Re: the meaning of gunzel

[John Coyle <John_member@newsranger.com>]

In article <3AD91AAC.528C@iprolink.co.nzzzzz>, David McLoughlin says...
>
>Some anonymous poster wrote:

Many thanks for explaining the word Gunzel. Can anyone tell me HOW the number
"412" cecame so important? I understand that it is Victorian and dates to at
least the 1960's. If Dick Jones of the STM has an E-Mail address, and belongs to
this newsservice, I would like to hear from him! I lost contact with Dick, when
I moved to Qld back in 1988.


>
>>I heard on ABC news radio today that the meaning of Gunzel derives from
>> the fact that in the olden days of rail fanning the old guys who used
>> chase the steam trains called the new railfans that were only interested
>> in the diesels "gunzels". In hebrew the word gunzel means goose, there
>> fore the new, inexperianced railfans were gooses or silly for hat they
>> did?  What do you think?
>
>According to the MTUT FAQ:
>
>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.