The Film Archive of Railway Signalling & People

Bob Brook: Heck Crash

At about 0630 on the morning of Wednesday 28 February 2001, a vehicle left the M62 motorway at Great Heck, north of Doncaster, and ran down the railway embankment onto the East Coast Main Line. An approaching up express service was derailed by the presence of the vehicle and subsequently collided with a down freight train resulting in loss of 10 lives and serious injury to 82 other persons.

In this video retired railwayman Bob Brook, who was a passenger on the up service, recounts his experiences as a survivor of the collision. He also highlights the appalling attitudes of the Highways Agency to road safety compared to railway safety requirements and also the attitudes of the media who are more interested in sensationalising railway accidents than giving a properly balanced account.

The geographic location of the collision can be seen on a current OS Map. The map will place this location at the centre of the map panel, roll the mouse over the icon(s) to reveal what they represent. The map can be scrolled to the other nearby locations mentioned in the video. Increase the scale using the scale selector on the left to separate closely positioned icons.

This video is intended for viewing at a maximum screen resolution of 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. Please be aware that viewing at a larger size may result in a loss of clarity and a 'grainy' appearance.

Video Credits

Filmed by:	Richard Pulleyn
Filmed in:	2014
Interviewer:	Richard Pulleyn
Material provided:	Charles Weightman collection
Video Editor:	George Duncan

Copyright Notice

FARSAP videos are the copyright © of the Friends of The National Railway Museum.
The material may be freely used except for sale or advertising purposes.

Can you help?

The project would love to hear from you, especially if you worked or still work in a signal box, and you are willing to provide reminiscences and / or pictures. Please contact the The Friends of the National Railway Museum. Contact information is at the bottom of that page.

The Friends of The National Railway Museum

Visit the Friends of The National Railway Museum web site and find out more about them and what they do.

Why not become a Friend of The National Railway Museum yourself ?

The Signalling Record Society

If you are interested in railway signalling please explore their web site. Better still, Why not join the Signalling Record Society.