[1] The line has provided a service between Fairbourne village and Penrhyn Point since its opening in 1895 as a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge horse-drawn construction tramway.

The tramway that was used to construct the Fairbourne village soon introduced passenger cars to transport people to the ferry station.

Services were operated by Bassett-Lowke Class 10 locomotive Prince Edward of Wales designed by Henry Greenly and passengers were conveyed in four open top carriages.

The line's heyday was in the 1960s and early 1970s but the advent of mass foreign holidays meant there was a steady decline in passenger numbers during the 1970s and 1980s.

It was bought in 1984 by the Ellerton family[5] and underwent dramatic changes to the infrastructure which included construction of a new station at Fairbourne and the re-gauging to 12¼ inches in 1986 to accommodate the four new steam locomotives introduced.

All four steam locomotives are half sized replicas of narrow gauge engines: Yeo, Sherpa, Beddgelert and Russell.

There was considerable investment in the railway to improve reliability of the locomotives and the quality of the track, and a new attraction, the Rowen Centre, was set up at Fairbourne station.

The society is actively involved with the running of services and maintaining the locomotives, rolling stock, stations and track work.