Do youtubers contribute positively to railway modelling?

[njee20]

Francis Bourgeois really irks me! Mainly because I actually want to see the trains, not his distorted face on a 360 degree GoPro, and his desperation for "tones" is pretty weird. I think it's genuine passion for him, probably amped up for views, but it works, and he's had some slots on daytime TV. He had Joe Jonas (famous US singer) on one last week, which is pretty mad. I guess it depends if you think bringing 'trainspotting' to a wider audience is positive or not. My wife watches his shorts, and finds them amusing, despite having only the most transient of interest in trains gained by osmosis from me!

[rob D2]

3 minutes ago, njee20 said:

Francis Bourgeois really irks me! Mainly because I actually want to see the trains, not his distorted face on a 360 degree GoPro, and his desperation for "tones" is pretty weird. I think it's genuine passion for him, probably amped up for views, but it works, and he's had some slots on daytime TV. He had Joe Jonas (famous US singer) on one last week, which is pretty mad. I guess it depends if you think bringing 'trainspotting' to a wider audience is positive or not. My wife watches his shorts, and finds them amusing, despite having only the most transient of interest in trains gained by osmosis from me!

But that’s the thing , if it was just film of trains, he wouldn’t have like 2million Instagram followers - and there’s plenty of other channels doing that .

 

What did make me laugh was all the spotters kicking off on GB Facebook page , basically the gist being jealousy that he was getting the perks of brand ambassador and they weren’t .

[njee20]

It's the camera angle that annoys me, but I get that's his 'thing', and the majority of his viewers wouldn't know one train from another! I like the passion. Seeing someone be passionate about anything is generally a good thing. 99.99999% of videos of trains out there have either no narration whatsoever or they have a bored sounding middle aged man saying in a monotone voice "here comes 1Z29, led by 66294, heading to Basford Hall" or whatever. Francis is hugely refreshing in that respect, I just want to see the trains 

[big jim]

Admittedly the joe jonas trainspotting video of Francis did make me chuckle, imagining the people on the passing train not realising they were being waved at by an American chart topping singer and actor in a field outside tring! 

I’ve yet to meet him at work and not exactly falling over myself to have a selfie with him, other who have dealt with him say he’s a thoroughly nice chap, I think it’s I just don’t get ‘it’ or all the hype surrounding him 

 

To paraphrase grandpa simpson

 

I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I'm with isn't *it*, and what's *it* seems weird and scary to me
 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by big jim

[bradfordbuffer]

12 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

But that’s the thing , if it was just film of trains, he wouldn’t have like 2million Instagram followers - and there’s plenty of other channels doing that .

 

What did make me laugh was all the spotters kicking off on GB Facebook page , basically the gist being jealousy that he was getting the perks of brand ambassador and they weren’t .

I asked durex if I could be there brand ambassador.....as I'm a bit of a xxxx! Thay sain no thanks I didn't gave it in me!

Suppose FB is a bit like the comedian dom joly seems real at first but when you look closely either the comic genius sines through or the madness takes over! Don't suppose he's not doing any harm except to residents near train tracks complaining about excessive hornage! Beleave you me it happens....and a lot of noise abatement stuff going on in rule book and instructions 

Had a local resident in skipton who had a house on the 'close' who came in to complain that the 'Tilton stone fright train passed both sides of her house then after a few hrs done the same again in reverse.....and the brakes where squeeking and why don't we oil them! I explained that the Rylstone branch line was steepley graded and the trains where required to stop at the bottom of the branch line but this just wasn't good enough....her visits started to become weekly....so I printed some of maps off showing her house in relation to the railway and then maps from the 1970s 1950s 1930s etc showing where her house is was railway sidings and didn't she see the train tracks when buying the house! I let her keep the maps as a gift, never saw her in my office again!

[HonestTom]

On 14/01/2022 at 17:32, colin smith said:

 

 

Personally, I'd love to get into Youtube as a way of sharing my novel writing, but I'm aware it's a lot of work and I have a face for radio.

 

 

You don't have to show your face - you could use stock footage or even static images to provide the visual component. There are a few writers on YouTube who take that approach.

[rob D2]

Camera angle is probably a protected part of the brand ! 
 

He has hit a sweet spot with the public - it’s cool to be uncool now and you can’t be vilified or bullied for it in the world of woke / 2022. And TBH I think I’ve missed a trick - the amount of female followers on insta is pretty impressive !

[HonestTom]

4 hours ago, njee20 said:

It's the camera angle that annoys me, but I get that's his 'thing', and the majority of his viewers wouldn't know one train from another! I like the passion. Seeing someone be passionate about anything is generally a good thing. 99.99999% of videos of trains out there have either no narration whatsoever or they have a bored sounding middle aged man saying in a monotone voice "here comes 1Z29, led by 66294, heading to Basford Hall" or whatever. Francis is hugely refreshing in that respect, I just want to see the trains 

Yeah, I think he hits a key point of being a railway enthusiast that a lot of people (including some within the fandom) miss - it's fun. He's a guy doing a thing he likes doing.

 

34 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

 

He has hit a sweet spot with the public - it’s cool to be uncool now and you can’t be vilified or bullied for it in the world of woke / 2022. 

I think it's more that the Internet has brought people with less mainstream interests together. Before the Internet became mainstream, what was cool and uncool was largely dictated by the media. Being obsessed with trains? Uncool, nerdy, get a life etc. Being obsessed with football? That's just fine, keep watching our sports channel.

 

Now, with the rise of the Internet and social media, people are learning that actually, there's nothing wrong with liking something unusual, and they're not alone in their interests. New communities have arisen for even very obscure interests - I found a site dedicated to phone boxes the other day, for instance. And people are less afraid to dip their toes into geeky interests - I get a lot of comments on my channel from people who don't define themselves as enthusiasts, but regularly watch my videos.

 

Bullying people for being into "nerdy" stuff hasn't declined due to "wokeness," but because it's out of step with the way people think now. I do get the occasional "get a life" comment, but it's invariably from guys who are middle-aged or older. I was honestly quite surprised when I spotted that pattern.

Edited January 18, 2022 by HonestTom

[Paleopotato09]

I think it depends on who's hosting the video. Some people have a really nice voice to listen to while others are well less nice to listen to. The point is that Sam's Trains is just a collection of click bait and he's popular because he gts down with the kids. 
But what would i know i'm only 20. 

[big jim]

5 minutes ago, Paleopotato09 said:

But what would i know i'm only 20. 

20! Crikey where’s your Zimmer frame grandad, that’s ancient according to my youngest! 

 

 

 

[PaulaDoesTrains]

I don't think it's fair to tar all YouTube channels with the same brush. There are plenty of smaller channels which are just someone sharing their love of the hobby rather than trying to make money out of it. Many of them are very knowledgeable  Those are the channels that I gravitate towards.

[woodenhead]

Using a different specialism - canal boats.

 

There are lots of people who now produce Vlogs on their experiences on the canals and it's really no different than model railways, you get:

• Those with a love of the subject and share their normal experiences - Cruising the Cut is a very good example, though he has changed tact now and is doing special interest video rather than just cruising because as he says, everyone and his dog is doing that.
• Those who use it as a means to advertise their floating business wrapped in a vlog about boating
• Those who seem to have a calamity at every bend - I am talking about you Dad who dropped a nut into the hole where the oil pump goes and ended up with it embedded in a piston.

It goes without saying I hide the last in the list from my feed, the advertisers can be as interesting as the first on the list if they do their videos well.

 

Different topic - campervanning:

I was watching a couple last week who had been driving a campervan around Iceland and compared it with another person who did a similar thing.  The couple produce very professional content, they know how to light, how to frame and when not to film.  They got a decent sized van and it was presented to them as a challenge to get around Iceland.  A challenge?  Driving on good roads in a European country?  Methinks that was a little bit of sponsorship wrapped in some cunning language to avoid declaring it was paid for promotion.  But overall the video was amazing, the sights were amazing and it made me want to go straight over to Iceland, get a campervan and do their trip myself.  Then I saw the second video, done by a lone traveller (perhaps), she didn't have the big van, hers was smaller and it did not sound like it was provided gratis, her video of the same locations were very grey, wet and not as attractive as the couple's video log - clearly the lone traveller did not have access to the same equipment, did not understand the power of the lighting on shots as she did not chase the sun but followed a timetable to visit places in an order.  My enthusiasm for a camping trip to Iceland waned on viewing it perhaps in more realistic conditions of the lone traveller.

 

The point, two people can do the same subject in different ways, can elicit different responses from how their content is delivered but both be interesting without any need for antics, made up disasters or suspense.

Edited January 18, 2022 by woodenhead

[Steamport Southport]

8 hours ago, Robin Brasher said:

Sam's Trains latest video 'Hornby's PR Disaster'  was excellent.  I agree with his advice to buy from a retailer rather than Hornby.  I found the information that the 9F would have a diecast body at a lower price than the Hornby Dublo series models very interesting. I was surprised to find that 54% of the viewers preferred the LNER to the other pre-nationalisation companies.

 

All I can take from that is 54% of his "fans" have heard of Flying Scotsman.

 

About as relevant as asking the Great Western Society membership what their favourite railway is.

 

 

 

Jason

[HonestTom]

4 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

All I can take from that is 54% of his "fans" have heard of Flying Scotsman.

 

About as relevant as asking the Great Western Society membership what their favourite railway is.

 

 

 

Jason

Interesting, what are you basing that on?

[westernviscount]

4 hours ago, HonestTom said:

Yeah, I think he hits a key point of being a railway enthusiast that a lot of people (including some within the fandom) miss - it's fun. He's a guy doing a thing he likes doing.

Do many people engage in a hobby they don't find fun? 

 

Perhaps people have a narrow view of how fun should manifest itself. Perhaps some just don't get absorbed as much and find those who are absorbed slightly strange. They look so serious, how can it be fun? 

 

I watched a layout being operated to timetable, using bell codes and a telephone to communicate!! Perhaps I am completely off on this, but it looked like a lot of fun to me :-)

[westernviscount]

I have to also add that I am baffled by how youtubers are described and most self-define in incredibly worthy terms. 

 

Sharing passion? Inspiring the next generation? Passing on knowledge? Promoting modelling? Raising awareness? Really? Try talking so earnestly about running a layout well without critique. 

 

The raising awareness thing I have always found bizarre. There are many I am sure engagaing with Francis Bourgious but I would suggest on a superficial level. A bit like the old phrase "i am loving <insert craze> right now", which admits the transience and superficiality of interest. I would say if your initial engagement with something is superficial, and a parody of the actual thing, the engagement will remain superficial.

 

A bit like power snooker. Invented for people who dont much like snooker and died a death because people who watched it didnt much like snooker. 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by westernviscount

[woodenhead]

Mr Bourgious has got himself a bit of work for North Face and Gucci - not bad for someone doing wacky videos.

[bradfordbuffer]

2 hours ago, westernviscount said:

Do many people engage in a hobby they don't find fun? 

 

Perhaps people have a narrow view of how fun should manifest itself. Perhaps some just don't get absorbed as much and find those who are absorbed slightly strange. They look so serious, how can it be fun? 

 

I watched a layout being operated to timetable, using bell codes and a telephone to communicate!! Perhaps I am completely off on this, but it looked like a lot of fun to me :-)

Yep fishermen...flicking flys on reservoir...or worm drounders on the canal....there all as grumpy as a rivet counter at a triang layout...miserable !

[rob D2]

I do wonder how much “ stuff “ people do these days , would still be done if there wasn’t a narcissist desire to show off fuelled by the internet ?

 

Clearly you get those who’ve managed to take themselves out the gene pool doing something arse like and filming it, but you’ve also those who get stressed because they are not producing enough “ content “.

 

Dont get me started on those who want to pass on their zen Buddha advice for life and career….linked in seems to be full of em 

[njee20]

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Mr Bourgious has got himself a bit of work for North Face and Gucci - not bad for someone doing wacky videos.

He was on Radio 1 today too. I mean… train spotting on the radio. Who’d have thought it a year ago. 

[Steamport Southport]

5 hours ago, HonestTom said:

Interesting, what are you basing that on?

 

That anyone can make up statistics.

 

I won't bore you with the quote attributed to Mark Twain about statistics. Or was it Yogi Berra?

[Phil Bullock]

36 minutes ago, bradfordbuffer said:

Yep fishermen...flicking flys on reservoir...or worm drounders on the canal....there all as grumpy as a rivet counter at a triang layout...miserable !

Oh hang on! Isaac Walton stated that a day spent at the angle is a day added not subtracted to an anglers life span.

 

Only miserable time is when we can’t go fluff chucking …. But on the river please! 

[westernviscount]

35 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

I do wonder how much “ stuff “ people do these days , would still be done if there wasn’t a narcissist desire to show off fuelled by the internet ?

Absolutely spot on. This is the nagging voice in my head everytime I try to get "with it". 

 

Warhol was right "everyone will be famous for 15 minutes plus adverts" 

 

[newbryford]

3 hours ago, westernviscount said:

 

 

I watched a layout being operated to timetable, using bell codes and a telephone to communicate!! Perhaps I am completely off on this, but it looked like a lot of fun to me :-)

 

 Unless you're operating the layout near to it....

(But that's for another thread)

 

 

 

[bradfordbuffer]

29 minutes ago, Phil Bullock said:

Oh hang on! Isaac Walton stated that a day spent at the angle is a day added not subtracted to an anglers life span.

 

Only miserable time is when we can’t go fluff chucking …. But on the river please! 

That's why there all OLD GRUMPY ...

 

 

Why do worm danglers on the canal have a 87 feet multi section pole to reach the far side of banking....just fish from the other side!

 

At local res there is a section fenced off for wildlife and anglers ...that's fair enough....but why do thay insist on using the beach area where all the Dodgers go to let pooches cool off in summer's day...then get grumpy as dogs causing a few ripples!