We won’t mention “foamer”!
David
> On 20 Jan 2021, at 9:36 am, David McLoughlin mcloughlin.dj@...> wrote:
>
> Sorry to hear that about Bob -- someone I have never met, but long known of because of him being a legendary gunzel.
>
> In fact, dragging out the old mtut newsgroup's FAQ from the mid-1990s, I see this entry:
> GUNZEL - a transit, especially train fanatic. GUNZEL. According to Bob
> Merchant, editor of the Australian enthusiasts' journal "Trolley Wire,"
> the term was first used by Sydney Tramway Museum members in the early
> 1960s to describe certain enthusiasts in the state of Victoria
> (Australia) who took their hobby a bit too seriously. The term comes
> from the film "The Maltese Falcon" in which Elisha Cook Jnr, played
> Wilmer, Sydney Greenstreet's twisted gun-slinger (gunsel in American
> gangster slang). The film has been described as one in which there
> wasn't one decent person in the whole film. The gunsel in the film was
> what we would describe today as a "Gunzel", a bit thick to say the
> least. Before Puffing Billy (a heritage steam train in the ranges
> outside Melbourne) issued their "Gunzel Pass" a few years back, their
> president, Phil Avard, checked with the STM as to the meaning of the
> word and its origin. Phil, being a bit of a film buff, understood
> immediately and the pass was issued. Originally, one did not call a
> person a Gunzel to their face as it was a bit derogatory. The term
> Gunzel in the Australian sense was first used by Dick Jones, Don
> Campbell and Bill Parkinson, all of whom are still members of the STM.
> The term has since been picked up by New Zealand, UK and some US
> railfans. See also ANORAK.
>
>
> --
> david mcloughlin, New Zealand
> "Be careful what you wish for..."
>
>
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