Railway fanatic who died on Gatwick Express tagged in chilling Facebook pic of man hanging out of train 5 years before fatal accident
Simon Brown, 24, died instantly from head injuries as he leaned out the window
A "railway fanatic" killed after sticking his head out of a train window was tagged in a chilling photograph of a man dangling out of a carriage before his tragic death.
Simon Brown, from East Grinstead, Sussex, suffered fatal head injuries when he was struck by an oncoming train after lowering an unlocked window close to Wandsworth Common station.
Today an image image has emerged on Facebook showing a man leaning of the window of a 37255 locomotive on the Great Central Railway,
It was posted on Mr Brown's social media page by Simon's friend on February 14, 2011, accompanied by the caption: "Toby and Simon behind 37255."
His girlfriend has today paid tribute to the 24-year-old who had landed his dream job as an engineering technician with Hitachi overseeing the introduction of new electric trains on the Great Western mainline.
Missy Wilson, a student education leader at the University of the West of England, said in a joint statement with her boyfriend's family that he will be "sorely missed".
She said: “Simon was a warm, loving individual whose unbounded passion and enthusiasm for life and all things related to trains of any kind – from model railways through steam to modern day rail transport infected everyone he met.
Simon was a warm, loving individual whose unbounded passion and enthusiasm for life and all things related to trains of any kind.
Family
“He will be sorely missed not only by his partner, his family and his friends but also by his many colleagues throughout the rail industry.”
The pair had been planning to buy their first home together.
Mr Brown began his railway career at 18 years old as an apprentice for Southern, which was the train company operating the Gatwick Express service he was travelling on when he was killed.
His father, Mike Brown, a former City worker, said: “As soon as he could toddle, Simon was into trains.
"At nine he volunteered with the Bluebell (heritage) Railway in West Sussex and became a station master.
“He worked on a Great Northern restoration project and left school at 18 to start an apprenticeship with Southern Trains. He’d only got the job with Hitachi a couple of months ago and had moved to Stoke Gifford (near Bristol) to be with his girlfriend.”
He was always smiling, always happy.
Reuben Smith
The engineer’s childhood friend has set up a to help pay for Mr Brown’s funeral and raise money for a memorial train at Bluebell.
Reuben Smith, 24, said: “We have both loved trains ever since we were little kids. He was a lovely bloke.
“He was always smiling, always happy, not matter what was going on in the world he would always have that smile on his face.
"He would bend over backwards to help any of his mates.
“Simon was a great friend and a real light in the railway world. There’s now a massive hole in our close knit community.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson told ITV News: "We were called to reports of a man hit by a train with severe head injuries.
"We sent an ambulance crew, a single responder and a car and an incident response officer to the scene alongside an air ambulance.
"Sadly he was pronounced dead at the scene by doctors."
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Witnesses at Wandsworth Common Station reported seeing emergency services carrying away a body on a stretcher under a blanket.
The body, now confirmed as Mr Brown, was then put into a private ambulance and driven off.
Inspector James Tyrrell from British Transport Police said: “We are aware of a number of reports on social media which say the man was decapitated, however this is not the case."
A BTP spokesman said the incident happened on a Gatwick Express service on its way to London's Victoria station.
He said: "We were called at around 5.30pm following a report a man in his 20s had received a serious head injury while travelling on a train between Balham and Wandsworth.
He added: "Emergency services rushed to the scene but despite their best efforts, nothing could be done to save him.
"Our investigation remains at an early stage, but initial enquiries suggest the man may have been leaning out of a train door window when he suffered a blow to the head.
"Officers are currently working to confirm his identity and inform his next of kin.
"The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner."
Residents said they were shocked to see an air ambulance land on the common earlier in the afternoon.
One said: “We were coming back across the common when we saw the helicopter land.
“It was at about 6pm. There were lots of police and ambulances there, it was disconcerting.”
Another said: “I heard a man was hit by a train and heard the air ambulance land on the common. It’s such a horrible thing to have happened.”
A spokesman for Southern and Gatwick Express wrote: "We can confirm reports of an incident on board a Gatwick Express train which was en route to Victoria from Gatwick this afternoon.
"The emergency services attended the scene at Wandsworth Common station. We have no further information at this stage.
"We are co-operating fully with British Transport Police and the Rail Accident Investigation board who are investigating this incident."