Owned by the Manawatu County Council, it connected with the national railway network at Himatangi on the Foxton Branch.
[1] Before construction began legislation was passed that made it appealing for the Manawatu County Council to build the line as a tramway and thereby qualify for subsidies.
[2] In 1902, a short extension beyond Sanson was opened to the southern bank of the Rangitikei River, opposite Bulls.
As these locomotives were very light, they were just at home on a rural tramway as they had been on the nation's expanding network of railway lines before being displaced by more powerful and substantial engines.
[2] These restrictions ended with the coming of peace and post-war traffic on the line was too insignificant to justify its continued existence.