Puffing Billy recently took delivery of a brand new boiler for the Decauville supplied pannier-tank  number 986, ‘Carbon’. Designed in-house by the Puffing Billy engineering team, the boiler will replace the original from the 1889 built locomotive, which was originally supplied to the West Melbourne Gas Works. Once it had been sandblasted and painted, the…

At engineering contractors Jack Thompson Engineering, the frames of the 2 engine units are being assembled with fitted bolts. Above, the front engine unit sits on the horizontal axis machine while the holes are cut to size. Below, the hind engine unit goes through the same process on a vertical axis machine whilst, in front,…

  14A, the youngest of Puffing Billy’s fleet of Na class locomotives, nears the end of an overhaul, ready to celebrate it’s 100th birthday later this year. Work includes the fitting of a full set of new tyres to all the wheels; pony truck wheels are shown above with tyres machined and fitted. The locking…

  Purchased in 1996 from the Alfred County Railway in South Africa, NG/G16 129 was built by Beyer Peacock in England, in 1951. After shipping to Puffing Billy Railway’s headquarters in Belgrave, the Garratt was stripped for assessment to help with costings for the rebuilding program, before being stored at various locations around the railway.…

With 6A in for attention to the Chimney, Blast pipe and Regulator, we get the oportunity to see some parts of the engine most often hidden from view. Above, the Smokebox door and Chimney have been removed and the blast pipe taken out. Clearly visible are the main steam pipes curving around the sides of…

  The latest parts of NG/G16 129 to arrive at Belgrave are these Cowcatchers, expertly restored by Brad Treadwell. Making use of the few remaining usable parts, Brad has worked to our drawings to produce a faithful reproduction of the originals. As you can see from the photo below, the accuracy and quality of finish…

In the workshops of one of Puffing Billys engineering contractors, Jack Thompson Engineering, the first of the new Na Locomotive cylinder castings has been set up on one of their machines, and some prelimenary machining carried out. The photos show the cylinder undergoing some initial cuts to create datum faces for more detailed marking out,…

Puffing Billys locomotive 12A returned to traffic on the 1st October, after a protracted overhaul. Seen above waiting to go off shed, 12A has finally rejoined her stablemates, and is currently undergoing a running-in process, in the hands of Puffing Billys Locomotive Operations supervisor, Graeme Daniel. Below she is seen departing Belgrave at the head…

  After months of  design work, Puffing Billy has placed an order for the construction of an all welded steel Boiler for NG/G16 129. This will be the first new, non-riveted Boiler for one of these locomotives, and as such has had to undergo a rigorous design verification process to ensure it meets all the…

Sunday 8th September 2013: Climax 1694 returns to revenue earning traffic, exactly 85 years after entering service with the Forests Commission of Victoria. After a 10 year overhaul, including a full engineering analysis and redesign of the truck axles to prevent the fractures that had hampered its entire working life, the locomotive is seen (above)…