The line mainly carried milk from dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge system.

The line had a large number of stations in a relatively short distance, and there were refreshment rooms at Thor's Cave and Beeston Tor.

[citation needed] All stations had rather grand signs (sometimes grander than the facilities) and platforms were just 6 inches (152 mm) high.

The line was a single track, and most services (which began from Hulme End, where the locomotive sheds were) only involved the use of one engine in steam.

Trains ran at a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour (24.1 km/h), and most halts were run on a request basis.

Most outbound freight consisted of milk, in both churns and bulk tankers, and the products of the dairy goods factory at Ecton.

These open wagons were built by the Leeds Forge Company and were largely designed for the transport of loose milk churns.

This arrangement also meant that standard gauge lengths of track (on sidings) had to be constructed level with the rails of the low transporters.

On Bank Holidays there were some seven trains daily, and at peak times both engines and all carriages/wagons would be in use - planks and awnings were placed on the open wagons to make them usable by passengers, albeit rather rudimentary.

But after the First World War the churns were loaded into standard gauge vans taken to and from Ecton on the transporter wagons.

In 1932 United Dairies closed its Ecton creamery, re-routing milk collection in the area to road transport.

Rival company Express Dairies opened a new creamery at Rowsley which took some of the milk production and benefited from a direct connection to standard gauge railway network.

Furthermore, the developing motor bus services served the villages much better, these settlements being largely on the hills, and often some distance from the line itself.

It continues on to Waterhouses, via Hulme End, as a bridlepath, and, being tarmacked throughout, is ideal for wheelchair users, prams, etc.

For about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km), near Wetton Mill, the route is shared with motor traffic where the C-road has been diverted, and this section includes Swainsley Tunnel, built by Sir Thomas Wardle who, despite being a shareholder in the railway, did not want to see it crossing his land.

Some spectacular scenery can be found along the eight-mile (13 km) route, including Thor's Cave, Wetton Hill and Beeston Tor.

Meridian Models recently produced an (009) scale locomotive body in white metal to fit on a (Minitrix) chassis and Worsley Works produce a basic scratch kit for the carriages, requiring addition of bogies (where applicable), couplings, door handles, and interior to complete.

Roundhouse[9] has produced a live steam model in 1:19 scale, (16mm/foot), of the Kitson 2-6-4 locomotive in the NSR livery.