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 Railway & Terminal Company, later 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 both owned by one man, Willard F. Robison.

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. Robison 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 at 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 an 0-6-0 switcher. Amazingly, the Alco 2-8-2 which was numbered #100, has been preserved and is currently located in Huntington, West Virginia. The great depression hit the railroad hard but the company persevered thanks to business provided by the relatively new Medusa Cement plant. For the next 45 years, the railroad continued to operate independently. However, the late 1970s would prove difficult for the short line. On September 30th, 1977, the Medusa Corporation, who owned the railroad through a majority stock ownership, petitioned for the abandonment of the Toledo, Angola & Western. The Medusa cement plant was nearing retirement and thus the railroad was to lose it's major source of traffic. On December 23rd, 1979, the Medusa plant which had operated for over half a century churned out it's last bags of portland cement. In regards to the railroad though, the official end was a still a few years away thanks to a tourist railway that would assume operations that same year.

Known as the Waterfront Electric Railway, this company operated on the former Toledo, Angola & Western between 1979 and 1983. In 1983, the University of Toledo, which was situated just north of the railway, informed the Waterfront Electric that they were intending to expand campus isolating the railroad from the national system. The college gave the tourist company an ultimatum, they would either get removed via eminent domain or leave willingly and be financed by the college to move somewhere else. Ultimately, the Waterfront Electric decided to move west to Grand Rapids, Ohio, and the Toledo, Angola & Western was abandoned for the final time. On January 23rd, 1983, the railroad was officially abandoned and is now a rail trail.

Little is left of the "Goatline" today. Locomotive #100 still survives in Huntington, although displayed as Elk River Coal & Lumber Company #10. The Sandusky cement plant in Silica is now a field of concrete and little remains of the once large network of spurs and switches. The locomotive that ushered in dieselization on the line may still exist though its where abouts are unknown at this time. It is believed to still be in service at the Archer Daniels Midland plant in nearby Decatur, Illinois. With all that's been said, the role this little 10 mile railroad had in the history of American glass manufacturing as well as American railroading should not be forgotten. Here's to the "Goatline", a small line that left a big impact! 

With a proud crew standing onward, Toledo, Angola & Western Railway 0-6-0 #4288 idles in Silica, Ohio, sometime between 1907 and 1916. Generally considered the first locomotive owned by the Toledo, Angola & Western, #4288 was a former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern switcher which, before being rebuilt to its current configuration in 1890, had been built all the way back in 1879. Prior to the acquisition of this engine, the TA&W had leased various switchers from other Toledo area railroads. After being purchased in 1907, the locomotive was disposed of sometime before the 1916 ICC valuation report. Note the outside ribbed gondola to the left of #4288's tender in the background. This was one of the TA&W's leased gondolas used to haul aggregates like sand and stone which made up the backbone of the company's business. The 1916 ICC report notes these gondolas were leased from the Monarch Securities Company.