COLWICH MEMORIAL GARDEN
The garden is dedicated to the memory of Driver Eric Goode who died in the rail crash at Colwich Junction on 19th September 1986.
The accident happened after a northbound London – Manchester train
hauled by Class 86, No 86429 ‘The Times’, passed a signal at red and
came to a stand on the junction crossover. Seconds later it was hit
head-on by a southbound Liverpool – London train travelling at the
line speed of 100mph, under clear signals, and hauled by Class 86,
No 86211 ‘City of Milton Keynes’.
Tragically, Eric Goode, the driver of the Liverpool train, was
killed and
75 passengers were injured, 4 seriously.
A few months after the crash, a trackside Memorial Garden was created by the late Alf Taylor, close to the spot were the accident occurred. Alf was a Permanent Way Supervisor for the Colwich area and a local resident. He tended the garden until his death in 1997, since when the garden became over grown and received only occasional maintenance by Railtrack / Network Rail.
Early in 2006 Colwich Parish Council appealed for help to renovate
and maintain the garden. The call was answered by the committee of
the Haywoods Permanent Way (HPW), of which
Alf was a founder member.
