The Valley Railway provided a faster transport for the coal needed to fuel the new industrial economy.

This guidebook describes the origins and character of many towns and notable natural features along the route.

The guidebook was a common promotional piece used to make the railway seem more recreational than industrial.

Many believed that the presence of the railroad in pastoral landscapes all around the country, referred to as the "machine in the garden," represented a significant shift away from an agrarian society towards an industrial one.

Although many small independent lines from this era were absorbed into larger lines and acquired parallel tracks, the Valley Railway retains single track alignment and has been well preserved.