This abandoned railway started out in 1854 as the East Brandywine Railroad, with the intent to connect the farms and villages along the rural portions of the Brandywine River with the lucrative markets within larger cities. The railroad would provide freight and passengers along the Brandywine River a connection to the Pennsylvania Railroad at Downington. The first half of the line opened westward from Downington to Waynesburg, and expanded further west as service along the route increased. Ultimately it reached "Conestoga Junction", just east of Lancaster, PA.

Changing hands many times, from the East Brandywine and Waynesburg Railroad, to the Downington and Lancaster Railroad, the line finally came under the control of the PRR in 1903, and was renamed the Holland Branch. Within the next few decades, service along the line began to decline as the automobile started making its presence known. Passenger service ceased in 1930; freight service ended in the 1960s, with the eastern majority of the line finally being abandoned by Penn Central in 1972.

Stations along the line, from east to west, are: Downingtown, East Downingtown, Dowlin, Dorlan, Reed 'n Road, Lyndell, Cornog, Springton, Glen Moore, Barneston, Wyebrook, Lewis Mills, Cupola, Forrest, Daupmann, Suplee, Buchanons Road, Honey Brook (formerly Waynesburg), Churchtown Road, Boartown, Cedar Lane, East Earl (western end of abandonment), New Holland, Groffdale, Bareville, Leola, Hellers Church, Hartman, Greenfield, and Conestoga Junction at former PRR mainline.