Sometimes you just do not see the brilliance in someone's creations until it is far too late. Ben Dorsey

[whecsailorjr]

Hi All
Just thinking out loud here more than anything else here. I have had the good fortune to be with Trainz since 1.3. One of the creators for many years was Ben Dorsey. I would be checking the DLS and could always tell when Ben had been around. There would not be one bridge or two of a certain type, but 60 or 70 of the basic same bridge but in a multitude of minor variations. At the time, I just accepted it as Ben was either being very OCD or just annoying and filling up the DLS. He was always very nice with me and answered my emails and I had the good fortune to be counted as a friend by him.
When he passed, I only then really began to see then what a great impact he has had on the Trainz platform. As more time has passed, I now see very clearly, I was so very way off base and wrong. He was way ahead of his time in Trainz. He envisioned those late sessions when we were looking of a certain bridge and in a very special configuration and he made sure it was there, just waiting for your discovery. Off to the DLS and you can always find Bens items, search through them and find that special one you really needed. He left us all a great gift and an ever-lasting legacy.
Thank you Ben.

 

[pware]

I could not agree more.

My personal dealings with Ben started with his many "Ditch Crosser" wooden trestle bridges. He created them using standard gauge tracks and he, unhesitatingly, gave me permission to modify and upload them to the DLS using narrow gauge track. His bridges (and other assets) still look good in the latest versions of Trainz.

 

[JCitron]

His bridges and assets populate my routes as well. His drawbridges especially are found along my New England inspired coastal route as the lines cross many inlets and finally the main channel near a big harbor.

I miss Ben's sense of humor and kind word for everyone.

 

[pitkin]

For narrow gauge in Colorado, his assets make routes plausible

 

[SirGreg]

This is very true, it is a general attitude in life, always when you miss someone exactly then you start to reconsider and appreciate more what he said or have done, it is in human nature unfortunately so it is unavoidable, one of the things that made me like Trainz is the continuous effort of previous and current creators to give solutions and to enhance our hobby, because i see Trainz in general more like a hobby than a simple game. Exactly this is the reason i have written before some years that every single effort of a creator is fully appreciated no matter if we like his personality or his art, because you never know when you will need his work or find it very good for a route or anything else, as again if it is not appropriate for you for sure someone else will find it handy.

 

[marmalade32]

Ah yes, I've downloaded his railguns. He shall be remembered as a legend in the trainz community.

 

[dangavel]

He also was one of the last people to make interactive industries, this now appears to be something of a lost art. I think the last interactive he did was the Gilsonite loaders for my Uintah Railway. Very hard to create as it was all on steep grades and curves... quite complex . I am not aware that there are any active 3d builders who can now create such assets. I could not have made that route without his contributions. One of the last messages I sent him was to tell him he had an amazing legacy and how much he was appreciated by the community.

 

[pcas1986]

I got involved with Ben's work when he lost his previous scripter, Dale Pattee, whom he had worked with for years. Despite his prodigious output, Ben did want to make some rather odd coal loaders/unloaders and we often got into longish discussions on how they could be made. One of which was the very long Skagway facility. During an Alaskan cruise our ship went to Skagway and I was half hoping the facility would still be there. Unfortunately not, but I could easily imagine how it could have run along adjacent to the cliff to the south of the harbour.
Ben was a good friend to me and probably the most friendly person on the forums.

 

[frogpipe]

I highly doubt I've done a single route, private or not, that didnt have  least one of his creations.

I only interacted with him once, some years ago (a decade now?) About his Ma and Pa doodle bug and Baltimore Union Station. He was super kind and helpful.

 

[BlackDiamond1964]

Ben made me many LWV bridges before long before I started modeling myself. At this point I believe I remade all the bridge models...except for one, the Heidelberg Bridge. He was a great model builder when it came to bridges. He had a few issues with texturing though.

I believe he got the idea of having modular coal breaker building parts from my model requests I was pelting him with. I showed him the many different coal breakers buildings I needed made, and he ended up making different modular building parts that I could mix and match different building parts too. Each coal breaker building seems to be built as different as a set of finger prints!

 

[MasterTracklayer]

Is this the guy who made all those cool modular building kits for various kinds of light-industrial scenery buildings (and other types)? One could find parts, bits, and bobs to make nearly any custom building you wanted with the parts I remember. Is this why I recognized his name when I came across it in the forums? I had no idea that he was gone. I had his name in at least one of my Trainz2009/Trainz2010 custom filters. He will indeed be greatly missed. Rest in peace, Ben Dorsey, aka bendorsey.

 

[blueodessey]

I recall long ago, needing some specific bridges and other items for a Route. Someone in the Forum, immediately let me know, Ben Dorsey is a pro. Just sent him a note.

I did, and Ben was so kind, polite, took the time to describe and be of great assistance.

He was and always will be the The Gentle Giant of a Man.

RIP Ben your are missed.

 

[jjeff1955]

Sad to hear, RIP Ben Dorsey you will be missed.
His assets where awesome with a lot of Detail.