cost of war bonuses was also met by the government. The tremendous consumption of coal by industry meant that less was available for Ireland and in March 1918 the Board of Trade ordered the Irish railways to cut their consumption by 20%. The NCC maintained its goods mileage but reduced passenger working by a quarter. Control did not end with the Armistice in 1918. The IREC enforced the eight-hour day for railwaymen starting in January 1919. This resulted in the NCC having to employ an additional 158 men in the traffic department. The newly created Ministry of Transport assumed the powers of the IREC which ceased to function on 31 December 1919. Negotiations between the railways and the ministry for de-control and compensation continued throughout 1920 and early 1921 and governmental supervision came to an end on 15 August 1921. The troubles There was widespread political unrest in Ireland during the 1920s. The railways were prime targets although the NCC did not suffer as seriously as other lines. On 25 March 1921, wooden buildings at Crossroads, Cargan, Parkmore and Retreat on the Cushendall line were set on fire and completely destroyed. The same night the signal cabins at Killagan and Dunloy on the main line were destroyed by fire while that at Glarryford suffered minor damage. Two trains that were crossing at Staffordstown on 29 June 1921 were held up by armed men who robbed mailbags. In a similar incident armed men stopped a train from Parkmore near Martinstown and again rifled mailbags. On 3 May 1922 an attempt was made to set fire to coaches stabled at Limavady but was foiled by the prompt action of staff. A more serious arson attack on 19 May destroyed part of Ballymena station. The only recorded attempt to damage the track itself was on 19 May when a bridge between Killagan and Dunloy was damaged by explosives. Repairs took four days during which time passengers had to pass the gap on foot. Sadly two members of staff were murdered in Belfast. The first incident took place on the night of 14 April 1922 when a driver was shot near the engine shed and in the other a ganger was killed in broad daylight on 22 May. One other casualty was a police constable who was hit by a train while guarding Randalstown viaduct. Changed conditions The railways had regained control of their