The Toledo, Angola & Western Railway was born on July 11th, 1902, when the company was incorporated under the laws of Ohio. Initially planned to construct and operate a line from Toledo, Ohio, to a point on the Ohio and Indiana border to the west, the railroad would ultimately max out at about 10 miles of mainline all in the vicinity of Toledo. From the incorporated date of July 11th, 1902, to September 26th, 1902, the approximately 8 miles of track from Vulcan, Ohio, to Silica, Ohio, were constructed. This was the extent of the original mainline. At Vulcan, located in Western Toledo, a connection was made with both the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway as well as the Toledo Terminal Railroad. At Silica, the terminus, the railroad reached the quarries of the Toledo Stone & Glass Sand Company. Throughout its 70 plus year existence, the "Goatline" as it would come to be known, would serve the quarries at Silica along with various other industries in the area. It should be noted that both the Toledo, Angola & Western and the Toledo Stone & Glass Sand Co. were owned by one man, Willard F. Robinson.

It is not clear what the first locomotive to operate on the line was, but the records generally agree that the first locomotive to be officially owned by the railroad was #4288. The number stems from its heritage as a former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway locomotive. This engine was operating on the line prior to the first major shakeup which occurred on January 2nd, 1913. On that date, the Toledo, Angola & Western Railway purchased the neighboring Silica Northern Railway which operated from Silica northward to a location known as Centennial, Ohio. At Centennial, a connection with the electric powered Toledo & Western Railway was made. Like the Toledo, Angola & Western, the Silica Northern was owned by Willard F. Robinson and was built to add another connection for more competitive shipping rates. Thus, the railroad's mainline grew to an astounding 10.235 miles according to the 1916 ICC report. This is the maximum length the mainline would reach.

By 1929, the railway had reached its highest ceiling serving numerous customers including a fertilizer manufacturer, oil refinery, and of course the various sand related industries. The Sandusky Cement Company's new plant in Silica, which had opened around 1923, had become the major source of traffic for the line and would continue to be the economic lifeline for the short line for decades to come. By 1930, the Medusa Portland Cement Company had assumed operations of the Sandusky Cement property and productivity reached an all time high. To serve this increase in business, the railway purchased an American Locomotive Works Mikado as well as a 0-6-0 switcher. Amazingly, the Alco 2-8-2 which was numbered #100 while working on the Goatline, has been preserved and is currently located in Huntington, West Virginia.