William F. Chesley began his railroad career as a telegraph operator for the Kansas City Southern Railroad in 1906 and worked every position on the line from track worker to manager. He later returned to St. Mary's County, and in 1924 became general manager of the Washington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad. With funding scarce, he is said at times to have kept the train running out of his own pocket. In 1942, the federal government purchased the Washington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad, then known as the Farmers' Railroad, for $127,500 and renamed it the U.S. Naval Air Station Railroad, Patuxent River, Maryland. The Navy used the line to carry heavy machinery and goods to and from the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and Chesley was hired by the Navy as Quarterman of Transportation, serving in that position until his retirement in 1960. Although he rarely rode the train, he was aboard for a photograph and final wave on its last run. The Navy had extended the line from Forest Hall to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station near Millstone Landing, and it ran the train for the last time on June 30, 1954. The Pennsylvania Railroad and contractors continued using the line to deliver supplies to the base until the early 1960s, and in 1970 St. Mary's County Government purchased the right-of-way as a future utility corridor.