Several lines were chartered to serve both the Peace River and Waterways regions of the province, beginning with the Athabaska Railway in 1907.

Construction of the ED&BC started in 1912 heading toward Westlock, Alberta, reaching High Prairie in 1914, and Spirit River in 1915.

The railway decided not to proceed to Dunvegan, and instead built a branch south from Rycroft to Grande Prairie in 1916 (400 miles or 640 kilometres northwest from Edmonton).

In 1930 the line was extended westward across the provincial boundary to its western terminus at Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

Coinciding with the problems faced by the McArthur lines (ED&BC, A&GW, and CCR), both the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) and Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) had fallen victim to similar circumstances brought about by the financial strain of the conflict and falling traffic levels.

Following the federal example, and in an attempt to preserve rail service to northern and northwestern Alberta, the provincial government leased the ED&BC and CCR in 1920 for five years.

In 1921 the government entered into a five-year agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to operate the ED&BC and CCR.

[4] CPR immediately raised freight rates on the ED&BC and CCR lines, charging "mountain prices", claiming that the cost of operating on grades into the Peace and Smoky River valleys of the northwestern prairie was as much as it cost to operate in the Rocky Mountains.

Consequently, Peace River farmers paid the highest freight charges on the Canadian prairies to reach the lakehead at Port Arthur and Fort William.

In 1928 the provincial government grouped the ED&BC, CCR, AG&W, and PVR under the collective name Northern Alberta Railways (NAR), which received a federal charter in March 1929.

In 1958 the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), owned by the province of British Columbia, built east to Dawson Creek and then north to Fort St. John.

A final locomotive purchase was made in December 1975 from General Motors Diesel Division of London for GMD SD38-2's 401–404.