The railway officially opened in 1897, and again on 1 November 1899 when the line was extended from Teepookana to Regatta Point and Strahan.

[2] The railway ceased operation on 10 August 1963 due to increasing maintenance costs and the improvement of road access to the West Coast from the north with the opening of the Murchison Highway.

5 and carriages going to the Puffing Billy Railway in Victoria with the other locomotives put on static display or in museums.

With the removal of the railtrack the formation from Regatta Point came to be used by road vehicles for access to Lette's Bay and Lowana to the east.

[3] The line includes the steepest gradient climbed by a regular train in the Southern Hemisphere, between Dubbil Barril and Rinadeena.

[4] Despite various proposals post 1963, it was not until the 1990s after the demise of the main Mount Lyell Company mining operations, and the downgrading of Hydro Tasmania's activities of dam building on the West Coast, that some very committed local West Coast people campaigned for the restoration of the Abt Railway as a heritage tourist attraction featuring the unique rail system and the community's mining history.

[5] Following track rehabilitation work, the railway re-opened between Queenstown and Dubbil Barril on 6 January 2014.

[14] Prior to COVID, the WCWR was operating four itineraries from both Strahan and Queenstown either running the full length of the railway or sections of it.

All tours include a number of stops to detrain and experience the forest floor, views etc.

Federal Hotels produced unattributed materials about the railway and its history for travellers on the line.