Editing Northern Counties Committee (section)

==London, Midland and Scottish Railway (Northern Counties Committee)==
[[Image:LMS shield on station in leeds.jpg|thumb|right|LMS crest.]]
The Midland Railway, and with it the NCC, was grouped by the [[Railways Act 1921]] into the [[London, Midland & Scottish Railway]] (LMS) in 1923. On grouping, it was recorded as having {{convert|201|mi|km}} of [[Irish broad gauge]] and {{convert|64|mi|km}} of {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] track. The LMS started painting NCC locomotives and carriages into crimson lake (also known as Midland red).

A new railway bridge over the [[River Bann]] at [[Coleraine]] was opened in March 1924. It had been built to replace an older bridge dating from 1860. The construction of this {{convert|800|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} bridge was carried out to the design and largely under the supervision of [[Bowman Malcolm]]. The opening span was the first application of the Strauss underhung [[Bascule bridge|bascule principle]] in the United Kingdom.

The NCC took over the operation of the narrow gauge [[Ballycastle Railway]] in August 1924, completing its acquisition of the line in June 1925. This brought the NCC up to its maximum route mileage of {{convert|282|mi|km}}.

The first line closure took place when the Portstewart Tramway ceased operating on 31 January 1926 due to continuing losses, deferred maintenance and obsolete equipment. The NCC sponsored a replacement bus service.

York Road station, Belfast was resignalled with colour light signalling. The installation, which was brought into use in 1926, was the first of its kind in Ireland and among the earliest large installations in the United Kingdom.

During the 1920s, the railways began to face increasing competition from road transport operators. The NCC responded by taking over competing bus services and running its own bus network.

===Statistics – 1932===
* In 1932 the Committee owned 73 locomotives, of which 14 were tank engines; 190 passenger carriages; 150 other coaching vehicles and 2389 goods vehicles.
* The company's locomotives ran a total of 1 941 407 engine miles of which 1 213 336 were loaded train miles.
* Carried 2 682 291 passengers; 99 053 head of livestock and 549 087 tons of goods traffic.
* The Committee owned 115 buses and 36 goods and parcels road vehicles.
* The Committee owned the Midland Station Hotel, Belfast; Northern Counties Hotel, Portrush; and the Laharna Hotel, Larne
:All details in this section are from ''London Midland and Scottish Railway Company (Northern Counties Committee) Financial Accounts and Statistical Returns. Year 1932''.

===Developments in the 1930s===
Although the NCC had dealt with the issue of competing passenger road transport by running its own bus services, competition from unregistered road freight operators remained a problem.

A number of innovations were introduced during the 1930s with the intention of bringing about greater economies or improving services to retain existing customers and attract new ones.

On the single line sections of the Main Line north-west of Ballymena and on the Larne Line north of Whitehead, crossing loops were relaid in the 1930s to provide one completely straight or "fast" line to allow the passage of express trains at high speed in both directions.

==== Greenisland Loop Line ====
It had long been recognised that the need for Main Line trains to reverse at [[Greenisland]] was undesirable. Various plans for a direct line bypassing Greenisland had been proposed over the years but the engineering problems faced by having to cross Valentine's Glen near [[Whiteabbey]] and surmount Mossley Col had precluded these. However, construction started on such a scheme on 1 January 1931.

This involved creating a new junction at [[Bleach Green]] where the Larne and Loop Lines diverged. The former main line from Greenisland Junction was singled and joined the new Main Line at a new connection, Mossley Junction, to the east of Mossley station. The old main line became known as the "Back Line". The ruling gradient on the Loop Line was 1 in 75 which could only be achieved by excavating and lowering a section of the existing Main Line near Mossley station. The new lines were carried over Valentine's Glen on imposing ferro-concrete viaducts. The smaller of these curved to the east from Bleach Green Junction as a [[burrowing junction]] passing under a skew span of the larger Main Line viaduct which curved westwards. The old masonry Main Line viaduct was retained to carry what had become the up Larne Line.

A strike by Irish locomotive men in 1933 delayed completion and it was not until 22 January 1934 that the new lines opened for regular service.

Part of the programme included resignalling the lines between Belfast, Greenisland and Mossley Junction with automatic colourlight signals. A new signal cabin was built at Greenisland to control train movements over the triangle formed by the Loop Line, Larne Line and the Back Line.

Although the distance covered by the Loop Line was only two miles less than by the old route, eliminating the reversal at Greenisland saved as much as fifteen minutes allowing services to be accelerated. Some up Main Line trains were divided at Ballyclare Junction with coaches for Larne Harbour being detached and worked over the Back Line to Greenisland while the main part of the train continued to Belfast.

====North Atlantic Express====
Given the opportunity for accelerating services provided by the opening of the Greenisland Loop Lines and the availability of the new powerful Class W 2-6-0 locomotives, a new express service known as the "North Atlantic Express" was introduced between [[Portrush]] on the north coast of County Antrim and Belfast.

The "North Atlantic Express" began operation on 1 June 1934 and was intended to exploit the market in prestigious long-distance commuter traffic. A set of three luxurious new coaches with large picture windows, including a {{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[buffet car]], was built for the service.

Initially, 80 minutes was allowed for the {{convert|65+1/4|mi|km}} journey with a stop of one minute at Ballymena but this was progressively reduced to 73 minutes by 1938. Slick working was needed as slightly more than half of the route was single track. For the first time on the NCC a start-to-stop booking of {{convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} was required as only 31 minutes were allowed for the {{convert|31|mi|km}} from Ballymena to Belfast.

Two further coaches were built for the "North Atlantic Express" in 1935 and on arrival at Belfast in the morning the set was speedily attached to the Larne Harbour boat train to provide a through Portrush to Larne service.

The "North Atlantic Express" was discontinued on the outbreak of World War Two although the coaches would be used on prestige services in the immediate post-war years.

====Railcars====
Four [[railcar]]s entered service on the NCC's lines between 1933 and 1938. They were all double-ended single units with underfloor engines and running on two four-wheel bogies.

The first of these, No.1, was {{convert|56|ft|m|abbr=on}} long and seated 61 passengers. It had a traditionally constructed wooden body and was powered by two [[Leyland Motors|Leyland]] {{convert|130|bhp|abbr=on}} petrol engines with hydraulic transmission in the form of [[Lysholm-Smith]] [[torque converter]]s. No.1 was re-engined with Leyland diesels in 1947 and again in 1959.

The next car, No.2, introduced in 1934, was to a radically different design. An ungainly looking machine, it had a {{convert|62|ft|m|abbr=on}} long, slab-sided lightweight body that was to prove problematic. To eliminate the need to run round its trailer at termini, it was equipped with an elevated driving position at each end (similar to some [[Micheline (railcar)|French railcars]]) so that the driver could see over the top of a trailer that was being propelled. No.2 could seat 75 third class and five first class passengers and was powered by two {{convert|125|bhp|abbr=on}} Leyland Diesel engines with a similar transmission to No.1. No.2's looks were improved somewhat when the raised drivers' cabs were removed during its NCC service.

Railcars Nos.3 and 4 were built in 1935 and 1938 respectively and were virtually identical. Like No.2, they were {{convert|62|ft|m|abbr=on}} long with elevated driving positions but there the similarity ended as the cars had "air smoothed" bodywork. Each seating 80 passengers, they too were powered by two {{convert|125|bhp|abbr=on}} Leyland Diesel engines with hydraulic transmission.

In 1934, two railcar trailers emerged from York Road works. Of light weight construction, they weighed only 17 tons (17 tonne) but each could seat 100 passengers. They had a low roof profile so that the railcar driver in his elevated cab could more easily see ahead when propelling them. Elderly former BNCR Class I1 bogie brake tricomposite coaches dating from the 1890s supplemented the purpose-built trailers and provided an interesting contrast between the latest technology and Victorian design.

Besides pulling their trailers, the railcars could also be seen hauling 4-wheel vans. With top speeds of around {{convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, the railcars were not restricted to branch lines but could also work stopping trains on the main lines.

Railcar No.2 was withdrawn in 1954 and No.3 was destroyed by fire in 1957 but the remaining two cars were to continue in service until the mid-1960s.

=== Pole report and the NIRTB ===
[[Image:NCC NIRTB TT.jpg|thumb|right|Joint NCC and NIRTB tours guide for the summer of 1936.]]
The railways continued to lose business to unlicensed, "pirate" road freight operators and in 1932, the [[Belfast and County Down Railway|BCDR]], GNR(I) and NCC formally asked the government to create a monopoly covering road transport throughout Northern Ireland. [[Felix Pole|Sir Felix Pole]], a former manager of the [[Great Western Railway]], was appointed to investigate the road transport situation. After taking evidence from a wide range of interests, such as the railways, road transport operators, transport users and trades unions, his report was published in July 1934. Pole recommended that a board be set up to control all bus and lorry operations which would co-operate and co-ordinate its activities with the railways.

The government accepted these proposals and, on 1 October 1935, the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board (NIRTB) came into being and absorbed buses and coaches from the three railway companies. The NCC handed over 131 buses and 56 lorries together with operating and maintenance staff, the Smithfield bus station in Belfast and other facilities. A joint NCC/NIRTB passenger timetable was issued from 1 October and it was arranged that the NIRTB could continue to use the former NCC bus and lorry facilities at railway stations. However, the hoped for co-operation between road and rail failed to materialise and the new board appeared to be only interested in co-ordinating road transport to better compete with the railways. There were complaints from the public that the NIRTB's rates were higher and its services poorer than those previously provided.

In response to demands from the railways and other interested parties, the government set up two enquiries into the road transport situation. A committee headed by Sir William McClintock made a wide-ranging and complex investigation into the financial and organisational structure while a commission of His Honour Herbert Thompson [[King's Counsel|KC]] specifically investigated rates and fares. The scope of these reports overlapped to some extent and they were published together in late 1938.

The McClintock report ascertained that there was organised competition on the part of the NIRTB against the railways' freight services. It recommended abolishing the NIRTB and setting up a single authority to control road transport, the NCC and the BCDR (the GNR(I) was excluded because of its international nature). A select committee of both Houses of the Northern Ireland Parliament was appointed to review the reports. It completed its deliberations in mid 1939 and recommended that the Government should compel the NIRTB and the railways to co-ordinate their services. The political climate in the late summer of 1939 was, however, such that no action would be taken and the unsatisfactory transport situation continued.

===World War II===
[[Image:NCC Emer TT A 1939.jpg|thumb|right|Front cover of Emergency Timetable 'A' dated 16 October 1939]]
Following the [[Declaration of war#1939|declaration of war]] on 3 September 1939, ''Emergency Time Table 'A''' was introduced. Services were cut back to reduce train mileage and decelerated so that the running speed of many trains did not exceed {{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. However, the speed limit was not rigidly enforced and subsequent issues of the time table progressively expanded the service. A regular routine was established which lasted until the air raids in 1941.

During 1940 two ambulance trains were prepared for emergencies. For each train the LMS provided three regauged coaches and the NCC and GNR(I) each supplied four vehicles. Initially both were stationed at Whitehead but one was later moved to the GNR(I). The ambulance trains were little used and returned to railway ownership in 1944. At the same time, the [[War Department (UK)|War Department]] converted a number of GNR(I) wagons into diesel-engined armoured trolleys. Disguised as cement wagons, they were initially stationed at Whitehead and later Magherafelt.

Unlike the situation in [[World War I]], government control was not imposed on the railways of Northern Ireland during [[World War II]].

NCC trains covered almost twelve million miles during the six years of war.

====The Blitz====
The [[Luftwaffe]] attacked Belfast three times in 1941. The first air raid was on the night of 7/8 April. Although some doors and windows were blown out, little damage was done to NCC installations. An attack in greater force on the night of 15/16 April was [[Belfast Blitz|a much more serious affair]]. York Road station was hit, the facade suffering considerable damage. The general stores department and various offices were burned out.

The last air raid was on 4 May and concentrated on the docks and shipyard. The NCC suffered severe damage because of its closeness to the docks and York Road station was made unusable. Almost all the remaining station offices, its overall roof and the Midland Hotel were gutted by fire. Both the inwards and outwards goods sheds were destroyed and the works section extensively damaged with several workshops completely burned out and a consequent loss of stores and equipment. Bombs also cut the running lines in two places between York Road and Whitehouse.

Unfortunately, manning problems meant that it had not been possible to evacuate rolling stock to other locations as planned and several trains were caught in the air raid. Twenty coaches were destroyed along with more than 250 wagons representing heavy losses of 10% and 15% of total stock respectively. Despite the surrounding destruction, however, the locomotive sheds and the signal cabin remained undamaged.

Temporary passenger termini were set up at Whitehouse and Whiteabbey with shuttle bus services to the city operated by the NIRTB. Goods services were transferred to the [[Great Northern Railway (Ireland)|GNR(I)]] Grosvenor Road goods yard. Meanwhile, the Civil Engineer's staff and military personnel worked to clear debris and demolish dangerous structures at York Road. The station reopened to passengers on 8 May and shortly afterwards it was possible to accept goods traffic.

The loss of rolling stock imposed severe constraints on the NCC's ability to maintain its services. The LMS provided twenty ex-Midland Railway coaches that were no longer included in its capital stock and these were regauged in Belfast. Meanwhile, arrangements were made for the [[Great Southern Railways]] (GSR) and GNR(I) to build and repair 250 wagons.

====Military traffic====
The first special trains carrying soldiers ran on 27 September 1939 when two trains carried a Belfast [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|territorial]] battalion from a camp in Portstewart.

The NCC served both of Northern Ireland's most important harbours, Belfast and Larne, during the war. From the beginning Larne-Stranraer was the principal route used by military personnel; the [[Republic of Ireland|Irish state]] remained neutral and the [[Dún Laoghaire]]-[[Holyhead]] route was not available. Various territorial units were transferred from Northern Ireland to Great Britain. At first each movement numbered less than 400 personnel but this soon increased to over 1 000 which required multiple special trains and additional steamer sailings.

The first significant move into Northern Ireland was in late 1939 when 2 700 men of the [[British 158th Infantry Brigade]] were sent to various destinations. Although there were logistical problems on this occasion, valuable lessons were learned. The buildup of troops in Northern Ireland for training continued and with it came the need to arrange for leave traffic. Few special trains were required at first but in July 1940, an extra steamer sailing was put on from Larne Harbour and additional trains were run from Londonderry and Belfast to connect with it. By 1941, the reverse working from Larne Harbour required a train of up to seventeen coaches.

The first United States troops to land in the United Kingdom in World War II disembarked at Belfast on 26 January 1942. Although some were billeted in Belfast the majority were bound for other destinations. The NCC provided seven special trains and was thus the first railway in World War II to transport American troops in Europe. There were many more such arrivals over the following two years. The need for leave trains decreased considerably as the continued influx of Americans displaced their British counterparts and had almost ceased by mid-1943.

The training programmes for British and American troops involved battle exercises for which heavy military vehicles had to be transported. The NCC converted existing rolling stock to provide 61 end-loading wagons.

Having completed their training, the United States' forces began leaving Northern Ireland in the spring of 1944 in readiness for the [[Normandy Landings]]. The NCC worked hard to ensure that each train arrived in Belfast on time so that the troopships could sail with a minimum of delay. Once the invasion of Europe was underway the number of troops in Northern Ireland decreased rapidly and with them the special problems they had created for the NCC.

Londonderry became an important naval base supporting the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] and a large traffic in personnel and ''[[materiel]]'' developed. At its peak in April 1943 some 20 500 men travelled to Londonderry. The facilities at Londonderry were inconvenient and rapidly became inadequate to cope with the buildup in naval activity; in late 1941 the [[Royal Navy]] started work on an additional base with extensive jetties at [[Lisahally]] about {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} from Londonderry. The NCC already had a siding at this location and a new signal cabin and crossing loop were installed. Lisahally base was much used by allied navies during the Battle of the Atlantic and at the end of the war as a berth for captured German U-boats.

Some movements of [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POW) took place, mostly of captured submarine crews, who were transported by train from Londonderry to Belfast en route to internment at [[Holywood, County Down|Holywood]]. Later, vacated army camps were used as POW centres, those on the NCC being near Dunloy and Cookstown.

====Civilian traffic====
Civilian passenger journeys increased rapidly from the start of the war, partly because of evacuation from Belfast and the petrol restrictions which made the railway the only available means of transport. This was particularly so after the 1941 Blitz when many people fled to the countryside.

The following table shows the number of passenger journeys for each of the six years of war, when a total of nearly 45 million passengers were carried, with those for 1937 included for comparison.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!scope="col" width="30px" |Year
!scope="col" width="100px" |First class<br />
passengers
!scope="col" width="100px" |Second class<br />
passengers
!scope="col" width="100px" |Third class<br />
passengers
|-
|align="center"|1937||align="right"|53,000||align="right"|48,000||align="right"|3,606,000
|-
|align="center"|1939||align="right"|46,000||align="right"|35,000||align="right"|3,475,000
|-
|align="center"|1940||align="right"|71,000||align="right"|36,000||align="right"|3,820,000
|-
|align="center"|1941||align="right"|133,000*||align="right"|51,000||align="right"|7,592,000
|-
|align="center"|1942||align="right"|196,000||align="right"|68,000||align="right"|7,786,000
|-
|align="center"|1943||align="right"|266,000||align="right"|92,000||align="right"|7,768,000
|-
|align="center"|1944||align="right"|317,000||align="right"|126,000||align="right"|8,023,000
|-
|align="center"|1945||align="right"|282,000||align="right"|127,000||align="right"|7,826,000
|}
<small>* The sharp increase in first class passengers reflects the effects of petrol rationing followed by the withdrawal of private cars from the roads in 1942.</small>

The passenger train service was greatly changed with only a few old-established trains remaining. War work increased traffic during the morning and afternoon peaks on the Larne line requiring additional trains and even affected services on the main line as far as [[Cullybackey]].

The boat train services were completely altered due to the upsurge in steamer traffic. The pre-war through coaches that had provided a Londonderry-Larne Harbour service via Belfast were replaced by a direct service of up and down trains routed along the Back Line from Monkstown Junction to Greenisland.

Before the war most of the military works had been centred on Belfast but now workmen had to travel all over the system, especially between Coleraine and Londonderry where several airfields were being constructed. Further services were operated between Coleraine and [[Aghadowey]] and from Cullybackey and Randalstown to [[Aldergrove, County Antrim|Aldergrove]] for airfield construction and from Belfast and Cullybackey to the [[Royal Naval Torpedo Factory, Antrim|Royal Naval torpedo factory at Antrim]]. The long closed halt at Barn near Carrickfergus reopened in 1942 to serve nearby mills producing parachutes.

There was one unusual occurrence of a station having to close because of excessive demand. The tiny halt at Eden between Carrickfergus and Kilroot had platforms that were barely one coach long yet about one hundred passengers were forcing themselves on to it at the morning peak. There was a danger that some would be swept off by non-stop trains and the halt was closed. Later, Eden was reopened for some off peak services.

====Freight====
There was a significant upsurge in freight traffic. The following table shows the tonnages of traffic moved by freight trains in the years between 1938 and 1945.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Freight<br />
(tons)
|-
|| 1938 || style="width:65pt;"|402,600
|-
|| 1939 || 477,300
|-
|| 1940 || 570,200
|-
|| 1941 || 713,900
|-
|| 1942 || 874,900
|-
|| 1943 || 755,200
|-
|| 1944 || 807,700
|-
|| 1945 || 724,300
|}
Five new classes of freight traffic contributed to this increase:
*Government stores for the Royal Navy, War Department and [[Royal Air Force]] depots;
*Construction materials for airfields, etc.;
*Traffic dispersed for safe storage away from Belfast;
*Development of materials not used in peacetime;
*Traffic directed from road to rail because of petrol rationing.

Northern Ireland's strategic importance led to an increase in the number of airfields from three to twenty one. This massive construction programme required huge quantities of stone, cement and general building materials. The NCC's ballast quarry at Ballyboyland and others at Portrush and Coleraine supplied the majority of the stone needed for the airfields in the NCC's area. Cement came by rail from the [[Blue Circle Industries|British Portland Cement Manufacturers']] works at [[Magheramorne]] and via the GNR(I) from [[Drogheda]] in [[County Louth]].

Additional military supply depots were built near NCC lines at [[Ballyclare]], Lismoney near [[Magherafelt]] and at [[Desertmartin]] on the Draperstown branch. There were petrol depots at Randalstown and Limavady all of which generated a great deal of traffic. Ammunition generally came into Northern Ireland through the harbours at Coleraine and [[Warrenpoint]] and was forwarded by rail to depots at Antrim and [[Dungiven]].

===Post-war era===
Large-scale troop movements and additional passenger and freight traffic had ensured the NCC's prosperity during World War II. The ending of hostilities, however, saw passenger and goods traffic receipts decline rapidly as fuel for road transport became available.

Despite the worsening financial situation, the NCC introduced a number of measures in an attempt to improve the railway's competitive position. Services were accelerated and, although the poor condition of the track due to deferred maintenance meant that it was not possible to attain pre-war timings, strenuous efforts were made to ensure that trains adhered to the published schedules.

In 1944 the NCC had decided that its system should be worked by tank engines and placed an initial order for four locomotives to be built at Derby and erected in Belfast. The first of these [[NCC WT Class|WT Class 2-6-4 tank]] locomotives were delivered in the late summer of 1946. Additional orders followed and by the end of 1947 ten engines were in service. Passenger rolling stock was augmented by eight elderly ex-Midland Railway coaches from the LMS which were refurbished in Belfast and fitted with salvaged {{convert|5|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} gauge bogies.

A start was made on restoring the permanent way and air-raid damage at York Road station was repaired.

The company's hotels, which had closed during the war years, were reopened to the public by mid-1947 although the Midland Station Hotel in Belfast, which had suffered severe damage during the 1941 Blitz, was not fully operational. Paths and bridges at Glenariff were repaired but the Gobbins cliff path, on which maintenance had ceased in 1942, would not reopen under NCC management.

The Northern Ireland Government resumed its deliberations into the transport situation that had been postponed during the war. It published a [[White Paper]] in 1946 that proposed the amalgamation of the BCDR, the NCC and the NIRTB, together with that portion of the GNR(I) which lay in Northern Ireland, into a single organisation to be known as the [[Ulster Transport Authority]] (UTA). In the event, however, the GNR(I) was to be excluded from the provisions of The [[Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1948]] (c. 16 (N.I.)) and when the UTA came into existence on 1 April 1948, only the [[Belfast and County Down Railway|BCDR]] and the NIRTB would be absorbed at first; the NCC's British connection meant that there was a delay in its acquisition by the new organisation.