Famous Railroaders List - Still Growing

I confess I have heard of two of them, although the other 14 are totally unfamiliar.

"marknewton" wrote

And you're an idiot.

Nobody appointed you to define what "fame" is in the first place, (that's what dictionaries are for) and if it's not apparent to you that fame is relative -in the very real sense that there are degrees of fame including locally famous, nationally famous, and internationally famous- then you don't have any idea of what you're speaking of to begin with.

For instance, Webster's Unabridged says: "Fame: the state of being well-known or much talked about."

Nope. Not one word saying that somebody Mark hasn't heard of can't be "famous" anyway.

Sorry.

So why are you arguing with me? What does that make you?

Never mind, I think I know the answer already.

Strawman argument. I didn't define fame, or seek appointment to the job. I questioned the assertion that the persons listed are in any way famous outside the US. They're not, and no amount of fancy semantic footwork will change that fact.

Of course fame is relative. All the the persons listed are relatively unknown outside the boundaries of the US. But the list as presented here has no such qualification - it makes the bald assertion that all of these people are *famous* railway modellers. Pig's arse they are.

Neither of which applies to the persons listed - so by your definition they're not famous - thanks very much.

FWIW I think listing so-called famous modellers is a sure sign of insecurity. So what if some B-grade actor or singer has a layout? Does that make the average modeller more comfortable about participating in the hobby, because it had the imprimatur of some mediocre entertainers?

Go the strawman. As I noted earlier, you're strong on semantics and tricky wordplay, piss poor when it comes to facts or real knowledge.

In message , marknewton writes

An interesting observation, although in the context of famous model railroaders, perhaps famous should be read as famous within their own country? True world wide fame is fairly restrictive in terms of anything.

Having said that, I know who most of the people on the list are, the only exceptions being :

Tom Brokow (newscaster) Richard Crenna (actor) James Doohan (actor "Star Trek") Arthur Godfrey (radio/TV personality) Captain Kangaroo (kids' show host) Al Lowe (programmer - Leisure Suit Larry and others) John Patterson "Dad" ("For Better Or For Worse" - fictional character) Sally Jesse Raphael (TV talk show host) Rick Schroder (actor "Silver Spoons", "NYPD Blue")

I should probably know who James Doohan and Rick Schroder are, as both those TV programmes were popular here - I must have been too busy playing trains :-)

I'm not convinced that the list should include fictional characters.

At least spell my name correctly when you insult me!

Greg.Procter.

I'm in Australia and only the journalists/radio people are the names I don't know. We do get the occasional American movie and TV show out here (BTW, that was sarcasm).

There's a lot of Australian (and British) TV personalities I could have mentioned that would be unknown elsewhere.

Cheers David

What do you need: a voucher from my club, photos of my models... what?

The ODD CONCEPT is you thinking that I implied that a person could have only one hobby.

Here's what I wrote, news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com now tell us how you came to the conclusion that I think people dedicate themselves to one hobby and one hobby only for their entire lifetimes?

His name is Bob Keeshan; his obituary listed his hobbies as photography, fishing and sailing.

Or real people who were fictional model railroaders...

Although it is worth mentioning that some real modellers have used their own trains when playing fictional modellers, i.e. Michael Gross and Mandy Patinkin. For the Brits, Jeff Stewart (Reg Hollis in The Bill) also did this.

Cheers David

Who is Walter Cronkite?

Greg.P.

From a Goggle search: the first paragraph of his biography

Walter Cronkite is the former CBS Evening News anchorman, whose commentary defined issues and events in America for almost two decades. Cronkite, whom a major poll once named the "most trusted figure" in American public life, often saw every nuance in his nightly newscasts scrutinized by politicians, intellectuals, and fellow journalists for clues to the thinking of mainstream America. In contrast, Cronkite viewed himself as a working journalist, epitomized by his title of "managing editor," of the CBS Evening News. His credo, adopted from his days as a wire service reporter, was to get the story, "fast, accurate, and unbiased"; his trademark exit line was, "And that's the way it is."

Hi Frank, that's one more paragraph than I wanted to know at this point in my life. In fact it was really a rhetorical question in that the answer is of no interest or value to me. I could have asked the question "Who is Walter Kronkite in relation to the World outside US television?" The correct answer would be "Absolutely no-one!"

That's not knocking Walter Kronkite, or US TV, or even the US, it's reality. Philip Sherry is New Zealand TV's equivalent of Walter Kronkite, a fact you will gain very little from knowing. I'm sure Mark can tell you Australia's equivalent - I can't.

Regards, Greg.P.

Hey, I know, Paul Hogan!!

Who?

(rhetorical again) ;-)

Greg.P.

ok

NOTE TO ALL: I didn't write the list just passed it on

Are any of them model railroaders??

Paul

-- Excuse me, I'll be right back. I have to log onto a server in Romania and verify all of my EBay, PayPal, bank and Social Security information before they suspend my accounts.

Working the rockie road of the G&PX

Famous Model Railroaders: (alphabetized by last name)

Tim Allen (comedian) Gene Autry ("The Singing Cowboy") Roseanne Barr (actor) Tom Brokow (newscaster) Yul Brynner (actor "The King and I") Johnny Cash (country music singer) Winston Churchill (former British Prime Minister) Gary Coleman (actor "Diff'rent Strokes") Phil Collins (rock singer) Kevin Costner (actor) Richard Crenna (actor) Walter Cronkite (radio/TV personality) Roger Daltry (lead singer of the Who/actor) Joe DiMaggio (baseball player) Walt Disney (producer) James Doohan (actor "Star Trek") Erik Estrada ("CHiPs") Harrison Ford ("Star Wars" "Indiana Jones") Arthur Godfrey (radio/TV personality) Whoopi Goldberg (actor) Hermann Göring (head of German Luftwaffe) Michael Gross (actor) Merle Haggard (country singer) Tom Hanks (actor) David Hasselhoff (actor "Baywatch") - Starred with MG in Avalanche Elton John (rock singer) Michael Jordan (basketball player) Buster Keaton (comedian) Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo kids' show host) Christopher Lee (actor "Dracula") Jay Leno (TV talk show host) Jack Lord (actor "Hawaii Five-O") Al Lowe (programmer - Leisure Suit Larry and others) Groucho Marx (actor, game show host) Roger Miller (country singer) Mandy Patinkin (actor "Chicago Hope", "The Princess Bride") John Patterson "Dad" ("For Better Or For Worse" - fictional character) Sam Posey (race car driver) John Pertwee (actor "Doctor Who") Sally Jesse Raphael (TV talk show host) Lionel Ritchie (singer) Roy Rogers Rick Schroder (actor "Silver Spoons", "NYPD Blue") Frank Sinatra (singer) Bruce Springsteen (rock singer) Jill St. John (actor "Diamonds Are Forever") Sylvester Stallone (actor "Rocky" "Rambo") Patrick Stewart (actor "Star Trek: The Next Generation") Rod Stewart (rock singer) Donald Sutherland (actor) Mel Torme (singer) Neil Young (singer, also a part-owner of Lionel)