The line was built by the Società Anonima della Ferrovia Elettrica Bellinzona-Mesocco and later became part of the Rhaetian Railway.

Before complete closure, the section of the line between Castione-Arbedo, and Cama was operated by the Società Esercizio Ferroviario Turistico (SEFT) as a tourist railway known as the Ferrovia Mesolcinese.

[2] The Gotthard railway opened in 1882, providing a transport link to the communities of the valley of the Ticino River.

[5] An extension under the San Bernardino Pass to Thusis was planned, in order to provide a rail connection to the Rhaetian Railway (RhB).

The bodywork and chassis of all six railcars came from the Ringhoffer wagon works in Prague while the electrical part from Maschinenfabrik Rieter in Töss, who were also responsible as a general contractor for the railway construction as a whole.

453; 454 was brought on the road to the lower part of the route, where it served from then on as a reserve for the BDe 4/4 491, which carried the main load of the remaining traffic until 2003.

With the transition to preservation line, the Rhaetian Railway also transferred the MC’s entire rolling stock (railcars 42 and 491 and some passenger cars) to the Ferrovia Mesolcinese.

Initially, the Ferrovia Mesolcinese had the following railcars, some of which are no more (where noted): On April 27, 2021, the RhB BDe 4/4 491 was transported with a low loader from Grono via San Bernardino to Landquart.

From mid-June 2021, the plan was to move the railcar to a new location in front of the Albula Railway Museumin Bergün/Bravuogn, to be exhibited as "Grotto 491".

5 went to the WAGI Museum in Schlieren [6] The B 51 passenger car is in Winterthur as a café-bar on the former premises of the former Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works.