[1] He became the pupil of Joseph Locke during the construction of the Grand Junction Railway and he became the resident engineer after that line opened.
After leaving the LSWR in 1850, Gooch was appointed to the post of Locomotive Superintendent to the Eastern Counties Railway.
On appointment he was given a free hand by chairman Edward Ladd Betts to reduce working costs of which he would receive 2.5% of any savings made.
The main target of his costs were the engine drivers where he would sack men and then offer them their own jobs back at a lower rate, and deduct money from their wages for late running or mechanical failure.
On 12 August 178 drivers, firemen and fitters handed in their notices, sick of the injustices and financial penalties being inflicted on them and in the hope that Gooch would be forced to resign.
[4] At this point, he would only have been aged 44 and according to his obituary printed in the journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers "he did little practical work during the past forty years, enjoying country life in his Berkshire home".