Northern Counties Committee

Once the BNCR had absorbed the Ballymena and Larne Railway in 1889 and the Carrickfergus and Larne Railway in 1890, it possessed both of the Irish routes leading to the Larne-Stranraer steamer.

Steamer services

The Larne-Stranraer steamer service continued to prosper. A new steamer, the Princess Maud, was delivered in May 1904. She was the first turbine steamer to operate on any of the cross-channel services on the Irish Sea. A further steamer arrived in 1912. The Princess Victoria was broadly similar to the Maud but with more powerful engines and improved passenger accommodation.

Meanwhile, the Midland Railway's Heysham-Belfast service began operations in September 1904 with three new ships, Antrim, Donegal and Londonderry. The NCC was less involved in this route than that to Stranraer but managed the facilities at the Donegall Quay berth in Belfast and provided booking facilities both in Belfast and through booking from its stations.

Preserved vehicles

A number of NCC vehicles have been preserved.

Class U2 4-4-0 No.74 Dunluce Castle is on display at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Cultra, County Down.

Class WT 2-6-4T steam locomotive No.4 is owned by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland at Whitehead which operates it on special excursion trains on the Irish railway network. The society also owns 3 NCC carriages.

Although none of the original NCC Class W's have survived into preservation, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland at Whitehead is building a new member of the class.

Coaches Nos.68, 87 and 91, are at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland site at Whitehead.

Railcar No.1 is stored in a dilapidated condition at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland site at Whitehead.

Coaches Nos.238 and 241, former Midland Railway vehicles which had been transferred to the NCC from the LMS as replacements for stock destroyed in the air raid of 4 May 1941, were repatriated in 2004 and 2005 respectively and are at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, Embsay, Yorkshire.

Portstewart Tramway Kitson 0-4-0 tram locomotive No.1 was an early candidate for preservation, crossing the Irish Sea in 1939, and is in the collection of the Streetlife Museum of Transport, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire.

Portstewart Tramway Kitson 0-4-0 tram locomotive No.2 is on display at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, County Down.

An ex-NCC Lister internal combustion engined platform truck may also be seen at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

LMS (NCC) 36 ton steam breakdown crane (Cowans Sheldon and Co., 1931) – now Ireland's largest – and a number of vans may be found at the Downpatrick and County Down Railway, Downpatrick, County Down.

23 December 1878. Wagons ran away while a mixed train was shunting at Duncrue siding near Carrickfergus.

28 September 1887. An up train derailed just on the Londonderry side of the Bann Bridge at Coleraine. During his investigation, Colonel Rich found that the track was old and the ballast to be of poor quality. He commented on the lack of timber baulks on the bridge itself that would prevent a derailed train from falling in the river and also criticised the signalling arrangements at the bridge which the company revised shortly afterwards.

27 February 1892. A ballast train from Limavady ran into the back of the 07.00 Londonderry to Belfast passenger train at Castlerock. There were no injuries. Major General Hutchinson found fault with personnel at Downhill and Castlerock for signalling irregularities. The passenger train had been running late due to poor steaming because the brick arch in its firebox had collapsed some days previously and General Hutchinson censured the driver for not reporting the collapse.

25 August 1894. A stopping train from Larne Harbour to Belfast derailed on a section of track that was being relaid shortly after leaving Whitehead. A 10 mph (16 km/h) speed restriction should have been imposed but the permanent way gang carrying out the work had failed to post warning signs and had left the track in a dangerous condition. Fortunately the derailed vehicles remained upright as they passed through Whitehead tunnel otherwise the consequences could have been much more serious.

7 August 1897. The firebox collapsed on 2-4-0 locomotive No.58, killing both locomotive men on the approach to Antrim station. Major F.A. Marindin RE found that the procedure for inspecting locomotive boilers was inadequate and a more rigorous regime was put in place.

13 July 1898. The 09.55 Belfast to Larne passenger train overran signals at Larne Town station and collided with a train of empty coaches causing extensive damage to both trains. Lieutenant Colonel George Addison RE found that lapses routinely occurred in working the block system and signals. Shortly afterwards, Larne Town station was completely resignalled and the Larne Town-Larne Harbour section was equipped with tablet instruments.

10 October 1900. The 16.00 train from Kilrea to Coleraine was completely derailed a little over a mile to the south of Coleraine station but fortunately there were no injuries. Major J.W. Pringle RE determined that the cause was excessive speed over old iron rails aggravated by the rigidity of the double-framed locomotive, No.22. The completion of the track relaying programme was put in hand immediately.

25 September 1902. A special troop train from Ballincollig, County Cork to Larne Harbour became divided. The detached rear portion subsequently collided with that in front between Greenisland and Trooperslane. Four vehicles were destroyed and many others damaged; three cavalry horses were killed but there were no other injuries. Major Pringle felt that the locomotive crew had not been sufficiently vigilant in keeping a proper lookout. Furthermore, he censured the Great Southern and Western Railway, the GNR(I) and the BNCR, over whose metals the train had run, for treating it as goods or cattle and marshalling the passenger vehicles behind the non-braked cattle wagons with the result that the vacuum brake was not in operation throughout the train.