August 2015….Belgrave workshops. The occasion? Re-uniting the first of the NG/G16 engine units with it’s driving wheels. Of course these things don’t just happen, and the event was preceded with much machining and fitting work. All the slippers and wedges – which align the axleboxes in the frames – had to be re-machined to suit…

One of the biggest issues facing a tourist railway such as Puffing Bilły, is keeping in reliable operating condition a fleet of steam locomotives designed over 125 years ago; the youngest of which has been in traffic now for over 100. During the preservation era, Belgrave workshops have manufactured or procured nearly every part for…

Aside from the distraction of all the recent exciting deliveries, a multitude of work carries on in the background. In the engineering office, work is currently focused on the design and drafting of the brake rigging. The brake components on the engine units (above, in cyan) remain largely the same, aside from the cross beams…

  Following hot on the heels of the boiler being delivered, the workshops at Belgrave have now taken delivery of the first of the two engine unit frames from Jack Thompson Engineering. With cylinders attached, horn clips in place, and both inner and outer pony trucks fitted, the whole unit was quickly lifted off the…

216 NQR, in it’s current form, was recently deemed to have reached the end of its working life. Originally flagged for restoration, we found the condition of the underframe to be far more serious than first thought, and way beyond that of economic repair.The photographs below show the condition of some parts of the underframe,…

The postman’s been and it’s finally arrived! After several years of hard work our brand new Garratt boiler has been delivered, ready for fitting out and assembly into NG/G16 Number 129, and our boiler manufacturer, E.R Curtain of Sydney, have done a first class job. As with all new designs there have been some minor…

Two firsts in one for the blog; not only does it feature our first video, but also the first opportunity to feature Puffing Billy’s carriage workshops at Emerald. Shot using time lapse, the video shows the recent respraying of the railways smallest main line diesel locomotive, known as NRT1 (Narrow-gauge Rail Tractor 1). Seen above,…

Well OK, it wasn’t really 3A! December 2014 saw the 60th anniversary of the Young Sun Specials, and to mark the occasion a series of special events were planned, including 14A masquerading as 3A, the engine which hauled these trains back in 1954. Name and works plates were removed, headlights taken off, and the engine…

  The avid reader of this blog may recall mention of another new boiler,  for Puffing Billy’s smallest 2′ 6″ gauge locomotive. Number 986, or ‘Carbon’, has now had the boiler fitted, and work is now progressing with re-assembly. The photos show the current stage in getting Carbon back to running order, with the boiler…

  With the boiler progressing at the contractors, focus in the workshop is on getting the boiler cradle unit ready to accept the boiler when it arrives. The aim is to have the boiler cradle to a stage where the boiler can be trial fitted, removed for cladding, and refitted for a final time with…