But the memories of the Granville train disaster are still raw, and Mr Buchtmann gets emotional as he recalls carrying the very last of those to be rescued from the wreckage, childhood friend and fellow Emu Plains local, Bryan Gordon.

“I grew up with Bryan. He was the last one taken out and I helped carry him from the railway tracks to the helicopter,” he said. “He lasted another two days. The phone rang here in the morning, I answered it and Annette [Gordon] said, ‘Bryan just passed away’.

“Well, you could blow my world out then because that was really close to home.”

As captain of the Penrith Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA), Mr Buchtmann recalled getting the call on the morning of January 18, 1977.

“We had these new fangled things called pagers, and I got the call. I went off and rang Penrith police and they told me there had been a train smash at Granville, so we got the trucks and headed off,” he said.

Arriving to find “absolute bloody chaos”, Mr Buchtmann met with officer in charge Inspector Ray Williams and was tasked with going into wreckage from the eastern side of Carriage Street.

“We found the roof of the train down to about 14 inches,” he said. “To be quite honest, I think I sat on a carriage seat and went, ‘f**k, here’s a roof of a railway carriage [at my feet]” and I knew there were people underneath. I could see people sitting there with the roof on their thighs.”

In a space measuring just 14 inches by 12 inches, Mr Buchtmann worked to rescue a woman who had been standing in the aisle of the train but was then lying flat on her stomach with her arms pinned to her sides after the bridge collapsed.

“Here’s this roof sitting on top of her and she was conscious. All she wanted to do was just get out,” he said.

By 3pm, Margaret Shuttler of Parramatta was able to be pulled from the wreckage – but in an unorthodox manner.

“I couldn’t grab a hold of anything, and I said ‘there is one way I am going to get you out, and I’ve got to put my hands on your breasts’. She said, ‘sweetie, you can do what you like as long as you get me out’,” Mr Buchtmann said. 

And after they met again 20 years later, Margaret would tell people he “pulled me out by the tits”.

Mr Buchtmann was recognised for his role in the rescue operation with a Queen’s Gallantry Medal.

His role in the event was also adapted for the small screen in the 1998 TV mini-series, The Day of the Roses, the dramatized story of the Granville train disaster and the subsequent inquiry. His character was played by Jeremy Sims, and Mr Buchtmann has a framed photograph of himself and the actor on set.

A memorial service was held in Granville today to acknowledge the anniversary.

Commemorations began 8am at the Granville Railway Disaster Memorial Wall, with a bell tolling 83 times and the names of those killed read out. 

A memorial service was also held at St Marks Anglican Church at 10am, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial, then a traditional ‘Day of the Roses’ commemoration where 83 roses were thrown onto the tracks in honour of each victim.

Mr Buchtmann has missed only one Granville memorial, and marked the 40th anniversary as he had so many others - at the scene of the tragedy, remembering those who were killed, those who lived, and those who rescued them. 

“I think it overwhelmed all of us. If someone said they weren’t overwhelmed by it, they’re a liar and a fool to me,” he said.

“You just can’t imagine something like that. You never think it’s going to happen.

“Who would have imagined a car bridge coming down on a train like that?”