Thar be Giants

This past weekend was a train fanatic's dream for me. First a trip to the Beckenham club's annual exhibition to meet up with some wonderful old friends on Saturday. We then spend the rest of the day at the Bull's Head Pub's second annual Real Ale Festival, and rounded it out with a fast (too fast) last minute visit to the Uckfield exhibition.

However, the icing on the cake had to be Sunday's trip to the Bluebell. It was their Giant's of Steam weekend and they didn't disappoint.

Shameless plug:

http://andrewsrailphotos.fotopic.net/c1395343.html

This was my first time out with the new camera. What a difference a decent Digital SLR makes over my old Canon.

Trainspotter spotting #1 in a series

Most of the model railway enthusiasts / hobbyists I know are nice well adjusted social animals. You know, normal people. 2.4 children, etc etc. Good people that just like trains.

However there seems to be a rather large percentage of nutters in this hobby. Far more than in the general populace. What is it about model railways that attracts the strange and unusual. On that note here is the first part of a spotters guide to identifying the strange and socially inept within the hobby.

#1: The Gnome.

Just about anyone that has ever exhibited or wandered about an exhibition will have encountered a Gnome. They are easily identifiable:

Short
Bearded
Lacking in personal hygiene
Opinionated
Loud
Boorish
Arrogant

These are the types that see only in monochrome. Everything is black or white. If they own something it must be perfect, if not its total crap and must be avoided at all costs. It is a brave soul that dares confront the gnome. The gnome will belittle and insult anyone that doesn't conform to their ideal. If you are into DCC and the gnome owns a ZTC system, your Lenz setup will have scorn poured upon it. If you model 1960's first generation diesels, and the gnome is a technicolor post-privatisation fan, you will be branded a Luddite. If you have a Heljan Class 47 and he likes the Bachmann model, you will be treated like a plague victim. There is no way of winning against the gnome. Your only defence is to ignore it and hope he will expire in the same fashion as Rumpelstiltskin.

The gnome is the self appointed God of all that he opines about. The gnome is also most easily recognised by the fact that he spends so much time pontificating on the one missing rivet in the latest Bachbypol wagon that he hasn't actually managed to do any modelling himself.

These days with the internet, gnomes have managed to spread their negativity around the world. Sadly this has given rise to the ÜberGnome. This new breed of gnome sees themselves as the self acclaimed voice of the hobby and last word on everything and anything do do with model railways.

To see what a typical ÜberGnome is like check out: http://www.electricnose.co.uk

Rather silly, sad, and pathetic isn't it?
My only question is will he ever manage to get beyond modelling the plywood-prairie Central RR? Or will he forever bore us with his modelling exploits of taking a new RTR out of the box and yelling at it?