The FWWR began operations in 1988, with 6.25 miles of track that it had bought from the Burlington Northern. By the mid-1990s, the railroad operated 10.75 miles of track, the result of numerous minor acquisitions. In 1996, the FWWR more than doubled its total trackage with the lease of a 28.5 miles route from Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and in 1998 purchased 134 miles of track from South Orient Railroad, now Texas Pacifico Transportation. The FWWR leased two Union Pacific Railroad properties, a yard and branch line, in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
