Step back in time at Australia’s favourite steam train, Puffing Billy!

Puffing Billy is one of the finest preserved steam railways in the world and operates every day of the year, except Christmas Day, thanks to the tireless efforts of their volunteers.

The excitement begins from the moment you arrive at the station with the sight of the historic locomotives, the smell of the steam and the sound of the train’s whistle.

The Railway was built in 1900 to serve the local communities that lived in the hills, carrying anything from passengers to timber, livestock, potatoes and plants.

Today, Puffing Billy Railway is a major tourist attraction and incites visitors to come and experience a century old tradition. Ride in the open sides carriages as the historic steam trains continue to run on their original mountain track between Belgrave and Gembrook, in the natural surrounds of the magnificent Dandenong Ranges.

Emerald Lake Park is Cardinia Shire's premier park and a major tourist attraction in the Dandenong Ranges. As one of the destination points for the iconic Puffing Billy, the park offers a range of activities including picnics, walking trails, paddleboats, fishing, and wading pool during the summer months – there’s something for everyone!

The four and a half hectare heritage site was part of the world-famous Nobelius Nursery, started in 1886 by Swedish immigrant Carl Axel Nobelius.

The nursery exported fruit and ornamental trees to five continents and, through the supply of exotic trees to municipalities throughout Australia, had a significant influence on the nation's landscapes. The nursery covered more than 650 hectares at its peak just before WWI, employed 80 people and was the largest exporter of fruit and ornamental trees in the Southern Hemisphere.

The park is preserved as a remnant of this historic enterprise, with many specimens of trees once stocked by the nursery.

Within the park you will find the Emerald Museum, which tells the story of Emerald's colourful past through displays of memorabilia, photographs and documents dating from early aboriginal occupation to the present day.