As the railroad opened in Taylors Falls before there was time to build a depot, a building referred to as the Town House (on its original site on the east side of
Government Street) was designated as the temporary headquarters until a depot could be constructed. The first depot was 30′ x 80′ and erected in the railroad yard in the north part of town. That first depot was both a passenger and freight depot. It was completed and put into service on December 7, 1880 and reportedly one of the neatest and prettiest on the line; but was not as conveniently located as the Town House, so many complaints ensued.

Early travel into and out from Taylors Falls had been by steamboat, horseback, stagecoach or other horse-drawn conveyances — or on foot. For twelve years, the people of Taylors Falls had begged for a railroad. But, due to location near the river, and trap rock and sandstone, it was a big risk . . .  and a costly venture. Very difficult with the grade and bridges required.

On August 18, 1879, the first notice of a bond issue vote to be held September 1 was published. The petition was asking the village to contribute $18,700 toward the project. The bond passed unanimously. In October, the St. Paul and Duluth started grading from Wyoming, Minnesota.

All the grading for the main line and side tracks had been completed by October 20, 1879. The bridge and trestle work was completed by the 29th and work was
commenced on the engine house at the upper end of town. On October 29, 1880, the first locomotive rolled into Taylors Falls.

On November 9, for the grand opening, two trains were run into Taylors Falls. The first train had three extra cars coupled to the end with about 150 excursionists. The train helped turn the river town into an excursionist’s adventure land.

With the exception of the first few years when much wood was shipped, potatoes were the main product carried out of the Taylors Falls branch.

For the first few years after the railroad arrived in Taylors Falls, the town was bustling and everyone was optimistic as to its future prosperity. But, the railroad never crossed the river and connected to cities north or east. As a result, Taylors Falls remained at the end of the line and garnered no through traffic.

During January and February of 1881, there were four regular trains per day, with many extra freight trains carrying special loads for the newly bustling towns on the line to Taylors Falls. But, already by April of 1881, there was just one passenger train a day and two a day during the warm summer months. The rotating seasonal schedule of 1-2 trains per day schedule was maintained  until 1886 when St. Paul & Duluth started running three trains a day—morning, mid-day and afternoon.

In 1886, cattle was the big business. Then, starting in 1895, cattlemen made arrangements with the railroad to routinely pull 1-2 stock cars with the early morning passenger train. That allowed them to get their cattle to St. Paul in 4 hours. In 1897, business was booming and trains of 9-10 cattle cars were not uncommon. So, in November, Taylors Falls rebuilt their stockyards in the railroad yard in the north part of town to accommodate the increased traffic.

The Northern Pacific took over the trains in 1900 and made many changes. They concentrated on fast trains between Duluth and St. Paul and allowed branch line
service to taper off. For the first time since the line was built, there was no direct train into the city during the off-season. Each year they did run summer passenger trains.

By 1905 the popularity and availability of automobiles cut into the demand for passenger trains. By the early 1920s there were often more crew members aboard a train than passengers.

In the 1930s, Northern Pacific needed to discontinue much of the service to the branch line for financial reasons. In 1935, there was only one train a day that went into Taylors Falls at mid-day with a fairly quick turnaround time.

Service to Taylors Falls was discontinued on Wednesday, June 30, 1948. That ended the 68 years of the railroad in the town.