. The bridge is 85 metres long, 12 metres highat its highest point and comprises 14 spans of 6 metres, curved to a radius of 20 metres. The bridge has a tight 3-chain curvature. It was constructed from local, native bush timbers. The bridge has undergone progressivereplacement of damaged timbers. Major structural repair and conservation works were carried out in 1983 and 1988.

In 1899 construction of the Ferntree Gully-Gembrook Line began which included the Rail Bridge. Victoria Railways architects designed the line and The Board of Lands and Works Construction1 Branch employed one hundred and eighty men for a period of sixteen months, many of them local timber workers, as labour. One of the features of the construction of the railway, and in particular the Trestle Bridge, was the use of construction methods which utilised native bush timbers. These were not in plentious supply at this time as the area had been devastated by bushfire in 1898.



The narrow gauge line originally supplied local people with goods and services on a regular basis and provided reliable access to markets for local industries as well asrevitalising the tourist industry in the picturesque hills. In 1954 the narrow gauge line was closed and in 1958 management of the line was handed over to The Puffing Billy Preservation Society. The Puffing Billy steam train services began on the line in 1965 as a tourist concern. In 1977 the ownership of the line was handed over to the Tourist Railway Board.