Thirty years on, one of the rescuers on the scene at the Granville Train Disaster reflects on his faith and his own need for a rescuer.
Gary Raymond vividly recalls his experiences on January 18, 1977, working as a member of the Police Rescue & Bomb Squad, looking for survivors at the wreckage of the Granville Train Disaster.
"I remember going underneath the bridge then crawling over, under and through piles of dead people's bodies," says Gary, a retired superintendent with the NSW Police Service.
"Looking back at that accident, there should have been twice as many killed. It's a miracle that so many survived."
Gary, who attends Parramatta Salvation Army says it's important to commemorate the anniversary of the Granville Train Disaster.
"Celebrating the survival of so many people is a good thing to do. It's also good to get together with family and friends of victims and other rescuers," Gary says.
"It's an opportunity to comfort them and continue encouraging them. It's a trauma check."
Gary became a Christian almost three years after the Granville Train Disaster on November 29, 1979.
"The Police Academy instructors had emphasised that we should be self-reliant and unemotional. I joined in the "work hard, play hard' ethic and I suffered from drinking bouts and depression," Gary says.
"That November night I began to weep as my sin and failures began to surface in my mind. Since then, I have learned to depend on him to forgive my sin and help me deal with the stresses and pressures of policing."
When Gary preaches in churches and youth meetings he uses his police rescue experience to share the gospel.
"In police rescue I used to help people in physical trouble, but now I help people see that God can rescue people in eternal trouble. There are lots of parallels between police rescue and evangelism."
30th anniversary church service
A memorial church service will be held at 11am at St Mark's, Granville on Thursday, January 18 to commemorate the 83 individuals that were killed in the Granville Train Disaster.
The rector of St Mark's, Canon James McPherson says the disaster is still etched in the local psyche.
"I don't think the area has ever really recovered. While there has been a lot of demographic change, there are still those living here who were present at the accident that day," he says.
"I think it's important the church holds this community event. We are being host to people who might otherwise have nowhere else to go to grieve."
Canon McPherson says it is an opportunity for the church to proclaim its message to the community.
"We are showing that the church cares, that we acknowledge grieving and the work of the emergency and volunteer services. God is honoured in all sorts of healing and rescue ministries that seek to relieve human suffering," he says.
Anglicare CEO Peter Kell will deliver the message at the memorial service.
