Francis Bougeois Is In The Game

I am confused.

Sir Peter Francis Lewis Bourgeois RA was an English landscape painter and history painter, and court painter to King George III

 

Not to change the subject to much, but wasn't Tim Dunn also the editor of Railways Illustrated many moons ago or am I thinking of someone else?

 

I think you may be referring to Pip Dunn.

 

Yes that's the one! Always get the two confused with each other!

 

In this case you Dunn wrong!

 

SonicScott91 don't worry mate, to be clear, I had no intention of targeting anyone here, and I wasn't aiming at anyone in particular.
My point was mainly to illustrate how things can happen, specifically abroad.

I'm sorry if anyone felt targeted, that was absolutely not my intention.

On the contrary, I was surprised by the generally very civil manner in which discussions are conducted here.

 

Because it’s 2026 and we have to be either overly mad or overly happy about everything. We aren’t allowed to see something and just keep moving on with our day and have no reaction to it.

 

It does make me chuckle to see people complain about him "damaging our image."

It may have escaped your notice, but we didn't have a "good image" anyway. He hasn't damaged it. He's turned his passion into a job and while he's not my cup of tea, I do respect him for that and wish him luck on Grand Tour.

 

I haven't seen much of Francis, but I have watched Geoff Marshall for years since the days he was on the Londonist on YouTube. His perspective on enthusiasm doesn't have to be limited to standing in the rain taking numbers off the front of trains, something I have never understood, but the inner workings of how the industry works and previews of its future. His 'Secrets of the Underground' series is something that is very interesting and extended into the Elizabeth Line and Overground. I do think rail enthusiasm is evolving into something new that may not be popular with some, but that will be of the benefit of everyone in the long run.

Just look at how Jerry Dyer (wishing him a speedy recovery) from Big Jet TV has impacted the aviation industry with his livestreams over the years. One stormy day changed his channel for the better when the country's media descended upon him as planes battled through high winds, resulting in his channel growing faster than an SR71 Blackbird. Since then, he has had people of all ages approaching him and talking about wanting to be part of the aviation industry.

If influencers can do this for rail and aviation, then shouldn't this boost be celebrated rather than dismissed because we may or may not like someone? These people are making niche hobbies more popular and the same goes with DTG with Train Sim World. I think its crazy to berate them for including Thomas the Tank Engine if the love of rail is growing on younger audiences. If anything, trying to keep it away from younger players on TSW IS damaging the image of rail enthusiasts as if older people were the gatekeepers.

 

I mean, literally what got me OUT of trains for a period of time was seeing all the spite and hatred toward Ed Dickens on places like TrainOrders. I remember being pretty excited the hear of the Big Boy getting restored, only to read constant messages over the course of the mid-2010's about they're ruining "Steve Lee's program".

A bit ironic to read now when you consider the Big Boy is probably the single biggest boon to US railfanning in recent years. And it's telling just how many people who've dealt with steam consistently praise the restoration effort, they clearly hired the right people to do it in retrospect. And it's pretty clear it's a well ran program with how much they've traveled it, and yet the machine has proven to be nothing less than a good, reliable runner.

Also, you mention Grand Tour, but it's funny seeing people talk about Francis as if he's doing a disservice, yet people talk up Top Gear as a effectively a untouchable classic. Yet I remember in the early 2010's watching some of their stuff and seeing serious car guys similarly dismiss it as "damaging to the image of cars", funny how times change as to what "proper" is.

 

Ah “influencer” the word that basically has no meaning. Would honestly love to know who and what these “influencers” have actually influenced.

 

I mean, yes, the terms a bit silly, what of it? Lord knows you can pick apart terms like "Triple A games" or "Blockbuster", Jim Sterling liked doing that with the former a lot. But what does complaining about the term really add to a conversation exactly? Like honestly as arbitrary as the term was I got pretty fed up with Jim Sterling putting on a silly voice and mocking it each time, the joke became old after a while. There's much better things to use your time on than complaining about it.

 

but yet here you are complaining about my comment. Ironic

 

All it means is how many likes and followers they have for their content. That’s how they get paid. How many are they actually “influencing” to get into whatever the hobby or topic is? Nobody can actually be sure since it’s hard to quantify that. But the metrics they are defined by are specifically those 2 things.