Bart Bear's Blog

Our day trip on Puffing Billy was great. It was freezing cold, one of the coldest May days that Victoria has had for ages. The carriage we were in was a relic of the early 1900s and had no windows, so the wind blew straight through us. Despite the cold, we loved the trip. Just after the train leaves Belgrave station it goes across a historic 1899 wooden trestle bridge, Horseshoe Bridge over Monbulk Creek. The bridge curves across the creek and the road, so it is a perfect spot to get photos of the engine under full power with steam and smoke pouring out of it. There are always cars waiting on the road near the bridge, with people snapping away on their cameras. After the bridge there is a long stretch through forest and you can see spectacular trees and lots of birds and occasional wallabies. I found a good place to see everything on my side of the train. It was the ledge that would have been a window-sill if the carriage actually had windows. It was just the right width for a small bear to sit on, but it also had a sign below it that Mum says I should have taken notice of. Actually, I don't think it should have applied to me; I wasn't standing on the ledge. Naturally, Mum saw it differently so I had to spend the rest of the trip much further inside the carriage with the Oldies keeping a sharp eye on me.

Labels: train, Victoria