This company had been founded on 15 February 1911 by the Prussian state, the Province of Hanover and the districts of Lüneburg and Soltau.

Running powers for the line in the period 1 June 1923 to July 1944 were the responsibility of the State Light Railway Office of the Province of Hanover.

The inclines on the line are the most demanding in the OHE's network as its popular name Gebirgsbahn ('hill railway') testifies.

Between 1950 and 1960 semi-fast railbuses (Eiltriebwagen) were introduced, running from Lüneburg via Soltau to Celle.

From 28 May 1961 passenger trains called at the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) station in Soltau.

From the 1960s in Drögennindorf and Hambostel there were mixing plants for road construction materials; they were big customers of the railway for a period of time.