It ran from Wilmington, Vermont to Rowe, Massachusetts, a distance of approximately 25 miles (40 km).

[1] The legislatures of Vermont and Massachusetts granted a charter to construct the Deerfield Valley Railroad in 1884, and a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad was constructed over the 11 miles (18 km) from Hoosac Tunnel to Readsboro, Vermont by 1885.

However, the final 14 miles (23 km) of track to Wilmington were not laid until 1892, when control of the entire line was transferred to the HT&W.

Originally the power company did not want to relocate the portion of the railroad flooded by the Harriman Dam, but was forced to by the citizens of Wilmington.

[2] Popular nicknames for the HT&W included "the Hoot, Toot, and Whistle" and the "hold tight and whimper.