The Whakatane Board Mills Line of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) length was opened in 1937 as a freight-only tramway, and was sometimes referred to as a "private siding".
Originally it was proposed New Zealand Government Railways (NZR or NZGR) would take over the line once it was completed, having been built to the same standard as the ECMT to Taneatua with 55lb/yard rail and steel-beam bridges.
[1] Later two Drewry 0-6-0M diesel shunting locomotives built in 1949 and 1950 were used to haul log wagons from the board mill on the western side of the Whakatāne River at Whakatane to the ECMT (later Taneatua Branch) terminal at Awakeri.
[1] WBM was acquired by New Zealand Forest Products in 1961, and the locomotives were repainted in NZFP's standard orange and white livery.
[2] The line never had passenger services, but did see an excursion from a then-new Drewery railcar in the mid 1950s,[3] and another by the Railway Enthusiasts Society in 1961.