Two possible responses come to mind. You could have told him that the only advantage HO modelers have over O gauge modelers is that their mistakes are harder to see. Or- it must be a terrible burden - being so perfect around the rest of us imperfect mortals.
You can always tell them "HO scale is smaller so little girls can play with it and O gauge is for the big boys. Come back when you get your big boy pants"
Being from New Jersey, I would have used all of my special “sentence enhancers” in my response to him. As long as you’re having fun with your trains, that’s all that matters.
Joe your layout must be something to see. You obviously rocked him to the core. Its our human nature to defend ourselves by challenging others achievements when they have out done ours.... I believe he was trying to justify that his time was better well spent modeling HO, than what your time with O. It would have been obvious if his mediocre attempt was apparent with photos... what a loser.
Life is short. Don't lose sight of your goals. Have fun and run some trains.
I actually had somebody on this forum challenge my credentials about working at a hobby store, being a repair man and having a layout. He quickly shut up when I posted a bunch of photos and videos of our layout. I dont like to show it off because I have been extremely blessed to be able to afford the extremely nice things that I have and the large layout I have been able to build. I just don't want to seem like 'Im bragging or rubbing it in so I just kinda keep quiet.
I don't think I would say anything to him now, after the fact. But if it comes up again, I think a good response would be to simply say:
"This is what I like."
If he goes into all the reasons why his trains and layout are better than yours, all you have to do is repeat:
"But this is what I like."
And just keep repeating it till he gives up. He is looking for there to be "competition" between your preference and his, so he can "win." This is what I like denies him the pleasure of winning because it denies that there is a competition at all. It also has the benefit of being 100% irrefutably true!
This discussion reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza becomes obsessed with thinking up a comeback line for a previous situation where he was slighted. But the next time around the situation is different and he can't think up a relevant come-back on the spot. The point being, it's pointless to dwell on a trivial past incident.
In addition to Ace's reply; forget about it. Just enjoy trains.
I have no verbal filters so I would have just walked away. Here on OGR when I type something, I have time to edit my original statement so I seem like a nice person. 
Joe S
Are you located in Sun City? I tried to send you a private email but it won't work for me.
Dick
Technically speaking, O gauge is closer to actual size than HO. That makes it more real.
You guys are taking this comment way too serious. I would have laughed and walked away.....
When somebody makes a comment similar to that originally posted I just ask them to remember back to the Aesop's Fables we were taught in school. In particular the "Ants & the Grasshoppers" with the "O" gaugers being the grasshoppers, lots of playtime, and the 2rail modelers being the ants, work/work/work no playtime. 
"We laugh when it hurts to much to cry" C.Chaplin paraphrase from French.
Laughter is good therapy after a shock like that.
"It's what I like" 
Ace posted:This discussion reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza becomes obsessed with thinking up a comeback line for a previous situation where he was slighted. But the next time around the situation is different and he can't think up a relevant come-back on the spot. The point being, it's pointless to dwell on a trivial past incident.
I worked at a newspaper many years ago and one of the sports editors was a real moron (and not a likeable either). I once called him, "slow of wit" and I'm not kidding, he came back the next day and yelled out to the entire composing room to hear, "Hey, what'd you mean by, 'slow of wit,' anyway?"
We all just stopped, stared at one another, and everyone bust out laughing. For a minute or two, production of the newspaper right before deadline stopped cold. I don't think he ever got what was funny about his timing, either.
Ace posted:This discussion reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George Costanza becomes obsessed with thinking up a comeback line for a previous situation where he was slighted. But the next time around the situation is different and he can't think up a relevant come-back on the spot. The point being, it's pointless to dwell on a trivial past incident.
Was that the Jerk Store episode?
Sicilians have a simple two word phrase that works in almost every situation. 
Ace posted:Robert Coniglio posted:ACE
is that bike on the rails you showed an operating item? Very interesting looking piece. must be fun to ride
Bob C.
The bike is definitely an operating item, I rode it today - in its conventional configuration for conventional roads. That was over 20 years ago when I had it set up to run on a disused railroad in my neighborhood, which has since been dismantled. I covered a lot of miles with it, it was fun. Although it was more interesting when the railroad was still operating trains.
For the original topic: oftentimes the best response is no response. Time to move on to better things.
Ace,
No comment on the topic but if you were able to ride these rails on that bike and get these pictures then that is one of the freakin awesome things I have ever seen!! Well done! Living in the Los Angeles area I am not much on bike riding -- too scary. But if I had this as an option things would be different. One question, how far do you have to ride to get to a turntable to rotate it in the other direction so you can go back home?
Scott
Hudson J1e posted:There are two kinds of model railroaders. “People who just play with trains” and “People who are ruining the hobby.” Those who are less prototypical than you are bozos who are just playing with toy trains and those who are more prototypical than you are rivet-counting extremists who are ruining the hobby."
I gotta give brother Hudson here a giant AMEN.
I've always said something similar, in any hobby:
- Someone who's into it less than you isn't worth notice and open for derisive labels as they simply aren't on you level.
- Someone who's into it more than you needs to get a life.
That said, I do feel that generally, people into 3rail are more open to the 'toy train' concept and doing it simply for the fun and not sweating the small stuff than others into other scales. I think the smaller scales draw a different mindset, or perhaps they're just people want to distance themselves from the 'toy' aspect that is clearly more common in 3rail. There are clearly exceptions, of course, but generally I have found this to be true over the years.
Doesn't make anyone wrong, anymore than one guy models the Santa Fe with diesels and someone else models the NYC with steam. Neither is better than the other, as it's the old, "apples and oranges" concept.
There are also people who want to feel superior to others within a given hobby. They're out there in any pastime, we've all seen them. They're the ones who can't simply say, "I like doing _____." No, they have to give a long-winded and pretentious reason why they're into it other than they simply like it. I've never understood that.
I think Joe in the original post here encountered one of those guys...
Joe S posted:Toward the end of the meeting, one of the HO modelers stated that I (and by implication others who like O gauge Lionel, MTH, etc) don't have a "real model railroad"; rather I have a "Lionel display".
<snip>
I was surprised and offended by this person's attitude and would welcome your opinions about appropriate responses.
Joe:
I think it's time to get back to your original request, i.e., what's an appropriate response to someone like this?
I'm disappointed I didn't remember a stock response I use sometimes to needle overly serious S Gauge guys. If someone had said the above to me, I would have whipped this out:
HO trains are great except they use the wrong number of rails.
The point of saying this is to indicate to the other person that 1) you're aware your trains have a third rail, 2) you don't mind and might even be proud of it, and 3) you're willing to have fun with it all.
When I say the above to S Gaugers, they either:
Laugh,
Stare at me, confused, wondering if I'm seriously saying what I'm saying, or
Give a sort of "Pfft" through their lips in an attempt to let me know they've dismissed me and my 3rd rail.
The above would be the universe of responses I've ever received to this remark and I actually use it quite often.
I think it would have worked here. The problem is, you have to have it ready, at the tip of your tongue, because it doesn't play as well the next day.
HTH.
Steven J. Serenska
