 The railroad was completed in April 1903, on a route following the Klickitat River Canyon to Wahkiacus and Swale Creek before reaching the southern outskirts of Goldendale.The Lyle–Goldendale railroad was acquired by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company in 1908 and used as a branch of the company's mainline on the northern bank of the Columbia River.The Lyle–Goldendale railroad was abandoned in 1992 and the riverside section was converted into a rail trail, today known as the Klickitat Trail, under the direction of the state parks system.