At Holmestrand, the line followed a zig-zag pattern up the hill, forcing the trains to back into Holmestand Station.

[4] The county was split in where the line should run, with three major proposals: along the shore of the Oslofjord, along Eikeren to Eidsfoss and through an inland route to Tønsberg, and via Lågendalen to Larvik.

[5] The Eidsfoss alternative allowed the line to run through an area with good access to lumber, which the railway would aid export.

It was proposed as a minor railway with the goal of cheap construction, resulting in it being designed with sharp curves and steep gradients.

[9] The line was proposed run along Undrumsdal, Fosaas, through Fossan, Firing, Holt, Sjuve, Vivestad and Vassås before reaching Svarstad.

From the point of view of interests from Holmestrand, they were worried that the town would lose its surrounding area to Tønsberg, and hence its basis for trade.

Hvittingfoss Brug supported the narrower gauge, and offered to purchase shares forth NOK 100,000 if this was chosen.

The committee further proposed shortening the line by building part of it as a rack railway, allowing for steeper gradients.

The issue resulted in disagreements between the parties, but in the end the pulp mill agreed to maintain their financing despite the gauge change.

[13] Two major alternatives could be chosen along the common section with TEB, with a line via Østbygden being discarded in favor of one north of Hillestadvannet.

There was during the late planning stages a proposal to increase the minimum curve radius from 100 to 150 meters (330 to 490 ft), but this was discarded after the government would not allocate the additional necessary funding.

NSB opposed this, stating that it could cause operational problems for them at Holmestrand Station, but gave permission for the connection line on 26 August 1902.

This included that the two lines would share a sixth of TEB's administration costs, based jointly on the number of trains and the revenue from the concurrent section.

On the one hand it provided a fast and efficient way to reach the coastal towns, but many farmers lost and important supplementary income after they were no longer needed to perform transport services for Vittingfoss Bruk.

There therefore arose a proposal for HVB to take over all operations north of Hillestad, and relegate the southern part of TEB to a suburban line for Tønsberg.

The proposal came from the HVB's board, who saw the possibility of using existing crew and rolling stock to operate trains from Eidsfoss to Holmestrand.

[20] However, high coal prices drew up operating costs, even though the railway in part started using wood as fuel.

The following year Hasestad Station burned down in a fire,[26] and the wharfs in Holmestrand collapsed because it could not support the amount of pulp being stored there.

[30] All services on the line were mix trains, which resulted in long stops at station to load and unload cargo.

HVB considered buying a railcar, and borrowed one from NSB, but found it was not powerful enough to get up the steep gradients.

Instead the company bought a bus in 1925, which was to operate a single daily round service between Hvittingfoss and Holmestrand.

[35] This was in part caused by the road which had been built being 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) shorter than the railway, as it could allow for steeper climbs.

The company's board started intense negotiations to find new sources of revenue or areas to cut costs, and proposed both closing down the line and a merger with TEB.

The report recommended that both the branch from Eidsfoss and Hvittingfoss run to Holmestrand and that the section from Hillestad to Tønsberg.

This was met with resistance in Holmestrand, as an estimated 44 people would lose their jobs and Viking Melk would possibly have to close down.

[37] To rationalize operations, HVB and TEB were merged on 23 August 1934 through the creation of a new railway company, Vestfold Privatbaner.

Holmestrand protested against the head office being located in Tønsberg and decided to not buy shares in the company.

Because of the uncertain future of the line, they decided to transfer production to Sundland in Drammen and the unfinished cars were sent via HVB.

It was at the time intact with a full inventory, including such items as a complete storage of unused tickets.

One person offered to donate two carriages, with original interior and coloring, but after a building permit was rejected he instead chose to burn them down.