It was used as a connection between Dudley town and Snow Hill, and was dual track all of the way, to allow its inclusion into a mainline route.

As with most lines of this nature, patronage was extremely poor and passengers would often find themselves alone on the single car Class 122 DMU that operated the service in later years.

The OS map shows much of the Netherton end of the line (including the canal branch) is now a footpath and it is possible to walk on the former track bed from the New Road crossing, south of Dudley, to the site of Windmill End station and a little beyond with just a few detours around new buildings.

Access to the line is more difficult as it approaches Old Hill but since little has been built on, its route is clearly visible on satellite images.

The junction with the former South Staffordshire Line near New Road, Dudley, was obliterated in the late 1990s when the Dudley Southern By-Pass was built, although the South Staffordshire Line itself has been preserved and is set to re-open to goods trains and was an extension to the Midland Metro tram network from 2023 although cost overruns on the other part of the Metro extension has delayed this until 2025 at the earliest.