The railway was central to the development of Olinda Vale/ Evelyn/ Mt Evelyn, but brought its own dangers.

On 18th December 1902 a lad named George Adams, aged about 14, was run down and killed by a truck while it was being shunted at Olinda Vale Station.

16-year-old Arthur Clifford was fatally injured at Olinda Vale Station on 16th February 1905, when a horse bolted and threw him from the dray he was unloading.

The worst accident along the railway occurred on 18th April 1912. A maintenance trolley with sixteen workmen aboard collided with an up train on the Stringybark bridge. They were running late because the supervising ganger's watch was slow. Seeing the train approaching, they tried to stop, but the trolley brakes failed to grip the slippery rails. The men's only hope was to get across the bridge and jump down onto the embankment. Four were killed, Walter Peberdy, Robert Hallam, Henry James and David Baxter, and others injured.

On 15th June 1923 an elderly woman slipped between the train and the platform at Mt Evelyn. This was reported to be the third similar accident. Poor lighting, and the dangerous state of the platform, were blamed.

A Warburton train and a truck collided at the Monbulk Road crossing on 18th September 1926. The truck driver, unable to stop in time, tried to clear the crossing. The train clipped the rear of the truck and knocked it against an iron stanchion, throwing one person over a fence. All five passengers were injured.

On 14th July 1934, a Warburton train collided with a Silvan-Lilydale bus on the York Road crossing. The bus was overturned and pushed into the cutting. Almost miraculously, there were no serious injuries.

An elderly man, Frank Watkins, was seen suspended by his feet from a wire fence near the railway line at Mt Evelyn on 30th January 1950. Police believed he became entangled while trying to climb over the fence. He was rescued, but died shortly afterwards.

On 13th April 1954 Ted Matthews and his passenger Mrs Pierson Jones were lucky to escape serious injury when their car was hit by a Melbourne train on the Birmingham Road crossing. The car was forced against a post, which broke, narrowly missing a railway employee.

All three level crossings had poor visibility, due to cuttings and the angle of approach. The railway closed in 1965.

Scene of the train and bus collision at York Road. The Herald, 14/7/1934.

Birmingham Road level crossing. The Argus, 14/12/1954.