By Parker McKenzie
The heritage-listed Puffing Billy Railway Trestle Bridge received repairs this week to replace aging pieces of the famous structure.
Built in 1899, the bridge is located over Monbulk Creek on Belgrave-Gembrook Road, Selby and was a significant technical accomplishment when it was built as a part of the Ferntree Gully to Gembrook train line.
The bridge is one of the most photographed areas of the Dandenong Ranges, appearing on postcards, paintings and photographs. The works were carried out by Membrey’s, a transport and crane service, on 9 March.
Crane and projects manager for Membrey’s Roy Wallace — who was on the scene to supervise the project — said major upgrades of crossbeams and uprights were completed.
“Basically we had to lift the bridge on one end and take the weight off the bridge on a section of the pier, then we pulled out two crossbeams and replaced them, including one upright,” he said.
“It went a little bit longer than we thought because we had issues getting the upright in, but at the end of the day we’ve got a 100-tonne crane and a 40-tonne crane up on the road there and a 13-tonne crane down below.”
The bridge reaches as high as 11 metres are some areas and is made from a timber girder. It was extensively repaired during the early 1980s, with the oldest beam found currently still in use dating back to 1914.
Mr Wallace said the work was sensitive because of the significance and heritage listing of the bridge.
“When we lifted the bridge we had to make sure the lower piers and uprights were supported and they wouldn’t fall over when we lifted the bridge,” he said.
“We had to run ratchet straps between the other piers on the outside to keep the centre pier balanced between them,
“There was a lot of planning to get that set up, a lot of engineering and permits were required. We spent around about 16 hours doing all the planning on it because we had three cranes working simultaneously together.”
According to the heritage listing statement of significance, the trestle bridge is “of historical importance for its association with the economic stimulus the narrow gauge railway generated in the Dandenongs.”
The bridge is associated with the community movement to protect and restore narrow-gauge lines from the 1950s onwards.
Membrey’s have also been completing other work for the Puffing Billy Railway line, including transporting an old steam train to a steam and rail convention in Newport.
“Everything went perfectly. The Railway worked with Membrey’s 100 per cent of the way,” Mr Wallace said.
“It was absolutely faultless and went very well.”
The removed pieces of the bridge will be transported to returned to the Puffing Billy Railway Board, who plan to use the pieces in a display in their museum at Lakeside Visitors Centre in Emerald.
