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Ballycastle Railway was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railway line which ran from Ballycastle to Ballymoney, both in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. [1]
Ballycastle Railway opened in October 1880 and ran 17 miles (27 km) from Ballymoney, on the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR), later Northern Counties Committee (NCC), main line to Derry, to Ballycastle. It was never a very profitable enterprise and closed down for a period in 1924, until rescued by the NCC, which took it over completely. [1]
Services mainly consisted of three return journeys each day, taking between 50 minutes and an hour. At the start there were three Black Hawthorn 0-6-0ST engines and two Kitson 4-4-2T engines arrived in 1908. Initially carriages were of the compartment type painted two shades of brown, until largely displaced by LMS-designed corridor carriages transferred from the Ballymena and Larne Railway in 1933. The Ballycastle Railway closed in July 1950. [1]
Under the terms of the Transport Act 1947 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, the NCC's parent company, was nationalised by the British Government on 1 January 1948. The NCC (and the Ballycastle Railway) was thus briefly owned by the British Transport Commission. This was only a temporary measure and in 1949 the NCC was transferred to the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) – owned by the Government of Northern Ireland. The UTA soon embarked on a major programme of railway closures, notably including much of the Belfast and County Down Railway. The Ballycastle Railway was one of the casualties; the UTA closed the line to all services on 3 July 1950. [2]
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), and is one of seven publicly-owned train operators in the United Kingdom, the others being Direct Rail Services, Northern Trains, Transport for Wales Rail, Southeastern, LNER, and ScotRail. It has a common Board of Management with the other two companies in the group, Ulsterbus and Metro.
The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966.
The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge but later acquired a number of 914 mm narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway that opened to traffic on 11 April 1848.
York Road railway station served the north of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly one of the three terminus railway stations in Belfast. The others were Great Victoria Street, and Queen's Quay.
Stranocum is a small village and townland in north County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The villages of Dervock and Armoy are nearby and the town of Ballymoney is about 5 miles (8 km) away. It had a population of 297 people in the 2011 Census.
Dervock is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about 3.5 miles (6 km) northeast of Ballymoney, on the banks of the River Bush. It is situated in the civil parish of Derrykeighan and the historic barony of Dunluce Lower. It had a population of 714 people in the 2011 Census.
The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) Class U2 4-4-0 passenger steam locomotives consisted of 18 locomotives built for service in north-east Ireland. Ten of the engines were new builds supplied by the North British Locomotive Company (NBL) or constructed at the NCC's York Road works. The remainder were rebuilds of existing locomotives.
Ballymena railway station serves the town of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located just outside Ballymena town centre on the Galgorm Road, and is integrated with the local bus station. It is situated on the Derry line between Antrim and Cullybackey. The station is operated by Northern Ireland Railways.
The Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR) Class S was a class of 2-4-2T two-cylinder compound steam locomotives that was introduced for service on the 3 ft narrow gauge railways of County Antrim in north-east Ireland.
The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) Class S1 was a class of two-cylinder compound 2-4-2T steam locomotives that was introduced for service on the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railways of County Antrim in north-east Ireland. The members of the class were rebuilds of the BNCR Class S.
Capecastle or Cape Castle is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, between Armoy and Ballycastle. It is part of the Causeway Coast and Glens district.
The Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway was a 3 ft narrow gauge railway between Ballymena and Retreat, both in County Antrim, in what is now Northern Ireland. It operated from 1875 to 1940.
The Ballymena and Larne Railway was a 3 ft narrow gauge railway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The first part opened in July 1877 and regular passenger services began in August 1878, the first on the Irish 3 ft gauge railways. Passenger services ended in 1933 and the last part of the railway closed in 1950.
Ulster railways, present and past, include:
Armoy was a station which served Armoy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was located on the Ballycastle Railway, a narrow gauge railway line which ran from Ballycastle to Ballymoney, entirely in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The track gauge was 3 ft.
Ballycastle railway station was on the Ballycastle Railway which ran from Ballymoney to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
Capecastle railway station was on the Ballycastle Railway which ran from Ballymoney to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
Gracehill railway station was on the Ballycastle Railway which ran from Ballymoney to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
Stranocum railway station was on the Ballycastle Railway which ran from Ballymoney to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
Dervock railway station was on the Ballycastle Railway which ran from Ballymoney to Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
