Ballycastle Railway


Ballycastle Railway was a narrow gauge railway line which ran from Ballycastle to Ballymoney, both in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

History

Ballycastle Railway was authorised by the ', and opened in October 1880 and ran from Ballymoney, on the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, later Northern Counties Committee, main line to Derry, to Ballycastle. It was never a very profitable enterprise and eventually closed down on 24 March 1924. It was rescued by the NCC, which took it over completely on 4 May of the same year. It reopened on 11 August, although the legal change of ownership was not confirmed untill the next year by the '
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.

Nationalisation and closure

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 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 – 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.

Route

Other narrow gauge railways in Ulster