It connected Hope Valley, Rhode Island, to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad (known as the Stonington Line) mainline at Wood River Junction.

The company considered abandonment, but ultimately local citizens and the New Haven agreed to rebuild the damaged segments and return the line to service for freight only, using a gasoline locomotive.

In the mid-1860s, Harris Lanphear, owner of several mills on the Wood River (a tributary of the Pawcatuck), found that it cost three times as much to transport goods to Stonington than it did to ship them the rest of the way to New York.

The new company was authorized to raise up to $600,000 (equivalent to $11,600,000 in 2021) to complete a route from Wood River Junction (at the time known as Richmond Switch) on the Stonington Line to Greene on the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad (HP&F).

The route was approximately 21 miles (34 km) and passed through generally hilly terrain, serving no major population centers; in fact, the promoters of the company had no intention of actually building a railroad.

[6] The Wood River Branch Railroad was chartered in May 1872, along an approximately seven-mile (11 km) route beginning at Richmond Switch and ending in Hope Valley.

[7][8] Most subscribers to the Wood River Branch's stock reduced their subscriptions accordingly, and one mill owner's pledge to buy 101 shares was wiped out with his death.

[13] As the only major industry in Hope Valley, the Nichols and Langworthy Machine Company was the railroad's biggest customer and the only one with a dedicated siding.

[5] With a workforce of approximately 150 people, Nichols and Langworthy became known across the United States for the reliability of its engines, and most of the company's products were shipped to customers via the Wood River Branch Railroad.

[30] A fire destroyed the Wood River Branch Railroad engine house in the early hours of April 16, 1920, along with the company's sole remaining steam locomotive.

[31] For several months in 1924, the Wood River Branch experienced "one of its biggest freight booms in its history" when state highway construction near Hope Valley demanded large shipments of trap rock and cement along the railroad.

[32] Also in 1924, the Wood River Branch defaulted on a more than $50,000 (equivalent to $791,000 in 2021) debt payment it owed the New Haven, which the larger company turned a blind eye to.

Busy with its own money problems, the New Haven let the Wood River Branch continue operating rather than foreclose and assume its junior partner's financial issues as well.

[34] Abandonment of the line appeared to be the only option, Watrous noting the company had consistently lost approximately $10,000 (equivalent to $156,000 in 2021) each year in the past decade.

The board of directors met on November 15 at Watrous' request, and it was decided to seek permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to abandon the line.

[35][37] The washouts had stranded the railroad's passenger car, a leased New Haven locomotive, and a boxcar and hopper car in Hope Valley; a New Haven track crew joined forces with the Wood River Branch's employees to jack up the tracks at washouts so the stranded equipment could return to Wood River Junction.

[36] The Wood River Branch began shutting down, and its employees were laid off apart from a single man who continued fulfilling the line's mail contracts.

[38] Concerned citizens made their opposition known to the ICC and the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, and also asked the towns of Richmond and Hopkinton to cancel the railroad's taxes if it could be reopened.

[41] The New Haven leased the gas locomotive, which could pull up to six freight cars at a time, to the Wood River Branch for $113 per month (equivalent to $1,800 in 2021).

[44] While local newspapers were announcing the end of the Wood River Branch Railroad, Roy Rawlings took matters into his own hands.

His grain mill was heavily dependent on the railroad, and when he learned of the impending abandonment, he promptly contacted the New Haven and asked how much they would charge him to buy the entire line.

[Note 2][50][51][52] Happy to be free of dealing with the unprofitable line, the New Haven's trustees agreed to the sale, and the ICC gave its blessing on June 3, 1937.

[52] On June 18, the Wood River Branch held a meeting and elected Roy Rawlings president of the company; Watrous was being treated at Rhode Island Hospital for an illness and did not attend.

Scholfield and teenager Rob Roy Rawlings, the president's son, salvaged seats from the long-retired coach number one and attached them to an unpowered track car and added railings and a handbrake.

[57] Under Rawlings' presidency, the railroad made large reductions in its losses, even showing an operating profit, but factoring in fixed expenses the company was losing money.

Even with a speed limit of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) derailments became common, and tools for putting the train back on the track were a permanent fixture in the caboose.

As the United States Department of War preferred rail transport for security reasons, completed rifles were shipped out via the Wood River Branch Railroad from Hope Valley.

[62] The sole remaining customer of any significance was the Howard C. Woodmansee Coal and Oil Company; with the overwhelming majority of its traffic lost, the Wood River Branch had no choice but to close.

The company was overwhelmed with offers to purchase the line for salvage and the reuse of its rails on other railroads, with Rawlings telling a Connecticut newspaper: "Practically every junk dealer in the country wants to buy it.

[75][76] Locomotive number 5,[Note 4] unofficially named Polly by the Wood River Branch's employees, was purchased used from the Long Island Rail Road in April 1896.