The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) but later acquired a number of 914 mm (3 ft) narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway that opened to traffic on 11 April 1848.
The NCC itself was formed on 1 July 1903 as the result of the Midland Railway of England taking over the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR), which the Belfast and Ballymena Railway had become. At the 1923 Grouping of British railway companies, the Committee became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). After the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948 the NCC was briefly part of the British Transport Commission, which sold it to the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1949.
The BNCR and its successors recognised the potential value of tourism and were influential in its development throughout the north of Ireland. They were able to develop and exploit the advantages of the Larne – Stranraer ferry route between Ireland and Scotland which gained importance in World War II.
Read more about Northern Counties Committee: Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, Midland Railway (Northern Counties Committee), London, Midland and Scottish Railway (Northern Counties Committee), Nationalisation, Centenary and Sale, Signalling, Coaching Stock, Preserved Vehicles
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