Steam railway enthusiast crushed to death

By SAM BEATTIE
Published on 31/01/2013 01:41

A STEAM railway enthusiast was crushed to death after a locomotive slipped into the wrong gear, trapping him between carriages, an inquest heard.

Retired police officer Robert Lund, 65, died almost instantly from “extreme” chest and abdominal injuries on 21 Mar last year, North Yorkshire Coroners’ Court in Scarborough was told.

Fellow volunteer Norman Ash, a retired professional train driver with more than 50 years’ experience, said it is possible he did not lock a reversing lever into place, which could have allowed the locomotive to slip between forward and reverse.

“I turned round to see which way was I was going and the next thing I knew I was going the opposite way,” he said.

“I slapped the emergency brake on. I was more concerned we were going to collide with the coaches we’d just come off. I never even thought about Mr Lund going back between the coaches.”