The railway transformed Ethel and other nearby communities by replacing slow, difficult travel over narrow, sandy, potholed tracks, where ox-drawn carts could get stuck or lose a wheel, with a new rail system that opened new markets for locally grown crops and timber and created more employment opportunities for townspeople. The railway remained in use until the 1960s, and before a platform was built, Ethel was a flag stop where passengers stood on the tracks to signal the train to stop.