The Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway was founded in 1948 as the Cleethorpes Miniature Railway.
The railway has operated every summer since 1948. It has never been longer than 2 km, but it has undergone complex changes of ownership, management, motive power, locomotives, rolling stock, gauge, length, route and stations.
This article covers the line's history up to 2015. The current railway is described in Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway.