blownout cylinderSeen a few with even weirder outfits---the pale blue polyester leisure suit. With the 4 rips and tears---and smell so bad one smelled them before SEEING them---
There's a guy who does the train show circuit in Texas who frequently wears leather. Leather boots, leather jacket, leather vest, leather pants. Fortunately for all, he does know what soap and water does.
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
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The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
1train1 TA462 retsignalmtr We also get our share of people who don't know what soap and hot water are for. Ya, what's with that???? Every show we go to we run into a few people like that. There is nothing worse then talking to someone who hasn't had a shower in three days and who's teeth haven't seen a tooth brush in years. What is with the ( for example ) extremely faded and worn out " I road the Columbia and Toltec Railroad" T- shirt with 5 rips circa 1967 ? BUY A NEW SHIRT !
TA462 retsignalmtr We also get our share of people who don't know what soap and hot water are for. Ya, what's with that???? Every show we go to we run into a few people like that. There is nothing worse then talking to someone who hasn't had a shower in three days and who's teeth haven't seen a tooth brush in years.
retsignalmtr We also get our share of people who don't know what soap and hot water are for.
We also get our share of people who don't know what soap and hot water are for.
Ya, what's with that???? Every show we go to we run into a few people like that. There is nothing worse then talking to someone who hasn't had a shower in three days and who's teeth haven't seen a tooth brush in years.
What is with the ( for example ) extremely faded and worn out " I road the Columbia and Toltec Railroad" T- shirt with 5 rips circa 1967 ?
BUY A NEW SHIRT !
Seen a few with even weirder outfits---the pale blue polyester leisure suit. With the 4 rips and tears---and smell so bad one smelled them before SEEING them---
They spent all their $$$$ on the latest locomotives-----no $$$ for hygiene---
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
The only "rude" comment I heard was last year during our train show open house was:
"Nobody runs or even owns Athearn GP7s these days!" I turn to face this loudmouth(I had a wisecrack comeback) and lo' and behold there was a old acquaintance of mine I haven't seen in many moons.
I find 99% of our visitors has positive comments and those that are rude is simply ignored as loudmouths..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
CP5415I brought a small step ladder for Liam so I wouldn't have to lift him up & down so he could see the trains. I think bringing the ladder annoyed a few people with small children. Sorry, got the idea from other parents a few years ago at other train shows.
I think that is a great idea--usually the people who have issues with the ladder tend to be people who do not have children and back problems. Once it is explained why it is there the crabbing goes away--
We are having a show in London ON on the 29th of November at the Centennial Hall downtown--think I'll check out the deals there---as if I need more
Wow, I'm definately going to take my 4 yr old son to future train shows. I didn't encounter any of this nonsense. I was at the Whitby Show on Sun with Liam, ran into a bunch of people I know, including TA462. I brought a small step ladder for Liam so I wouldn't have to lift him up & down so he could see the trains. I think bringing the ladder annoyed a few people with small children. Sorry, got the idea from other parents a few years ago at other train shows.
I go to shows to check things out mostly. Ask a few questions & see if I can get an answer. All of the people I chatted with were great.
Liam was even allowed to run TA462's GO train which kept Liam stationary for at least 30-45 mins. That in itself is amazing.
Gordon
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
Can the vendor who charges MSRP or higher be considered annoying?
I've only gotten a few remarks about my stuff at shows that some might consider negative. Every one of them was about a good portion of my equipment being too clean, yet the rest of the stuff is weathered really well... I always thank the people for the comment, then explain that I'm from a small town where the LHS doesn't ever stock dullcote unless you ask for it...
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
CTValleyRRAbout 4 years ago, I took my then 4 year old to a train show. One of the operators was a boy of perhaps 12-13 years old, with really long hair, but no facial hair yet. My son's comment: "Hey, Dad, look what that girl is doing!". Yikes! Next booth.... quickly!
And, um, what show was this?
Alex
wholemanAnyways, the question is has any of you witnessed anything like this? I am not involved in any clubs but I felt sorry for the guy. He was allowed to run his new train at the show and someone chastized hime for.
The club shows can be very good and some of the operators can be just the oposite.
I have viewed some of the same type of situtions and realized the new persons normally just fade away leaving about five to ten older members to continue setting standards that no one can meet. We all started purchasing models and most of us learned to add lighting and details as we viewed other models and prototypes.
Rome was not built in a day and no good model train layout happens overnight. It is easy to critize everything but you own models, but not so easy to build up others so they can enjoy the hobby.
CZ
RailfanS O well, It happens. It's one of the negatives of shows that I've only ran into a few times over the years. I'm sure It'll happen again . Some people just take this hobby a little too seriously.
O well,
It happens. It's one of the negatives of shows that I've only ran into a few times over the years. I'm sure It'll happen again . Some people just take this hobby a little too seriously.
Actually, they take THEMSELVES a little (!!) too seriously.
As model railroaders and railfans we notice these types at the events we attend, but you will find the same attitude at almost any venue where the draw is the expertise of the participants.
I was at a womens gymnastic competition at a major university a few years ago, sitting next to a highly partisan fan wearing the visiting team's colors. Toward the end, a gymnast who had been an Olympian competing in one of her best events, pulled off her usually-perfect routine but took a tiny step on landing. When the score came up, 9.95, he blurted out, "But she didn't stick it!"
I looked over at him (built about like me, or a whiskey barrel, but half a century younger) and said, "In her first-ever NCAA competition, she only scored 20.0 for the meet. Of course, she only competed in two events."
Didn't hear another peep out of him. UCLA won by a comfortable margin. That gymnast is now an assistant coach at ASU. Only God (and his credit card issuer) knows where loudmouth is now.
Chuck (Jamie Dantzscher fan modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
cnw400 They are just taking "weathering" to another level...
They are just taking "weathering" to another level...
wholeman I love going to train shows. I love looking at the displays and browsing the booths. I was thinking back to one that was held in Tulsa, OK earlier this year. I have to tell this story that I thought a certain patron was downright rude. I was watching a display layout from one of the local clubs. One of the members had a passenger train operating with no lights and was obvious that he just purchased the cars, because I saw him inspect everyone of them before placing them on the track. They were Walthers heavywieghts and they seemed to take the curves quite well. The cars had no lighting obviously and no figures for that matter. I don't think the interiors were painted. Anyway, I thought it was nice for him to display them. This other "patron" came over and started telling the guy that it was pathetic that those cars weren't more detailed for this show. I was watching all of this and my mouth usually gets me in trouble. I explained to him that this gentleman just purchased those cars and hadn't had the time to detail them the way he wanted. The "patron" just gave us all a dirty look and walked away. The owner thanked me and let me operate the train for 30 minutes. Anyways, the question is has any of you witnessed anything like this? I am not involved in any clubs but I felt sorry for the guy. He was allowed to run his new train at the show and someone chastized hime for.
I love going to train shows. I love looking at the displays and browsing the booths. I was thinking back to one that was held in Tulsa, OK earlier this year.
I have to tell this story that I thought a certain patron was downright rude. I was watching a display layout from one of the local clubs. One of the members had a passenger train operating with no lights and was obvious that he just purchased the cars, because I saw him inspect everyone of them before placing them on the track. They were Walthers heavywieghts and they seemed to take the curves quite well. The cars had no lighting obviously and no figures for that matter. I don't think the interiors were painted. Anyway, I thought it was nice for him to display them.
This other "patron" came over and started telling the guy that it was pathetic that those cars weren't more detailed for this show. I was watching all of this and my mouth usually gets me in trouble. I explained to him that this gentleman just purchased those cars and hadn't had the time to detail them the way he wanted. The "patron" just gave us all a dirty look and walked away. The owner thanked me and let me operate the train for 30 minutes.
Anyways, the question is has any of you witnessed anything like this? I am not involved in any clubs but I felt sorry for the guy. He was allowed to run his new train at the show and someone chastized hime for.
Glad you decided to help...
Cape Vincent Southern Railroad
HO scale Horseshoe Curve in 5’x10’
My YouTube
AntonioFP45 Guiys, One thing though, as mentioned before, we shouldn't turn this into a rivet counter bash thread. It's because of the many down-to-earth rivet counters that enjoy contributing to the hobby that we have the beautifully detailed models from Athearn (genesis), Intermountain, Walthers, Stewart, Atlas, and BLI. Let's look at the flip side of this coin: There are plenty of non-modelers that are also rude, obnoxious yahoos that visit a train show or a club with friends and family members that are modelers. Almost immedietly the vinegar starts sloughing out of the mouth "Hey, how much did this train set cost? What?! $200 for that engine? What a waste of money!" Can't they go any faster?!"
Guiys,
One thing though, as mentioned before, we shouldn't turn this into a rivet counter bash thread. It's because of the many down-to-earth rivet counters that enjoy contributing to the hobby that we have the beautifully detailed models from Athearn (genesis), Intermountain, Walthers, Stewart, Atlas, and BLI.
Let's look at the flip side of this coin:
There are plenty of non-modelers that are also rude, obnoxious yahoos that visit a train show or a club with friends and family members that are modelers. Almost immedietly the vinegar starts sloughing out of the mouth "Hey, how much did this train set cost? What?! $200 for that engine? What a waste of money!" Can't they go any faster?!"
Good point---
The issue is the behaviour of such a one who could be anyone of us. A police officer, doctor, or summat is not the issue but his/her behaviour that is at issue. There are very nice helpful rivit counting types of hobbiests out there who --- like some bikers, or college students for that matter--get clobbered over the head because of certain BOORS who just happen to be of a certain hobby/job/status. Let us remember that the boorishness of some does not reflect on that sector of the hobby.
TA462 retsignalmtr We also get our share of people who don't know what soap and hot water are for. Ya, what's with that???? Every show we go to we run into a few people like that. There is nothing worse then talking to someone who hasn't had a shower in three days and who's teeth haven't seen a tooth brush in years. I only see (smell) it in the model railroad hobby. Model car builders, slot car racers, R/C guys and even golfers don't smell like some model railroaders do.
Ya, what's with that???? Every show we go to we run into a few people like that. There is nothing worse then talking to someone who hasn't had a shower in three days and who's teeth haven't seen a tooth brush in years. I only see (smell) it in the model railroad hobby. Model car builders, slot car racers, R/C guys and even golfers don't smell like some model railroaders do.
Maybe there car is coal fired and they worked up a sweat firing it to get to the train show
I've encountered ignorant saps like these before. But instead of becoming defensive, I've learned to use a little smiling wit, instead. Now I'll ask if they go out drinking regularly, smoke cigarettes, go to strip clubs, or go to music concerts regularly. The majority of the time, the sap will answer yes to at least 2 of these questions. Smiling, I'll ask how much money he/she spends in a year's time on those "habits". What follows is either "uh, uh, well, uh, not that much!" OR silence. By their reaction you'll already know their "waste of money" expenditures are likely much higher than yours! They probably just figured out that, unlike the above mentioned activities, model railroaders get to KEEP AND ENJOY OVER AND OVER the products that they purchase with their hard earned dollars.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
The "objectionables" aren't confined to your side of the Atlantic. They are everywhere, like the bad odours that some of them exude.
Dennis
We just had a train show this past weekend. I have a GE u30 painted in Paducah & louisvillie colors ( they never had any) It always gets comments, and I also run some of those proto 1000 "popsicle cars" to get a rise out of people.
On another note I had one kid brave enough to ask if he could run a train. he had a happy 30 mins running my trains till his grandparents had to wrench the control from his hand so they could leave.
Why would you want to hang out with someone that smells like a goat, anyways?
A rivet-counter I ain't, and don't plan to be one. I have seen just about every shade of modelling in the spectrum, and quite frankly, I can find enough about my own work to whine about without looking for the same in someone else's work. It falls in par with complaining about someone else's wife. Who cares? Just be happy with what you have in front of you in your own corner. As has already been said, life's too short.
RIch
YELLOWJACKET EF-3
wholemanThis other "patron" came over and started telling the guy that it was pathetic that those cars weren't more detailed for this show.
Now, now. I'm sure this guy's Annie and Clarabell cars were world class, but obviously, collectors' items like those would never leave the sanctity of his home for something as low-class as a train show.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The interesting thing about most of the critical rivet counters...they don't have layouts of their own. I don't know why this is, but it almost always seems to be the case.
Maybe they've never experienced the cost and time limitations that those with layouts have. So they don't know and can't comprehend the meaning of the word compromise.
Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, COClick Here for my model train photo website
wholeman I took my 7 year old, twin cousins to a show once and one of them said, "That train is dirty. It needs a bath." He was looking at the weathering of a coal train. The operater just busted out laughing. He almost dropped his DCC thottle he was laughing so hard.
I took my 7 year old, twin cousins to a show once and one of them said, "That train is dirty. It needs a bath." He was looking at the weathering of a coal train. The operater just busted out laughing. He almost dropped his DCC thottle he was laughing so hard.
To quote Yoda, "A wondrous thing is the mind of a child."
About 4 years ago, I took my then 4 year old to a train show. One of the operators was a boy of perhaps 12-13 years old, with really long hair, but no facial hair yet. My son's comment: "Hey, Dad, look what that girl is doing!". Yikes! Next booth.... quickly!
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
I torally agree with all of your replys. There are people who think their opinion matters and yours don't. Just look at the opinions page of your local newspaper. I have other people comment on displays, but it was usually things like"That train sure is long" or "Those locomotives are huge."
Will
I was new to the hobby and was invited to an open house of a very large S-gauge club. These were mostly older guys with a lot of discretionary income. I was viewing brass cab forwards that cost more than the car I drove there.
One member was operating his all brass NYC 20th Century Limited and it was stunning. As it went by, another member snidely mentioned it wasn't at all accurate (in contrast to his I presumed). Not knowing either way I asked, "Why so?" With a real condescending, almost sneering tone, he said, "The carpet in the observation is the wrong pattern and color."
I was at a loss for words. I could not even see the carpet for heaven's sake.
Back at the office the next day, that became the catch phrase done in a variety of voices and accents.
I made a sign for my G-scale outdoor layout:
"WELCOME!
If you're here to see or would even like to run one of my trains, welcome!
If you're here to criticize, please take a number. Your number is 23,402,404. I'm now listening to complaint number: 3.
You're welcome to wait until I call your number, but I suggest that you just leave and I'll call you when your number comes up."
But I still get snide remarks about the layout, locomotives, or rolling stock. Some people just never take the hint.
IMHO, the dyed-in-the-wool nitpicker/rivet counter is a frustrated control freak - "Do it MY way, or else!"
Whenever I post, I try to indicate that it's NOT, "My way, or the highway." I will describe something that works - for me - and then emphasize that my way is not the only way, or even the best of all possible ways. But then, I'm not trying to tell you how YOU should be having fun.
Unfortunately, there are always going to be people who try to make themselves seem more important than they are by putting other people down.
As for 'Mister Goatbarn,' there really isn't much that can be done in a public venue. In private venues, we can simply avoid him.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - my way)
TMarsh 99% of all MRR's are great people who really don't care how you approach the hobby, what you run, how you run it or how it looks. .... But....... as in every hobby, sport and profession, there is the 1 % who we hear the most from. The expert. That self appointed Director of The Way Things Should Be Done. You know the one and only way.
99% of all MRR's are great people who really don't care how you approach the hobby, what you run, how you run it or how it looks. .... But....... as in every hobby, sport and profession, there is the 1 % who we hear the most from. The expert. That self appointed Director of The Way Things Should Be Done. You know the one and only way.
Yeah, but boy is that 1% annoying. It's not just a train shows, either. They rear there ugly heads on this site as well. In the last year, I have seen people belittled and told that they will never make the grade as a model railroader because they:
1) have a 4x8 layout
2) use brand x of DCC system
3) prefer not to simulate real operations on their layout, or do something less than full prototypical operaions.
4) use sedum to make trees
5) have unkitbashed structures on their layout.
Probably more. In many cases, they have a point. Yes, there are better ways to use 32 square feet of layout space than a 4x8 oval, but that doesn't mean that anyone who does it is scum. It really kills me when someone posts "I want to have a continuous loop", only to have next dozen or so posters tell him that point to point operations better simulates a real railroad. Personally, I'm always wiling to hear someone's advice for how to do something better, or even how I'm missing out on a potential improvement by not doing something. But those suggestions and advice should be a) solicited, and b) presented as suggestions, not laws engraved on a stone tablet. We all need to keep in mind that one person's jewel is another's quartz crystal.
Sometimes, though people exhibiting boorish behavior can be easily shot down. Last Thursday, I had just completed running a Cub Scout racing event with the other leaders, and was standing and talking to the Cubmaster when a Dad came up and began to complain: "I don't think the loser's bracket was done right, because my son..." At this point, I rudely interrupted by leaning over to the Cubmaster and saying, "Josh, I think I hear someone volunteering to run the next racing event." We never did hear what he thought was wrong with the losers' bracket, because the man disappeared so quickly.
retsignalmtrMy club operates our modular layout at several shows each year. We always get our share of obnoxious, rivet counting, know it all PITA viewers. We try to answer their questions and be polite and fortunatly they move on and don't hang around too long. We also get our share of people who don't know what soap and hot water are for.
My club operates our modular layout at several shows each year. We always get our share of obnoxious, rivet counting, know it all PITA viewers. We try to answer their questions and be polite and fortunatly they move on and don't hang around too long. We also get our share of people who don't know what soap and hot water are for.
Hmmm-- I see a new business venture in the makings here.... "private-label" soaps from your RR's "First Class" and "Club Cars", individually-wrapped with your RR's logo or herald and slogan... to sell, or give-away (at your option) at public gatherings, exhibitions and train shows. Painstakingly researched and carefully crafted to meet even the most out-spoken rivet-counter's standards and criteria. Also handy for that occasional critic with the flair for colorful four-letter language. (Can be applied either orally or as a suppository, as circumstances warrant).
You may also be interested in some of our other products such as our Deluxe Private-Label Soap which comes pre-attached to a brick, or our Economy version Private Label Soap which only comes with the brick.
Another irritating type that one might encounter at train shows is the pushy guy trying to sell his 25 year old trains at what is supposedly "bargain prices" for "high quality collector's items". $10 for this, $25 for that, $5 for this. Of course you look at his stuff and you see
A. Shiny plastic Bachmann or Life Like toy line rolling stock with talgo trucks and plastic wheels.
B. Or better yet, the F-units with the huge windhshields, pancake motor and traction tires.
I encountered a clown like this at a Sarasota train show a few years ago. About 50-something, very loud and obnoxious. If you tried to bargain with him he yelled at you loudly, "OK, forget it! Go away!". Though irritated,I kept my cool. By the end of the show, I noticed he still had most of his stuff.
Musicians have a phrase that nicely captures this situation (with reference to music critics):
"Those who can, do.
Those who can't, review."
Sad to say but my two beloved hobbies, model railroading and railfanning, both attract a variety of sad individual who clings desperately to some item of specialized knowledge, however minute, and then looks for opportunities to demonstrate it. Interestingly you see surprisingly little of that on these forums maybe because there is such a wolf pack of commentators laying in wait ....
I sense that some of the military model types are even more extreme in this, but I have no direct knowledge of that. We won't even discuss JFK conspiracy experts ....
Having said that, genuine informed criticism by someone who actually can achieve and has achieved what they talk about also stings when you are on the receiving end, so we have to be receptive when it is warranted. A rivet counter is one thing. A rivet counter who actually places the right number of rivets on his own stuff is quite another. If Tony Koester or Ted Culotta visited my basement I suspect I'd hear plenty of commentary about my freight cars and their accuracy or lack thereof ("quick -- find me a prototype photo of a boxcar door with huge claws on the bottom!"). The difference is, if I was adult enough I would like to think I'd be taking notes like crazy.
Nobody needs even a John Allen to tell them that out-of-the-box passenger cars on their maiden run don't have lights or interiors or weathering and all have the same number.
Dave Nelson