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In Scoresby there’s this place with so much character, National Steam Centre. Not a cold museum. More like a retro park that happens to smoke.
Environment is properly wild. Old tin sheds, steam engines, ducks quacking by the lake, grass full of rabbit nests. Little wild rabbits just running around in broad daylight eating grass, not scared of people at all. My kid chased them until he didn’t want to leave. Under the trees there’s picnic tables and gas BBQs!
Best part, you can book parties here. A block of lawn, BBQ, small train running, way better than an indoor bounce centre.
Inside the Sheds
A lot to take in. A row of tall green and black steam engines, big spoked flywheels, some with glass panels so you can see the mechanism moving inside. Further along, smaller engines in different colours, mustard yellow, deep red, manufacturer name cast right into the metal, one says “G. Waller & Son Ltd, Stroud.” Pressure gauges the size of dinner plates mounted on the walls.
There’s also a big model railway room, little train tracks looping around a painted lake with tiny boats, rows of model shopfronts, a sheriff’s office, a general store, people figures standing along the platform. Actual Thomas the Tank Engine toys sitting on the tracks too.
Out front near the entry shed, more old machinery on display, rusted traction engines with huge wheels, right by the “Entry, Donation Here” sign. There’s a site map near the entrance that lays out the whole place, numbered sheds for steam engines, the boiler house, diesel engines, the model railway, mobile steam engines, members’ collections, traction engines, the railway workshop, road rollers, ploughing engines, earthmoving machines, and a blacksmith’s shop. Big site.
Give it an hour if you want to see all of it.
The Small Train
This is the main event for the kids.
Tickets are $5 a person for adults, under 2 free, though it can depend a bit on which volunteer’s running things that day.
The train only runs on Sundays, weather permitting, about a 1km loop around the lake and the lawn. On the last Sunday of the month there’s also a steam locomotive pulling the carriages instead of the usual engine, so worth timing your visit around that if it’s what you’re after. There’s a Ford car show on October 18 too, don’t miss it if that’s your thing. My kid’s small train count went up by one, and he was thrilled about it.
Getting There and Opening Hours
National Steam Centre
1200 Ferntree Gully Rd, Scoresby VIC 3179
Open Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 4pm. The small train runs Sundays only, 11am to 4pm.
If you’re planning more Melbourne day trips during the school holidays, check our VIC school holidays and term dates for 2026 page, or our William Ricketts Sanctuary guide for another Melbourne hinterland day out.
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