"Even more photos and musings." Belgrave Travelogue by sirgaw

When trains cross at any of the stations, it's usually time for the crews of both trains to have a chat, pose for photos and generally have fun. Sometimes we do get a bit carried away, but all in good fun.

There's an old expression - "Growing older is mandatory, growing up is an optional extra." One of my 'mad Monday mates,' Kelvin just couldn't help clowning up for the camera.

Most of the time passengers gaze out the windows and watch the passing parade of scenery. Not very often someone really gets up close to our paint work. Note the little bits on the window sill - bits of soot from the smoke stack of the locos.

From the April 2012 edition of Puffing Billy Railway "Monthly News"

"Jerry the Railway Dog was killed by the train at Cockatoo. Jerry was a stray dog who was adopted by one of the Fern Tree Gully Drivers. Jerry became famous for chasing the train to Gembrook and return.
Jerry was buried in a grave located on the side of the track near Cockatoo and the site is maintained by P.B.P.S track workers "

I'm sure Jerry was well known and loved by all along the Puffing Billy line and his grave site has been up-graded with plantings of new trees - just what all dogs want. R.I.P. Jerry..

Just like the dog aboard NK2 who rides the tracks with his "Dad" today.

NK! and 2 are track and fire patrol vehicles that ply the line every morning before the first trains go out for the day and make sure all is OK. During the fire season (usually December - March, depending on the season) these little trolleys follow every train just in case the embers from the train have caused spot fires. As The Dandenongs are VERY fire prone in summer, every precaution is necessary.

It was a sad day for our friendly Crimson Rosella's who live around the Lakeside Station. Normally there is a large jar of wild bird seed to feed them but unfortunatly 'someone' had forgotten to buy more, so the birds were hungry and even begged for anything from the passengers - sorry guys, we'd run out of your seeds that day.

Within the Puffing Billy Belgrave Station complex there are a number of 'sheds' that play an important part of the railway - such is the loco storage shed where the locos are cleaned by loving hands and steamed up for the day. They start off on readily available, and in most cases, free local wood, and then switch over to black coal. The coal gives a much hotter fire. A passenger asked me if a new Pope had been elected after he saw white smoke pouring out of the building seen in the photo. OK that passenger should get a free ride for his humour - which is always welcomed by us all.

Said to be the last in 'captivity,' the Wig Wag level crossing warning devise is fully operational at the Lakeside Station complex. It guards a pedestrian only crossing as I've heard it is now illegal to have on a vehicle crossing. The red disk swings from side (hence wig wag) to side and at the same time a bell rings - quite spectacular.