Editing Northern Counties Committee (section)

{{short description|Railway in Northern Ireland (1903–1949)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2015}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox rail
|railroad_name     = Northern Counties Committee
|image             = Steam train, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum - panoramio.jpg
|image_caption     = [[NCC Class U2|Class U2]] 74 Dunluce Castle at the [[Ulster Folk and Transport Museum]], Cultra
|start_year        = {{Start date|1903}}
|end_year          = {{End date|1949}}
|predecessor_line  =  
|successor_line    = [[Ulster Transport Authority]]
|gauge             = {{RailGauge|5 ft 3 in|lk=on|allk=on}}<br/>
{{RailGauge|3 ft|lk=on|allk=on}}
| length                          = {{convert|281|mi|17|chain}} (1925)<ref name="RYB" />
| tracklength                     = {{convert|388|mi|2|chain}} (1925)<ref name="RYB" />
|predecessors={{Collapsible list
  |framestyle=border:none; padding:0; <!--Hides borders and improves row spacing-->
  |title=List of prior companies<ref name="RYB">{{Cite book |title=The Railway Year Book for 1926 |publisher=The Railway Publishing Company Limited |year=1926 |location=London |pages=245–247}}</ref>
  |1=Belfast and Ballymena Railway (1848–1859) |2=Ballymena, Colraine and Portrush Railway (1855-1861) |3=Londonderry and Colraine Railway (1852-1871) |4=Ballymena, Cushendall and Redbay Railway (1875-1884) |5=Ballymena and Larne Railway (1877-1889) |6=Carrickfergus and Larne Railway (1862-1890) |7=Draperstown Railway (1883-1895) |8=Portstewart Tramway (1882-1897) |9=Derry Central Railway (1880-1901) |10=Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (1860–1902) |11=Limavady and Dungiven Railway (1883-1907)|12=Donegal Railway (Derry to Strabane section) (1900-1906) |13=Ballycastle Railway (1880-1924)}}|system_map=Map of Northern Counties Committee 1926.jpg|map_caption=1926 map of the railway}}

The '''Northern Counties Committee''' (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to [[Irish gauge]] ({{RailGauge|1600mm}}) but later acquired a number of {{RailGauge|914mm}} [[narrow gauge]] lines. It had its origins in the '''Belfast and Ballymena Railway''' which 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 [[Railways Act 1921|1923 Grouping]] of British railway companies, the Committee became part of the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS). After the [[Transport Act 1947|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 Northern Ireland. They were able to develop and exploit the advantages of the [[Larne]] to [[Stranraer]] ferry route between Northern Ireland and Scotland which gained importance in [[World War II]].