Saturday night (June 15th) saw the first annual meeting of the 'Australian Association of Hated Railfans' at Thornton station.
The association was set up to cater for those railfans that, through huge efforts to promote the hobby, have become hated by those that benefit from these efforts.
  Many topics were covered at the inaugural event and it hoped that this will proceed into problem solving activities in the future.

Do you contribute positively to the railfan hobby?
Do lots of people despise you for doing so?

AAHR is here for you.

  Thanks to all who attended our first meeting.

Rosehill Racecourse 2019

  The 'Epping Model Railway Club' put on their excellent annual model railway exhibition over the June long weekend. It was the second year at their new venue and 'Rosehill Racecourse' (Sydney) and is regularly regarded as the best on the Sydney, even New South Wales, exhibition circuit.
  The Epping club has been very good to our 'Trains For Kids With Cancer' fundraising project over the two years that David Xuereb and I have been doing it and we are greatly indebted to them for their continued support.
  Part of this involved allowing us to set up a stand at the exhibition, this seeing us raise around $1500 towards this years donation to the 'Kids With Cancer Foundation Australia'. This certainly helps us with our goal to exceed last years $5040 donation.

  This was my first exhibition, well, as an exhibitor anyway.
  Been to many as a paying attendee, but never truly appreciated the huge amount of work people put in to these things, just so we can have a few hours enjoyment. 
  Despite only doing the install on Friday night, and two full days Sunday and Monday, I was a wreck by the time it came to pull it all out on the Monday arvo.
Great respect for those who bring their stuff over long distances, stray the entire time and then have to take it all home again.

The set up team: Brad, David, Dennis and Another David.

  While the train guff is what mostly motivates us drag our sorry parts to these events, for me it is the catching up with many, many friends from all over the country. Some of them I only ever get to see on these occasions.
Being there for so much time, meant that I would do an awful lot of said catching up, even with one fan I used to hang out with around two to three decades ago.

Model railway icon, Mr Phil Badger (Gopher Models)

  But, as I say, it is the train guff that encourages us to attend and this show certainly had some fantastic layouts to drool over, some risking the electrical from doing so.
  Like so many others, it felt great to see the classic layout 'Stockinbingal' back on the exhibition circuit. The new owners down Wagga have really done an impressive job fixing it up and giving it a great refresh.
  There were the impressive Maryborough and Goulburn layouts, as well my personal favourites, Mungo Scott, along with the one based on Boorowa (the name of which escapes me right now). On top of this, there was my first viewing of 'Blue Mountains' and 'Bricklandia', both exhibiting incredible talent from their respective builders.

Semi Retired Foamer Trophy

  However, the 2019 non-existent 'Semi Retired Foamer' trophy for first place goes to the new layout Wingello.
  It captures my favourite Southern Highlands town so very well and the owners have saved me the effort of doing it after years of consideration.

  Congratulations guys, feel free to right click and save your trophy.
  

  At 3.30 on the Monday afternoon, we held our 'Trains For Kids With Cancer' raffle, with nine model railway prizes won by people attending over the weekend.
We were overwhelmed by the support from so many in the model train industry, without whom, we could not possibly have had so many wonderful prizes on offer.
We thank each and every one of you, together you have shown how great this hobby can be.

Big thanks to Andrew Tailby for your support.

  A huge thank you to everyone who may the weekend such a huge success, the manufacturers/retailers, the attendees who dropped by our stand and the Epping MRC for the mammoth effort you guys must put in to make it all a success.

The Semi Retired Foamer Youtube channel will soon have video coverage of the whole event.

Brad Peadon

Trains For Kids With Cancer.

Kids With Cancer Foundation Australia.

Semi Retired Foamer (Facebook)

  

SMUT NEWS

  As part of SMUT's continuing commitment to furthering the preservation scene and railfan retail industries, we have launched a trial website aimed at promoting such.  All posts placed on the site are done so free of charge and people are invited to email us with possible contributions of relevance. All contributions should be relevant to the two topics.
  Retailers are invited to show us new products.
  Thank you to all our SMUT supporters for helping us promote and grow this wonderful hobby.
  Thank you to all our haters for showing us how important it is to help promote the hobby for the future.....oh and a pretty good laugh.

SMUT NEWS WEBSITE

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PLEASE NOTE:

I have lost access to all SMUT groups on Facebook for a week.
Yet another attack from someone wishing to put a stop to what our group does.
While we have a good idea who this person is, we are awaiting a response from Facebook, a response that will hopefully confirm this suspicion.
If that confirmation comes, it will be placed up here.
Until the ban is lifted, I apologise for any lack of group responses during this time.
Sadly, there are many in this hobby who are offended by the work we do.

PHILIPPINE RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The sister group to this one, looking at the railway (and other) hobby in the Philippines.
There are still railways in the Philipines and expansion seems likely.
Railfanning there is not the fun experience it once was, the growing numbers of security guard, and paranoia, has made it a little bit harder to conduct our pastime.
However, at least they are paid minions, unlike the self-appointed railfan nazis we ut up within Australia.
Better still, most seem horrified by the prospect of telling a foreigner what to do.

If bored, come and look at our PRHS blog, you may find yourself enticed enough to go argue with moronic security guard as a change from moronic foamers, and the groups about them. Hiya Greg.

PHRS Blogsite

GUNDAGAI HERITAGE RAILWAY

The following rant, from a 'professional' in the railway heritage field, was recently received.

"After I left in late 2014, I heard all the SMUT team were so "keen" to get involved and help GHR.....but intriguingly I never saw that happen. So there is an example of pro rail heritage people not carrying through their promises of their love of the Gundagai station. So I guess it is hard when people promise the world and don't do anything. Everyone knows why I gave up volunteering there at the project because of seeing sloppy woeful caretaking...net result was my time being wasted. We had a great opportunity with John King as caretaker but due to bad handling of issues by specific GHR people, he left and now we have rail trail winning over GHR. Sad to see GHR being the first pro rail heritage project in NSW taken over by rail trailers.

  I do not normally get involved in the stupidity that goes on in the Australian railfan hobby anymore. However, when one is confronted with a barrage of ill-informed, and significantly ignorant, lies, well you do need to make comment.

  To my knowledge, as the person who started the regularly attacked SMUT Fundraising group, the only thing offered to the 'Gundagai Heritage Railway' was a Refreshment Room sign. This being offered by a FORMER SMUT member.
  SMUT is aligned with other, far more deserved, railway heritage groups. Their work continues to help these museums whenever possible.

  Thusly, the comments above are little more than an offensive lie.
  They are also a good example why I have spent more time devoting myself to railway preservation projects outside NSW and Australia.
  There is no point having your life destroyed simply because you choose to help NSW railway preservation. It is not a competition, we are all in it for the same goal.

  The NSW preservation scene WILL be destroyed by the actions of very few.
  After all these decades of trying to contribute to the hobby here, it is a painful realization.

Narcissistic personality disorder

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Visit: PAID VIEWPOINT

  The Semi-Retired Foamer and S*M*U*T Modellers Group would like to thank ALCoWorld for all their support over the years.
  Visit ALCoWorld for all your modelling, book, DVD, magazine, souvenier and other railway hobby news.

http://alcoworld.com.au