In Memoriam: Paul Dolkos

On August 10, 2024, Paul Dolkos passed away while in hospice care in Alexandria, VA. He was 85. Paul's family asked to post this news to the model railroad community.  They are planning a celebration of his life in the future. I will post the time and location as it becomes available. 

Working on my Soldier Summit layout

I don't remember exactly when we met for the first time.  I know it was sometime in the mid 1990's. Paul lived in Alexandria a few miles from where I lived. He took me under his wing. He helped me with my model railroad projects and introduced me to many of the model railroad publishers and operating groups. This photo is the earliest I have of him from 2001 when he was helping me build a N scale project layout for Model Railroader magazine in my old house.

As our relationship developed and my skills improved, I was honored to be asked to contribute work on his layout. I became Paul's custom decal printer. He would frequently visit my house and supervise me as I generated many custom decals for his layout using Photoshop on my computer.  Everything had to be just right for him. One day I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had created a vignette on his railroad of two men putting up a sign. Their truck was called "Kempinski and Son, Sign Painters."

"Ship Model?"

When he started his Baltimore Harbor Layout, I was excited to help build the pier side warehouse. Once it was built, I said to Paul," Now all you need is a nice ship model."

He looked at me with a slight smirk and said, "I'm a model railroader, not a ship modeler." 

Paul also contributed a lot of work on my various layouts. If you scan through this blog you will find dozens of examples.  I once said to Alicia that when Paul does work on my layout, there is no need to check it. You know it was done right. I would frequently ask his advice on various design or artistic questions. In just about every case, I did what he suggested. 

Paul taking background photos while on a
 road trip to Maryland

We shared a lot of other mutual interests especially photography. In addition, he and my wife Alicia would discuss finances and local Alexandria news when he visited. Speaking of Alicia, my all-time favorite Paul Dolkos story is when I took her to see his former B&M Layout. Alicia walked down the stairs, took a brief look around and blurted out, "Oh, so this is what they are supposed to look like."

Indeed. 

Paul's photo of Edna Mine

Paul was truly a train enthusiast.  He started rail-fanning as a young man and kept it up for seven decades. His slide collection was a gold mine of fantastic images. Whenever I started a new article or project, I first contacted Paul to see what images he might have. He did not disappoint. This photo of the Edna Mine in Colorado from the 1980s is a good case in point.  

One amusing anecdote I remember was when Paul got his first vehicle with GPS navigation.  He was so excited to learn that the navigation screens displayed the railroad tracks and not just the normal roads. 

At an ops session in NJ

I recall another time when Paul brought over his new digital camera, and we did a side-by-side comparison of his and my camera's capabilities. 

For some reason, he never wanted to buy a new computer. And he tried to run Photoshop Elements on the aging machine. So, over the past the last few years I made many trips to his house to act as tech support. Once I happened to be riding my bike and he called for tech support. I was two blocks from  house. So, I said, "if you don't mind a sweaty biker coming in your house, I can be right over." 

Paul getting in the Porsche for fun ride in the snow

We made many road trips together to rail fan and operate on layouts. One thing about those trips, if Paul was with you, you were not going to eat at cheap fast-food joints. One time when we got caught in an early snowstorm in New Jersey in my Porsche with summer tires, and we were gingerly driving around. I was shocked when Paul said, "Let's stop at McDonalds to get breakfast." It should be noted that Paul once owned a Porsche too.

Paul had written multiple scores of articles for the model railroad press. He delivered dozens of clinics to local NMRA and RPM meets. Those inspired and instructed many model railroads. But he also was very generous with his time and advice for dozens of modelers. It is a wonderful tribute to him that many call him their mentor.

Paul's last year was tough on him and his family. I tried to visit him at his retirement home, hospital, and rehab as often as possible. I could see his health sliding downhill. Still, he enjoyed talking about trains and reading magazines that I brought him. He was a gentleman until the end. Rest in peace my friend. 

Happier times, Paul and his wife Linda (far right) are in this photo.