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The UFTG yard was built on the side of a hill, with the town in the valley about 10 m (66') below. This meant that the yard was long and thin. The line to Gembrook climbed steeply up the hill. When the line was built the 5'3" suburban service to UFTG was hauled by steam locomotives.
The climb up the side of the hill was so steep that the line left the narrow gauge yard from a long head-shunt off the Melbourne end of the yard.
A feature of note is the transfer ramp. The narrow gauge track was elevated on a trestle to enable the narrow gauge locomotives and vehicles to be loaded on broad gauge wagons for transfer to one of the other narrow gauge lines, or to Newport workshops for overhaul. (Newport is located under the word Melbourne on the map on the line menu page.) The transfer ramp also served as an under car inspection pit.
The original design for the yard (see below) had a different design with the yard on the other side of the 5 foot 3 inch track with departing trains initially heading west on the south side of the railway reserve. The narrow gauge track then crossed the broad gauge on the level and continued around the two chain radius loop to climb the hill following the actual alignment.
The illustration is taken from the October 1898 plan of the line based on the actual construction survey. (An earlier flying survey would have been carried out to test the feasibility of the line.)
By the 7/11/1910 a new island platform was in use. This predated the introduction of suburban electric trains on 20/10/1925. With the increasing narrow gauge traffic a new yard layout was needed.
The transfer facilities were improved by the addition of a livestock ramp (light blue), overhead crane (pink) and a platform (green) in a shed (yellow) to the usual transfer ramp.
The new locomotive shed could hold six locomotives. From 17/6/1924 until 14/1/1936 the local council had a siding off an engine shed road. I presume that this was the only location available. I do not know what traffic it carried.
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