This short branch was built in 1920 by the Arizona Eastern Railroad (a subsidiary of Southern Pacific since 1905). It connected to the mainline in Avondale via a wye, called "Litchfield Junction", from which the line extended northward 2.91 miles to the town of Litchfield Park. AE was officially merged into SP in 1924, who built a passenger depot at Litchfield passenger in 1926 (which is now privately-owned and has been moved from its original location).

The last shipper on the line, Dietrich Metal Framing, had rail service to their facilities about a mile north of Litchfield Junction, until October 2007, when the last train rolled over the tracks. While the rest of the tracks have not been used for some time (even the northern-most sections have been removed), Union Pacific only recently filed for abandonment of the line in 2008.

Today, some tracks and wooden crossbucks still remain, but a majority of the right-of-way has been obliterated by a golf course resort, a shopping center and housing addition. The former SP mainline is now the Union Pacific secondary main through Phoenix.