Stream Trains and Mountains

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This was actually our second attempt at catching the Buffing Billy, a steam-train that runs from an outer suburb of Melbourne called Belgrave. On the first occasion, Sunday 24 September, we travelled all the way out and missed it by three minutes. It just goes to show that it pays to do a little bit of research before setting off. We went for a 'Devonshire Tea' in a sophisticated local restaurant instead - although it can't have been that sophisticated as they let us in!

For our second attempt, we left nothing to chance and after checking out the time-table, we allowed ourselves plenty of time to get there. The scenery between Belgrave and wherever it was that the Puffing Billy went made the journey worthwhile, that is until the weather took a turn for the worse and the heavens opened. That's typical Melbourne weather and it's quite common for people to say that if you don't like the weather in Melbourne then wait ten minutes.

After a quick look round at the other end whilst trying to avoid getting wet, we got the Buffing Billy back again. That journey was particularly cold and it was a relief to get on the a modern train at Belgrave which had central heating.

One thing that surprised me about the transportation in Melbourne was the number of strikes they had. There must have been a problem of some sort literally every week. I thought that this was a uniquely British phenomenon, but the Australians easily out-classed us with the frequency of their strikes.

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Photos

The Puffing Billy
The Puffing Billy crossing a bridge