[4] A signal from the line was preserved and put in the main pavilion of the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.

Passenger satisfaction on that line had declined to the extent that a group of promoters decided to set up a competitor company.

Initial rolling stock consisted of six passenger cars from the United States with a six-wheel Cleminson configuration.

Nevertheless, a considerable impediment for the Holdfast Bay Railway Company was the SAR's access fees: an annual payment of £1,000 for running rights between Adelaide Station and Mile End, plus two shillings and sixpence per additional train.

[6] Less than a year after the line opened, it had become evident that there was insufficient business for two companies;[8] the profit of the Victoria Square railway had slumped by more than 50 per cent.

Business assets such as maintenance facilities were shared to reduce costs, and the South Terrace depot was consequently closed.

[6] The Glenelg Railway Company was acquired by the SAR and steam services continued, with the Holdfast Bay line duplicated from Mile End to St Leonards by 1914 and raised platforms being provided at most stations.

On the day when the conversion was completed in December 1929, South Australian Railways stopped running trains on the Holdfast Bay line.

[9] Parts of the remaining corridor, primarily beyond Camden station, were sold to private holders in 1938, and the remainder to the South Australian Government in 1940.