The passing of Ben Dorsey on Saturday 24 March 2018

MSGSapper

Trainz route developer
With the permission of the family, it is my sad duty to inform the Trainz world that Ben Dorsey, a contributor of many thousands of high quality Trainz freeware content, passed away due to cancer on Saturday March 24, 2018.

I have collaborated with Ben on and off in the Trainz hobby for a number of years and have talked with him on the phone a number of times while working projects with him that usually ended up in my routes.

This is truly a great loss to the Trainz community and I am much saddened by his passing!

FYI I am currently working with his family to see if all his work can be sent to me so that it is not lost to the Trainz hobby.

For details on his funeral and to sign the guest book see this link:

http://www.memorialsolutions.com/sitemaker/memsol.cgi?user_id=2086619

Bob
 
Very saddening moment indeed.:(

That also means the end of new content from Mr. Dorsey. Although he has left behind a massive library of free content that will continue to loyally serve the Trainzer and furthermore, be the envoy of the legacy he left in our railroading community.

You will be missed very much, bendorsey.
 
I’m sorry to read this. Ben, the trestle guy, was one of the nicest and more relaxed people in the world of Trainz. I enjoyed the discussions in topics and PMs and, of course, his work.
He was already being missed, I am sure it will become more.
I am happy for him he no longer has to fight this horrible disease.

May you rest in peace, Ben.
 
Very saddening moment indeed.:(

That also means the end of new content from Mr. Dorsey. Although he has left behind a massive library of free content that will continue to loyally serve the Trainzer and furthermore, be the envoy of the legacy he left in our railroading community.

You will be missed very much, bendorsey.

You're much concerned about his content that his death that's very good...

Anyway cancer is a d**k and my condolences to his family.

 
My condolences to Ben's family. Another sad loss of one of our prolific creators. Sadly, in the words of the hymn, "time like a rolling stream bears all it's sons away". Fortunately, for the future of Trainz, there does seem to be a fresh generation of creators to take up the torch.
 
This is very sad news indeed, my deep condolences to his family. Im truly sadden to hear this as he has done a lot for this community and has contributed to many projects over the years (including mine), and was always a pleasure to both talk and work with on projects. He quickly became a great friend to me and I’m so glad he was able to finish everything I ask for him to make. As long as you have drawings or reference photos, he would never say no to you when you ask him if he could make content. I remember once he told me "The reason why I alway's say yes is because I love a challenge and to make something I never made before". He will truly be missed by many. :(
 
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Sad news indeed, had hoped he would make it, but alas, such it was not to happen. May he rest in peace, will miss him. As others say, he was such a nice guy, enjoyed the contact we had over the years.

Linda, sad in Norway but glad he no longer has to suffer.
 
This is a sad news indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if he's created more content on the Download Station than anyone else for Trainz. He will be missed indeed. If I ever get around to this, I plan on making a model of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. I was going to ask Ben to help me out with the buildings after he got done helping you out Matt, but it appears that the TVRM might never appear in Trainz. However, he did help me out by repairing his D&RGW gondola, modifying his Engine_Complex roundhouse, modifying his Rose_Oil_Column, and a few others, most recently turning 'WP&Y_Carcross_Coal_Platform', which consumes coal into 'Small_3_ft_ga_Coalings_Station', which produces coal. Unfortunately, it has never made it to the DLS, but I hope that there's a way that I can upload it myself as a memorial to Ben. He will be missed for sure. Also, someone should make some sort of memorial to him and then upload it to the DLS.
 
My thoughts are also with his family and friends. I had only a few brief conversations with him, via PM, and found him to be both generous in giving permissions for reskins of his work and helpful in the advice that he gave.

He will be sadly missed.
 
I'm very sorry to hear about Ben's passing. He made quite a few custom bridges trestles and viaducts for my routes over the years. I actually met Ben and his wife several years ago in Florida. At the time he was working on seven bridges for the Gorre & Daphedit route. We were staying about 20 miles south from where he lived, so I sent him an e-mail suggesting that we get together for lunch. He sent me a return e-mail suggesting that we meet at a restaurant near his home called the Dune-Dog where we can have lunch and discuss the proposed bridges. My wife and I met him and his wife, and we spent about 3 enjoyable hours eating hot dogs and drinking beer.

Ben was a remarkable person. He owned a motorcycle powered by a Chevy V8 engine, and I expected him to be somewhat of a rough and tumble biker type of personality, but he was just the opposite. He was a very personable, precise, unselfish, and intelligent person with a good sense of humor.

I would contact him with a bridge request, and would say "I'm pretty busy right now, so it might be several days before I can get started on it." And I would reply: "Ben, I'll be working on this route for another year, so take your time." Without the Gorre and Daphetid's 7 bridges, I would never have completed the route. One of the last projects he completed for me was the Hanover Street bridge, a 4 lane concrete, working lift bridge that ran across the bay and over the Western Maryland's Port Covington terminal on the Baltimore to Cumberland Mega route.

Ben was one of the Trainz community's biggest contributors, and he never asked for anything in return except camaraderie. May his soul rest in peace.

Joe
 
Rest easy Ben, thanks for everything you have done and contributed to the community. You will be dearly missed by everyone here.
 
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I'm very sorry to hear of this. I was aware that Ben was not well for some time but wasn't expecting this.

I'd like to pass on my condolences to his family if possible.

Shane
 
Very Sad, I wish my condolences.

Ben has helped plenty of times for different items I needed, which enabled us to become good friends in the process. It saddens me to hear this.

~Carson
 
I'd like to pass on my condolences to his family if possible. Shane

The best way to pass on your condolences and send a message to the family would be to sign the online Guest book at the funeral home and leave a message. See my original post for the link to where you can do that. I have already done that myself, and I would highly encourage all who knew him to do the same.....

Note: They check each post that is submitted before making it visible in the guest book so expect a delay before you see your entry on the guest book.

Bob
 
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