This book describes one of the less desirable claims to fame of Yorkshire, Britain’s largest county, of it being the scene of more accidents than any other county in the UK.

Richard Jones tells the story of railway accidents in the county, with many in the Victorian age, starting with a derailment at Howden on the Hull & Selby Railway in 1840, in which five people were killed.

Even though signalling and safety procedures improved over the years, accidents still happened. Several occurred at the same place, such as at Penistone in the 19th and 20th centuries, and an accident at Great Heck was the worst railway accident this century.

Of special interest is the listing of the scenes of the accidents and the dates when they occurred, and an interesting Appendix that lists the names and the home towns of the victims of each accident.

Published in August 2025 by Amberley Publishing and written by Richard M. Jones, this softcover book measures approximately 23.4 cm x 16.5 cm, has 96 pages, and 100 illustrations.

It has a published price of £15.99, but at the time of writing, it can be purchased for £14.39 from Amberley Publishing and for £12.39 from Amazon.

Although photography had been around for a few years before a disaster at Thirsk in 1892, the hand-drawn sketches at the left below convey the horrors of the event. A lasting memory of the event is the plaque shown on the right below, formed out of debris from the accident.

Today, Ribblehead Station in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, seen at the top left below, is an ideal starting point for walks through the magnificent scenery.

But on Christmas Eve in 1910, the nearby Hawes Junction was the scene of a horrific crash between two trains in which 12 people lost their lives.

Note: Our original review stated the Hawes crash was a head-on incident. This is what the book says, but having researched more, this detail in the book appears to be wrong, so we have amended our review.

The accident is remembered with the chimney from one of the locomotives involved in the crash seen at the bottom left below.

The photograph at the bottom right depicts an accident that fortunately didn’t result in a loss of life. In this case, the locomotive fell through a viaduct when the track collapsed beneath it, but fortunately, the driver and fireman jumped clear just before the locomotive ended up at the bottom of the valley.

The photo at the left below is a clear reminder of the perils of track buckling in summer heat. In this case, it is a memorial to eight people who died after a train derailed at Wath upon Dearne in South Yorkshire. On the right is a vivid illustration of the dangers of misusing rural level crossings, in this case, the remains of a lorry that had been carrying nine workers, three of whom were killed outright, and the rest seriously injured.

The photographs below show the scene of the Great Heck disaster, when ten people were killed after a Land Rover careered off the M62 motorway and down an embankment before colliding with a train travelling at over 100 mph on the East Coast Main Line.

It seems remarkable that a book could be devoted to railway disasters in a single English county. However, Yorkshire is Britain’s largest county, and with its constituent parts of North, South, and West Yorkshire, and the East Riding, its size would lead to it being the scene of more accidents than elsewhere in the country.

Richard Jones has produced a book that brings home the horrors whenever an accident occurs on Britain’s railways.

In some cases, sketches rather than photographs highlight the events more clearly. Some photographs typify what can soon turn from a place of tranquillity to a horror scene, such as the accident near Ribblehead Station on Christmas Eve in 1910.

Other reminders show the perils of track buckling in summer heat and the dangers of rural level crossings.

This is an excellent read, is well researched, and deserves a rating of 5/5.

The book is available to purchase from Amazon and from Amberley Publishing.

We would like to thank Amberley Publishing for providing us with a copy of the book for review.