The railroad began as the Athol & Enfield Railroad, chartered in 1869, later becoming part of the Springfield, Athol & Northeastern Railroad in 1873 and then the Boston & Albany Railroad’s Athol Branch from 1880.

It ran from Springfield north through the Swift River Valley to Athol, about 47–50 miles, with dozens of stops in small villages along the way — including North Dana, Soapstone (in Prescott), Greenwich Village, Smith’s Village, and Enfield before reaching farther towns.