OK, gospel from the webmasters is;
Dear Mr. Clod:
Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding Trains.com. The website forum will not accept an animated avatar. It will turn a gif into a jpg, which is what you had experienced.
If we can be of further assistance, please email customerservice@kalmbach.com, phone 1-800-533-6644 or fax 262-796-1615. Customers outside the U.S. and Canada may contact us at 262-796-8776, ext. 421. Thank you.
Sincerely,
So there you have it. No Hitler eating watermelon for you lot then. Pity, it’s a scream.