The line from Richmond to Hawthorn was opened initially to a temporary terminus at Pic Nic, just short of the Yarra River, in September 1860, and to Hawthorn in April 1861. It was extended to Camberwell in April 1882, then to Lilydale on 1 December of that year by the Commissioner for Railways, Richard Speight. The fare from Melbourne was 3s 6d (First Class) and 2s 6d (Second Class), however a letter-writer to The Age newspaper, 'Cyclops' with the fare to Box Hill being only 9d (First Class) at those prices he expected there to soon be a line of stage coaches waiting to take people from Box Hill and that the cost would effectively be a check on the growth of Lilydale.