Editing Northern Counties Committee (section)

===Cookstown extension===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Belfast and Ballymena Extension Railway Act 1853
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1853
| citation              = [[16 & 17 Vict.]] c. lxviii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 28 June 1853
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/16-17/68/pdfs/ukla_18530068_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Cookstown extension railway line routemap}}
Terminating at a small country town, the Randalstown branch was not generating as much traffic as the directors wished. Therefore, it was decided to extend the line to [[Cookstown]]. The act of Parliament for this extension, the '''{{visible anchor|Belfast and Ballymena Extension Railway Act 1853}}''' ([[16 & 17 Vict.]] c. lxviii) became law on 28 June 1853. After a delay to acquire land and raise capital, William Dargan was awarded the contract for building the line and began work in March 1855.

The Cookstown extension included two massive engineering features. One was the eight-span masonry bridge which carried the line fifty feet above the [[River Main (County Antrim)|River Main]] just outside Randalstown and the other, a few miles further on, was a lattice bridge with a swing section across the [[River Bann]] near its outflow from [[Lough Neagh]]. Nevertheless, Dargan was able to carry out the work on the Cookstown extension speedily and the line was deemed to be ready for a Board of Trade inspection on 13 October 1856.

Captain H. W. Tyler RE, the inspecting officer, reported that although there was much that was satisfactory, the presence of an unauthorised level crossing prevented his allowing the line to be opened. Eventually, following correspondence between the directors and the Board of Trade, permission was given to open the line on condition that a bridge replaced the crossing within six months. The line was officially opened on 16 October 1856 but public services did not begin until 10 November. Four trains ran in each direction on weekdays and two on Sundays.