Bellarine Railway

The Bellarine Railway, formerly know as the Bellarine Peninsula Railway, is a volunteer-operated steam-driven tourist railway located in Victoria, Australia. It operates on a 16 km section of a formerly disused branch line on the Bellarine Peninsula between the coastal town of Queenscliff and Drysdale, near Geelong.
== History ==
The original line was commissioned in September 1878, and opened on 21 May 1879. It connected Queenscliff with South Geelong station, the terminus of the Geelong line, and the junction of the Warrnambool line. It was acknowledged at the time that although passenger traffic alone might not justify a railway line, military traffic from both the port and Fort Queenscliff—a key defence installation—would warrant its construction. It initially carried passenger, goods and military traffic, and continued to do so for several decades.
In the first few months of operation, it carried only one service per day, but at its peak, in January 1885, four trains per day ran in each direction, enabling the line to be used by commuters. However, this was decreased to three, and was cut back to two trains a day in 1910. Traffic on the line continued to fall over the next twenty years, and in 1931, passenger services were dropped completely—apart from the occasional Sunday excursion train. Freight services continued to run, although they were cut to back at first to twice-weekly, and then weekly operation.
The railway currently operates a Heritage Train Service between Queenscliff and Drysdale, along the southern shoreline of Swan Bay and through grazing land, with an intermediate stop at Laker's Siding.
The heritage service is available on Sundays, most public holidays, as well as Tuesdays and Thursdays during the Easter, June and September school holidays. During the summer school holidays, trains run every day from Boxing Day until the end of the first week in January, then every day until the Australia Day weekend, except for Mondays and Fridays. The Heritage Service does not run on Day Out With Thomas and Queenscliff Music Festival weekends.
Carriage hire is available as part of the Heritage Service and suitable for children's parties or groups looking for the benefits of private train hire without the added cost.
== Locomotive Roaster ==
Number 	Images	Heritage 	Type 	Builder 	Built	Status 	Notes
V8 	 	Tasmanian Government Railways	TGR V Class 	Drewry Car Company 	1948 	Operational 	It operated used by AN Tasrail until 1987.
G33 	 	 	Australian Standard Garratt	Islington Railway Workshops 	1945 	Under Restoration	
1604 	 	Queensland Railways 	RSE92C 	English Electric 	1962 	Operational 	It operated by Queensland Rail until 1991.
T251 	 	South Australian Railway 	4-8-0 	Walkers 	1917 	Operational 	
4 	 	 	0-6-0ST 	Vulcan Iron Works 	1916 	Stored 	
X20 	 	 	TGR X Class 	English Electric 	1950 	Operational 	
Klondyke	 	 	0-4-2T 	Perry Engineering 	1927 	Operational 	
Pozières	 	 	0-6-0T 	Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. 	1918 	Operational 	
V1209 	 	 	WAGR V class 	Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns	1955 	Stored 	
1107 	 	 	EBR 11 class 	Walkers Limited 	1971 	Operational 	
VA1 	 	Tasmanian Government Railways	TGR V Class 	Drewry Car Company 	1947 	Under Restoration	
M6 	 	Tasmanian Government Railways	4-6-2 	Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns	1951 	Stored Dismantled	
S547 	 	WAGR 	 	 	1947 	Stored Dismantled	
== Trivia ==
* The line saw a revival during World War II, carrying mines from the Swan Island military base, but returned to pre-war levels afterwards. After the war, services became less frequent, with passenger services dropped altogether, apart from occasional special trains, and with goods services cut back to one a fortnight. The line was closed on 6 November 1976. 
* The line is recognised as the oldest Victorian branch line still in operation.
* During 1976 and 1977, the Society engaged in fundraising efforts and began regauging a short section of track around Queenscliff station, in order to enable its rolling stock to operate on the line. With the help of some government funding, it succeeded in operating its first services from Queenscliff to Laker's Siding in May 1979, and to Drysdale not long after.
* The transportation of the locomotive took place on 31 May 2013, with the Bellarine Railway hoping to restore it to active service.
Category:Heritage Railways
Category:Preserved Railways
Category:Preservation societies
Category:Australia
Category:Tourist Railways
Category:Tourist attractions
Category:Australian Railways