Covering a vertical distance of 175 feet (53 m) along the hilly 1.125-mile (1.811 km) route, it was known as the "smallest commercially operated railway in the world".

[2] The network, which eventually contained eight steamboats, a single locomotive and several hotels and lodges in the area, operated as a unit until 1959.

By 1875 a pair of locks and a canal had been built to bypass a series of rapids in the Muskoka River, allowing navigable access between Mary Lake and Huntsville.

This obstacle was initially overcome by the construction of a gravel road in 1887, but the steep terrain made shipping any heavy loads via buckboard very difficult.

[3] George F. Marsh ran steamers on a number of lakes in the area, and in 1895 he bought out his major competitor, Alfred Denton.

[4] Work had not commenced on the portage railway by this time, although its charter stipulated the undertaking was to be started within three years and completed within seven.

Two coaches were built from horse-drawn streetcars of the Toronto Street Railway, modified so the seat backs could flip over so the passengers always sat facing the direction of travel.

[1] Construction finally began in September 1902, but proved more difficult than expected, and in 1903 the charter was extended another two years to allow time to complete it.

The tannery required huge amounts of wood for heating, and hemlock for tanning, and the Portage Railway became a major link in his supply chain.

The company's charter was resigned in 1907, and over the next decade he expanded the shipping fleet considerably, before turning to hotel building.

[6] The original Porter locomotives reached the end of their lives in 1948, and were sold to a collector, Cameron Peck of Chicago, and finally came to rest at the Harold Warp Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska.

[6] In 1984 the locomotive was put up for sale, which coincided with increasing interest in the Huntsville area to revive the railway.

The newly chartered Huntsville and Lake of Bays Railway Society purchased the entire set, initially planning to recreate the original line.

The line ran north from this point, passing a water tank and then connecting to a small spur with a maintenance shed.