| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:34, 27th February 2026 |     |
Ahead of the sad anniversary tomorrow, I have moved and merged some previous posts on this topic here.
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by JontyMort at 21:20, 28th February 2021 | |
2001- GNER train from York to London King's Cross crashed at Great Heck between Goole and Selby, North Yorkshire, on the East Coast main line. ...
BBC at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-56085631 - "Selby rail crash: Disaster remembered 20 years on"
Worth a read, particularly for the intelligent and dignified contribution from Steve Dunn’s widow.
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by grahame at 18:38, 28th February 2021 | |
2001- GNER train from York to London King's Cross crashed at Great Heck between Goole and Selby, North Yorkshire, on the East Coast main line. ...
BBC at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-56085631 - "Selby rail crash: Disaster remembered 20 years on"
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by eXPassenger at 16:58, 28th February 2021 | |
I agree a terrible day and my thoughts for all those affected.
After the 2001 crash the driver's insurance company paid out over £20M. This is the UK's largest car insurance payout.
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by Electric train at 07:51, 28th February 2021 | |
1975 - At 8.37 am in the London rush hour, a Northern Line underground train crashed through the buffers at Moorgate station and hit a solid dead-end wall, killing 41 people and seriously injuring 50. The rescue operation took three days to complete.
2001- GNER train from York to London King's Cross crashed at Great Heck between Goole and Selby, North Yorkshire, on the East Coast main line. Gary Hart fell asleep at the wheel of his Land Rover and plunged 40ft down the railway embankment from the M62 into the path of an express train. The 4.45am Great North Eastern Intercity service from Newcastle to London King's Cross ploughed into the Land Rover before colliding with a coal train travelling north. 10 people, including both train drivers, died and more than 70 were injured. See ©BB plaque in the memorial garden that overlooks the track. See also ©BB picture. With an estimated closing speed of 142 mph the collision between the trains is the highest speed railway incident that has occurred in the UK. Hart was convicted of ten charges of causing death by dangerous driving, but served just 30 months of a five-year jail term.
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by Billhere at 10:10, 30th April 2016 | |
Worth keeping, part of the railway history. The son of the driver who was killed is himself a Driver now on SWT.
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by bobm at 08:11, 30th April 2016 | |
Interesting article on the National Rail Museum website about rescuing the books of condolence from the Great Heck (Selby) rail crash after the room in York they were stored in was flooded.
http://blog.nrm.org.uk/conserving-the-great-heck-books/
The Great Heck rail crash, widely known as the Selby rail crash, was a high-speed train accident that occurred at Great Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, England on the morning of 28 February 2001. A London-bound GNER (Great North Eastern Railway) service struck a Land Rover that was obstructing the tracks and was deflected into the path of a Freightliner coal train heading for Ferrybridge power station. Ten people died, including the drivers of both trains involved and the chef and guard of the GNER service, and 82 people suffered serious injuries. The accident was (and still is) the worst UK rail disaster of the 21st century, and it deeply affected the railway industry community and the travelling public.
Following the accident GNER, who held the East Coast Main Line franchise, put out books at their stations forthe public and members of staff to record condolences. The 17 books were signed by passengers, station staff, rail industry figures and local MPs. GNER also received dozens of letters and cards. The books were then gathered by GNER and stored in their headquarters which were located on Skeldergate.
(article continues in link)....
Following the accident GNER, who held the East Coast Main Line franchise, put out books at their stations forthe public and members of staff to record condolences. The 17 books were signed by passengers, station staff, rail industry figures and local MPs. GNER also received dozens of letters and cards. The books were then gathered by GNER and stored in their headquarters which were located on Skeldergate.
(article continues in link)....
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by Ollie at 11:25, 20th August 2009 | |
According to a report I saw he will be working for TubeLines. So 18 year olds can do it.
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by devon_metro at 15:22, 18th August 2009 | |
I have spoken to James in the past, and it was always his ambition. Good on him
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by Super Guard at 14:43, 18th August 2009 | |
Do you not have to be 21 to be a "rail driver" ?
The son of driver Stan Martin that was killed at Upton Nervet in 2004 also works for FGW now (who by co-incidence is also called James).
| Re: On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by Tim at 11:55, 18th August 2009 | |
From the BBC:
The son of a train driver killed in the Selby rail tragedy is to become a rail driver himself.
James Dunn, 18, from Nomansland, Wiltshire, was only nine-years-old when his father Steve, 39, and nine others were killed in the accident.
Mr Dunn's mother, Mary, said James had "always been interested in the railway" and that "his dad would have been thrilled" over his son's career choice.
Mr Dunn begins his training in London next month, his mother said.
She added that his father's death had made James "even more determined" to work with trains.
The tragedy at Greak Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, occurred when a Land Rover driven by Gary Hart veered off the M62 and onto the rail line after he fell asleep at the wheel in February 2001.
This caused a 125mph London express train and a 1,800-tonne freight train, driven by Steve Dunn, to collide, killing six passengers and four railway staff.
James Dunn, 18, from Nomansland, Wiltshire, was only nine-years-old when his father Steve, 39, and nine others were killed in the accident.
Mr Dunn's mother, Mary, said James had "always been interested in the railway" and that "his dad would have been thrilled" over his son's career choice.
Mr Dunn begins his training in London next month, his mother said.
She added that his father's death had made James "even more determined" to work with trains.
The tragedy at Greak Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, occurred when a Land Rover driven by Gary Hart veered off the M62 and onto the rail line after he fell asleep at the wheel in February 2001.
This caused a 125mph London express train and a 1,800-tonne freight train, driven by Steve Dunn, to collide, killing six passengers and four railway staff.
Mr Dunn was not a "rail victim" but the victim or an idiot in a Land Rover.
Anyway, alll teh best to James.
| On this day - 28 Feb 2001 - Great Heck / Selby railway tragedy (merged topics) Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 11:45, 18th August 2009 | |
From the BBC:
The son of a train driver killed in the Selby rail tragedy is to become a rail driver himself.
James Dunn, 18, from Nomansland, Wiltshire, was only nine-years-old when his father Steve, 39, and nine others were killed in the accident.
Mr Dunn's mother, Mary, said James had "always been interested in the railway" and that "his dad would have been thrilled" over his son's career choice.
Mr Dunn begins his training in London next month, his mother said.
She added that his father's death had made James "even more determined" to work with trains.
The tragedy at Greak Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, occurred when a Land Rover driven by Gary Hart veered off the M62 and onto the rail line after he fell asleep at the wheel in February 2001.
This caused a 125mph London express train and a 1,800-tonne freight train, driven by Steve Dunn, to collide, killing six passengers and four railway staff.
James Dunn, 18, from Nomansland, Wiltshire, was only nine-years-old when his father Steve, 39, and nine others were killed in the accident.
Mr Dunn's mother, Mary, said James had "always been interested in the railway" and that "his dad would have been thrilled" over his son's career choice.
Mr Dunn begins his training in London next month, his mother said.
She added that his father's death had made James "even more determined" to work with trains.
The tragedy at Greak Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, occurred when a Land Rover driven by Gary Hart veered off the M62 and onto the rail line after he fell asleep at the wheel in February 2001.
This caused a 125mph London express train and a 1,800-tonne freight train, driven by Steve Dunn, to collide, killing six passengers and four railway staff.
