It connected the town of Kensington to the northern terminus of the Rock Creek Railway (later, the Capital Traction Company) at Chevy Chase Lake.

A 200-foot through siding was laid north of the Rock Creek bridge, dubbed Ray's Turnout after the former owner of the farm it sat on, to allow streetcars to pass each other on the single-track line.

Electrical power was purchased from the Rock Creek Railway's coal-fired generating station at Chevy Chase Lake.

[1] In 1899, the owners received a judge's permission to extend the line from Chevy Chase Lake eastward to Bethesda, where it was to connect with the Capital Traction line to the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[11] Through service from Tenleytown to Kensington was envisioned, as Capital Traction had bought an option to open the new service, as was another extension to Garrett Park.

[2][14] The Chevy Chase Lake & Kensington Railway attracted no bidders for months, but was purchased at last in July 1902 by George E. Emmons of Washington, D.C.[1] Emmons turned out to be acting on behalf of several of the officers of the CCL&K, and on August 14, 1902, they incorporated the Kensington Railway Company to try their hands again, announcing new plans to extend the line to Garrett Park and to Wheaton.

[20] To do so, he bought the failed Sandy Spring Railway, which had been founded in 1902 but had made almost no progress on its goal to connect Kensington to Ellicott City, some 28 miles northwest and home to the original terminus of the B&O Railroad.

[21] Another extension, to Kensington's Norris Station (near today's 3535 University Boulevard[22]), opened on April 8, 1916, bringing the Sandy Spring to its total and final length to 1.25 miles of track.

Most of the time there was a one-man crew, and fares were collected between the town limit and the Rock Creek trestle, with the power cut to half speed, and the car moving at not over five miles per hour.

On a summer night, when the oil headlight showed a possum on the track, all hands piled out for a chase, and the captured possum was placed in the sand box.Other local historians wrote in 1953[24]:Many of the residents of North Chevy Chase remember the two accommodating motormen; Bob Sheppard and Ed Kelly, who ran the cars.

At that time, it was only necessary to telephone the groceryman at Kensington for five gallons of kerosene, or other needed supplies and on the return trips announced by the clanging of the foot bell, the waiting resident received the orders which had been placed post haste on the front platform of the trolley by the storekeeper.

Many an unexpected guest, in the evening, was treated to McKeever's ice cream[25] from the store in Kensington by the same service.But by the early 1920s, passengers were complaining of aged streetcars and spotty service.

[28] In May 1922, Maryland's Public Service Commission, which regulates the state's streetcars, helped shepherd a tentative deal between local residents, Capital Traction executives, and the owners of the Kensington and Sandy Spring railroads.

In return, local residents would raise enough money to replace the Kensington line's light rails with heavier ones suitable for Capital Transit's larger streetcars.

[30] But in July, Phillips balked at signing the agreement, insisting it be amended to allow him to close the railroad and keep the money if the company could not make his bank payments after six months.

But the resulting Capital Transit Company remained weak, and in 1935, it asked the Public Service Commission for permission to abandon its streetcar operations up Connecticut Avenue to Kensington.