It was established in 1981 by the Lukens Steel Company to operate trackage at Coatesville, Pennsylvania and the neighboring town of Modena.
BVRY took over the line from this point, the site of an interchange with Amtrak's Keystone Corridor, south to Modena, below which the ex-W&N was owned by PennDOT and operated by a number of short lines over the years.
[1] This gave the railroad interchange access not only to Conrail at Coatesville (subsequently replaced by the Norfolk Southern Railway), but to CSX Transportation at the southern end of the line at Elsmere, Delaware.
[2] In 2005, the ex-W&N line south of Modena was turned over to the East Penn Railroad, reducing the Brandywine Valley to its original extent.
An article in Progressive Railroading dated November 9, 2020 announced that Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. "intends to acquire control of six short lines owned by ArcelorMittal USA LLC," which will include the Brandywine Valley Railroad.