[1] The line is part of the original Great Northern Railway (GNR), a rail system that opened in 1848 and once linked Grimsby, Louth and East Lincolnshire with London.

The line ran from Louth to New Holland and was officially opened on 28 March 1848 as the first section of the GNR.

The line was constructed by the East Lincolnshire Railway Co (ELR), which leased it to the GNR when they could not raise sufficient funds to operate it.

The LNER carried out some improvements on the line, including the replacement of the GNR Somersault signals with the more common upper quadrant at some locations.

Box name boards were also changed from the black background with white lettering to the usual (and later BR specifications) white background with black lettering, although Louth South obtained an enamel sign, which remained on the box until its closure on 5 October 1970.

At that time, the line's passenger services were operated by steam railcar, but these were later replaced by diesel multiple units.

[6][7] Work has now begun on track re-laying at the south end of Ludborough station towards Utterby.

The new point work will be controlled by a 4-lever ground frame, which is released by Ludborough box and features in the new signalling system.

The LWR launched an appeal in Summer 2012 to fund the purchase of track and ballast needed to extend the line.

[9] However, the LWR aspires to reconstruct the entire surviving 9 miles (14 km) of track bed between a new site at Louth and Holton-le-Clay.