Looking Back - 1939 to 2011 - the Autobiography of Robert V. J. Padula, OAM

1945 - Upwey and the Puffing Billy

Home
1941 - Bikes and Cars
1943 - Hiking - Hills and Coasts
1944 - Growing up in the War Years - Part 1
1944 - Growing up in the War Years - Part 2
1944 - Growing up in the War Years - Part 3
1945 - Auburn schooldays - Part One
1945 - Auburn Schooldays - Part Two
1945 - Auburn Schooldays - Part Three
1945 - Upwey and the Puffing Billy
1945 - Gramaphones and Record Players
1946 - Flinders St Station
1946 - Astronomy
1946 - Beach and Swimming Adventures
1946 - Going to the Pictures
1947 - Adventures at the Altona Bungalow
1947 -The Listener-In Magazine
1947 - Balwyn WIldlife Sanctuary
1948 - Fishermen's Bend Aerodrome
1948 - Radio Australia QSL cards
1948 - Excursions
1949 - Australian Rules Football
1949 - Radio Monitoring at Auburn
1950 -Trains and Ships
1950 - Radios for Communications
1950 - Radio Listening Clubs in Australia
1950 - World Radio TV Handbook
1950 - Shortwave Radio Propagation Research
1950 - Medium Wave Radio Propagation Research
1950 - Radio and Hobbies Magazines
1950 - Discovering shortwave radio at Auburn
1951 - Photography
1951 - Competitions on local radio stations
1952 - Camp Buxton - YMCA Shoreham
1952 Tennis and Ten Pin Bowling
1953 - Stamp Collectiong
1953 Camberwell High School
1954 - Royal Visit to Melbourne
1954 - Shortwave Radio reception at Auburn
1956 - Melbourne's Olympic Games
1956 - Trainee Telecommunications' Technician
1957 - Trainee Technician - field work
1957 - National Service Registration
1958 - Laverton Air Show
1958 - MOOMBA Parade
1958 - Trainee Technician - field work
1959 - The move to Mont Albert
1960 - Working at Deepdene Telephone Exchange
1963 - Trade Unions, Staff Associations, Industrial Relations
1964 - Senior Technician work in the Melbourne CBD
1964 - Project support for Radio Australia
1964 - Project support for Radio Australia
1964 - Amateur Radio
1964 - Media Writing
1964 -Travels
1964 - Engineering Support for International Broadcasters
1965 - Professional Employment with PMG/Telstra
1967 - Professional Qualifications - Institution of Engineers Australia
1967 - Australian Radio DX Club Photo Gallery (to 1979)
1972 - Wireless Institute of Australia
1972 - Natural disasters in Melbourne
1980 - Australian Radio DX Club Gallery (to 1995)
1981 - Award of the Medal of the Order of Australia
1995 - Padula Books
EPILOGUE
LINKS TO AUTHOR'S PERSONAL WEBSITES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEPENDENT BIOGRAPHIES
SPECIAL CHAPTER - Oldtime Australian Radio Drama from the 1930s
SPECIAL CHAPTER - Radio Monitoring Clubs in Australia - 1920 to 1949
SPECIAL CHAPTER - Melbourne Picture Theatres - History - 1906 to 1970

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2011 - Puffing Billy

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1945 - at the Upwey block - I am at front

In 1945, I was a whippersnapper in Year 1, at Auburn Central State School.
 
At that time Mum and Dad had bought a block of bushland at Upwey, in the Dandenongs.  

We used to go up there often, taking the train to Upper Ferntree Gully, then hoppping on the world-famous tourist train,the Puffing Billy, getting off at Belgrave. We would buy some bread, snags and milk in th Upwey shopping centre, then walk up the hill, reaching the wooden lookout tower, then to our block.
 
Our downward-sloping land was covered in forest, with a couple of houses nearby. Dad would light a campfire, and we would toast bread and sausages for a barbecue! We would do some clearing of undergrowth.Afterwards, we would hike down the hill through the forest, eventually reaching Upper Ferntree Gully station.
 
The block looks much the same today as it did over 60 years ago, except that there is now a house on it! The lookout is still there, but is closed due to safety concerns.
 

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1951 - Upwey Lookout - my pic!

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1955 - Upwey station

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1969 - Puffing Billy (public domain pic)

The Puffing Billy railway was one of four low-cost 2'6" (762mm) gauge lines constructed in Victoria in the early 1900s to open up remote areas.

The present line between Belgrave and Gembrook, through the forests, fern gullies and farmlands of the magnificent Dandenong Ranges, is the major part of the line which opened on 18 December 1900 and operated over 18.2 miles (29km) between Upper Ferntree Gully and Gembrook until 1953. In 1953, a landslide blocked the track and, because of operating losses, the line was closed the following year

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1915 - Puffing Billy (public domain pic)

In September 1957, the VR announced that Puffing Billy would cease operating between Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave early in 1958 to enable conversion of this section into an extension of the electrified suburban train system.

Public interest resulted in the formation of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society,

The Puffing Billy Preservation Society, having passed its first major test was now faced with operating the train from Belgrave toward Gembrook. After the last train ran on Sunday February 23, 1958, the PBPS steeled itself to build a new station at Belgrave and to bypass the landslide that originally closed the line in 1954.

Run by volunteers, with the blessings of the Victorian State Government and the assistance of the Citizens’ Military Forces, it by-passed the landslide and reopened the line to Menzies Creek in 1962, Emerald in 1965, Lakeside in 1975 and finally to Gembrook in October 1998.

Public interest resulted in the formation of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, whose volunteers, with the blessings of the Victorian State Government and the assistance of the Citizens’ Military Forces, by-passed the landslide and reopened the line to Menzies Creek in 1962, Emerald in 1965, Lakeside in 1975 and finally to Gembrook in October 1998.

A collage of pictures I took on February 23, 1958, the last day on which Puffing Billy ran from Upper Ferntree Gully to Belgrave. The images are JPGs, scanned from black and white transparencies, which were originally black and white negatives. A mate and I had ridden our bikes to Belgrave to watch this historical event!

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1958 - Belgrave station, last Puffing Billy from Upper Ferntree Gully

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1958 - last Puffing Billy at Upper Ferntree Gully

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1958 - last Puffing Billy at Upper Ferntree Gully

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1958 - Belgrave station, last Puffing Billy from Upper Ferntree Gully

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1958 - Belgrave station, last Puffing Billy from Upper Ferntree Gully

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1958 - last Puffing Billy at Upper Ferntree Gully

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1958 - last Puffing Billy near Upper Ferntree Gully

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1958 - Belgrave station, last Puffing Billy from Upper Ferntree Gully

Most of the images in this site are thumbnails. Click on any image to see a full size verson in a new window

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