Nevertheless, the concession issued by the district government did not initially allow steam operation, even though successful trial runs were carried out.

After its opening by Prince Wilhelm of Prussia on 20 September 1831, the railway was initially operated as a horse-drawn tramway for freight, although occasional passenger services soon began.

During its extension to Steele and Vohwinkel, which started in 1844 and was completed in 1847, the railway was converted to standard gauge and subsequently operated by steam.

The centre of the village of Eierhof was in Westphalia, but the station was on the western side of the river in Vossnacken in the Rhineland.

The station building, a slated two-storey half-timbered building with a pitched roof built in 1847, housed an apartment for staff on the upper floor and a waiting room, a staff room and a station restaurant on the ground floor.