2020…The TRAINTASTIC Twenties!

Happy New Year – Happy New Decade to all of our Trainiac friends 🙂

The Traingineers ended the decade accomplishing absolutely remarkable custom layout installations all over the country and a first…even in Canada! We are so blessed by each of our Top Traintastic Customers with Roger and I continuing to be in awe of the gifted group of employees we employ and passionately refer to as our Talented Traingineer Team!

Special shout-out of gratitude to each Traingineer Team Member: Paul Munger, Mike Reagan, Mike Ellis, Garrett Broyles, Eugene Kollman, George Watson, Dennis Magee, Judy Ellis, Jeff Matney, Nick Ellis, Ethan Tait, Abraham Alvarado, and Ulises Mendez. YIKES! I would be remiss not mentioning three honorary Traingineers; Joe Holtzinger, Stephanie Reagan, and Alex Mallaie, who’ve pitched in to assist and we’re very appreciative to have each “on Traingineer Duty Call”!

We expanded our reach and increased services we offer by adding the uber talented Mike Reagan to our team in 2017. Mike became our East Coast Director based out of Concord, NC. and from his East Coast Studio headed up fabrication/design/installation of three custom residential layouts for customers in Santa Fe, NM – Warren, NJ – Providence, RI and we’ve sent him all over the country for layout assessments, installations, service calls, and events; New York, Nevada, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa, Florida, North Carolina and even Canada!

Going down Memory Lane a bit, Roger Farkash, founded Theatrical Warehouse Inc dba TW TrainWorx in 1982 – making this decade #4 for our small family owned business being in operation – truly a miracle in and of itself! Both of us will reach our 70’s in this decade and you’d think our founder and Creative Director would be talking the *R* word, right? Hmmm, not seeing that happen any time soon when his design calendar is just about booked for the first quarter of 2020 and his HUGE passion for what he does certainly is not subsiding!

Happy to say we’re starting out 2020 with a younger generation of Traingineers (almost half of our Traingineers are in their 20’s – early 40’s) and they are being mentored/taught by the Absolute Best of the Best in the toy train layout industry!

All this to say, we’re building a TW TrainWorx Legacy, and we’d love to have YOU become part of it! The Traintastic Traingineer Team is Still believing the Train Layout possibilities are endless : )

What a decade that was… in pictures, Enjoy!

Happy New Year Trainiac friends – wishing YOU and YOURS an extraordinarily blessed and prosperous 2020.

Happy Tracks,

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965
http://www.trainworxlayouts.com
http://www.layoutassessment.com
http://www.twtrainworxstore.com

Introducing… Talking Trains with TrainDame, Ep. 1

Cheers Trainiac Friends!

Are we having some FUN NOW!!! I’m diving in and all on board to present to YOU the Very First… Talking Trains with TrainDame recording titled: “Reagan – Wiring Nightmare”.

Last week, TW TrainWorx East Coast Director, Mike Reagan aka Reagan flew to Houston from NC to perform some “switch repair work” for one of our Traintastic Customers who unfortunately had his layout done by a “hobbyist”
(not knocking hobbyist, just stating a fact) and switches were not working.

First thing Monday morning Reagan sent us these pictures showing underneath table work environment:

 

 

And that is my lead in to the First Ever Episode of Talking Trains with TrainDame and YOU can listen in to my conversation with Reagan, NOW by clicking on this link: Worst Nightmare 

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965
Dallas, TX | Concord, NC
www.blog.traindame.com
www.layoutassessment.com

P.S. Don’t forget…

P.P.S Listen to Talking Trains with TrainDame: Episode 1

 

Trains, Aircraft Carrier… and a SUBMARINE??

The TW TrainWorx Traingineers are having a Traintastic time on one of our six custom layouts currently “Under Construction” in our Dallas, TX –  McGowan Street Studio!

Chief Traingineer, Roger Farkash, has really pulled out all the wheel stops on this design 🙂 This custom residential layout will be installed in the Hill Country of Texas for a couple that had some Traintastic “Wants” as well as requirements for their 285 square foot custom layout. Sometimes I never know exactly what Roger’s creative mind is going to “come up with” as was the case when Monday I saw an odd looking shape being formed and asked…what’s this? Roger replied, it’s going to be an AIRCRAFT CARRIER! Really… do you know how HUMONGOUS those are??

Fun story, Roger went online in search of a GI Joe Aircraft Carrier to find it is indeed out there, but the ones that are; in the box, mint condition, never been opened, blah/blah/blah cost a mere…. (wait for it)

$15,000.00 B notes (as Reagan would say). So, that being out of the question, Roger thought to himself…”surely I can find pieces of the carrier and in particular the bow and then add on to make a mock up that will dock nicely in the San Diego area of the layout! And he was off to the races! Check it out:

So on the other end of this layout is another harbor with a GI Joe modified Submarine!

**Traingineer Ellis (another Mike) in the picture above is about to wrap the submarine in plastic and put it back on the layout so Roger can then Sculpty-Mold some waves… of course!

Traintastic fun continues 🙂

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
Dallas, TX | Concord, NC USA
(214) 634-2965

http://www.trainworxlayouts.com
http://www.twtrainworxstore.com
http://www.twtrainworx.com

 

 

 

Argentina Visitors and York, PA Spring *FUN*

Last full week in April has ZOOMED by! Monday, the Traingineers were crazy focused on getting all our York orders fulfilled with new orders coming in daily from both online and phone calls every day this week 🙂

And what a Traintastic way to end the week with two visitors to the Dallas McGowan Street Studio from… ARGENTINA. It’s not everyday we have visitors from a foreign country:

TW TrainWorx introduced *9* new products at York and we are holding the York Prices until May 1st. Please check the new product out here: http://www.twtrainworxstore.com . Below are some pictures from Spring York 2018…

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965
http://www.twtrainworxstore.com

 

Intense Signal/Switch Control Panel…

The TW TrainWorx Traingineers have the pleasure of working with a gentleman retired from CSX Railway on his Custom New Haven|Cedar Hill Yards themed layout with the top priority being intensely elaborate Signal/Switch capabilities for some TRAIN RUNNING FUN TIMES!

Chief Traingineer, Roger Farkash, along with East Coast Director, Mike Reagan, Traingineers; Roy and George have designed and are in Full On Implementation Mode working on one of the most elaborate Signal/Switch Control Panels I’ve ever seen!!!

Because I have a front row seat to witness the Traintastic progress on all fronts, I admittedly find myself in a constant state of “OH MY GOSH… IT’S GOING TO DO WHAT?????? HOW IN THE WORLD IS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN ON A ‘TOY TRAIN’ LAYOUT???  FOR REAL?????

Talk about taking it to the next level and having some Crazy Trainiac Fun 🙂

Recently I asked Traingineer Roy… What are you doing?

Next up, join me on a tour of what is going on underneath this layout with Traingineer George…

*Under Construction Shots*

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965
Dallas, TX | Concord, NC
http://www.trainworxlayouts.com

 

 

It’s all in a DAY…

Without going into all the gory details of Mr. Day’s disastrous experience with his initial train layout (NOT from TW TrainWorx) other than to say, after our initial assessment in 2015 it became apparent that Mr. Day had a decision to make;  1) because of the unfortunate inability of his existing layout to literally RUN TRAINS and an ultimatum from his wife to get the trains running otherwise your train room will be my craft room… OR, 2) take a leap of faith, bite the bullet, take a chance with TW TrainWorx and literally ‘trash’ the old layout to make room for his new custom TW TrainWorx Layout!

Decision made… Leap was taken… bite crunched… the Day Layout went on the TW TrainWorx Board for Design, Fabrication, and Installation!!

A couple of fun facts about Mr. Day’s custom TW TrainWorx Layout… it was our first layout constructed entirely by Mike Reagan in his North Carolina studio! Other than the custom lift bridge which was designed & laser cut in Dallas then shipped up to Mike and having Roger fly in to assist with carving! We are extremely proud of the results that came out of our East Coast Division!!!

Let’s let the pictures do the talking, first up: Photos from TW TrainWorx East Coast Division: Concord, NC:

Fabrication was finished in December, 2017 and Mike loaded the truck up in North Carolina and made the trip to Santa Fe, NM through Dallas, Texas. Once the truck and layout made it to Dallas, Traingineer and Road Warrior, Eugene Kollman drove the layout to Mr. Day’s home to start “Operation Day Installation” on Monday – January 8th, 2018.

First item to take care of was demolishing the old and completely dysfunctional layout… Gotta Go!

Out with the old…in with the new!


OH HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(pun intended… lol)

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965
http://www.trainworxlayouts.com

Dallas, TX | Concord NC

 

Holy Train Smokes!!!!

That is a direct quote from my daughter, Lindsay, after sharing Doug Bennett’s Assessment Review of last week’s time spent with our East Coast Director, Mike Reagan.

Here is a ‘cut and paste’ of the Holy Train Smokes email I received last night:

From: Douglas Bennett [mailto:dougdbennett
Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2017 6:52 PM
To: dorcie farkash <dfarkash@twdesign.com>
Cc: Mike Reagan <mreagan@twtrainworx.com>
Subject: Layout Assessment Recap

Dorcie,

Words can not express how pleased I am with what I gained from the visit of your Mike Reagan to my layout. It jump started my knowledge, confidence and abilities by several years compared to learning on the go by trial and error and expanded the enjoyment of working on and operating my layout. What Mike knows and brings to your organization and more importantly to your customers is unique and extremely valuable. The following is a partial list of some of the things big and small that we accomplished during the two days he was here. Except for meals and sleep we worked or talked trains the entire time.

1) Gave me a hands on tutorial on weathering buildings. I weathered the roof of my passenger station

2) Found a direct short in my Lionel E7 Diesel powered A unit and got it up and running again

3) Repaired a Lionel 2 truck shay in a matter of minutes that had been unsuccessfully repaired by one of Lionel’s top East Coast dealers.

4) Determined cause for loss of communication between DCS remote and multiple TIUs that allowed me to re-install a second TIU, thus gaining the designed functionality originally planned. Prior to Mike’s visit I had resolved myself to the fact that I could only use one TIU by grouping multiple zones (loops) together.

5) Updated all my DCS and TMCC/Legacy remotes and bases.

6) I have a mountain loop designed for exhibit operation with an empty train climbing up the mountain to a hidden passing siding where a fully loaded identical train waits to travel down the grade and back into the mountains hidden passing siding. This illusion needs to run unattended in exhibit mode using photo sensors and control circuitry to alternate each train. Since my engines are Legacy Mike showed how this can be accomplished using the Legacy record function. Mike showed me how to record and demonstrated by actually recording a full logging train returning from the mountain forest and an empty logging train climbing back up the mountain grade to the forest.

7) Showed how he cleans track and recommended what, through his experience, the best track cleaning liquid is.

8) Through his access to top experts in the industry he was able within an evening to determine why post war whistles sound continuously when running on a track controlled through an MTH TIU Variable output and powered by a Lionel ZW-L transformer. The chopped sin wave of the ZW-L was the culprit. Swapping out the ZW-L with an MTH smooth sin wave Z-4000 eliminated the problem of running my stable of post war engines through the MTH hand held controller in variable output mode.

9) Showed me the fix for the occasional rear coupler opening of my Neil Young Texas Special F3 Dummy A unit.

10) Showed me how to disable TMCC/Legacy command control so these engines can be run in conventional mode on track containing the TMCC/Legacy signal so they can run in exhibit mode on my logging loop.

11) Gave a recommendation for alternate mountain construction material to modify and/or enhance my existing carved blown foam mountains.

12) I have a 3′ x 4′ opening in the center of my layout designed for viewing and operation and also for lift out/drop in panels to permit utilizing my extensive collection of operating accessories through “themed” lift outs such as logging/lumber, coal, or oil. Mike made a material suggestion for the panels that was far superior to the 2″ house insulation foam I had planned to use.

13) Showed me how to use command control cars from both Lionel and MTH.

14) Gained comfort and confidence using DCS and Lionel command control by shadowing Mike’s every move and asking loads of questions.

15) Introduced me to a source for parts for postwar trains and a source for upgrade kits for postwar smoking units of which I have many that I wanted to use with modern smoke fluids rather than smoke pellets.

16) Left instructions on how to add TMCC and DCS to my bench test stand and thus utilizing some excess command control equipment I have.

What a great opportunity this was for me to gain valuable confidence and add to my own abilities. Mike is so open and giving. He has responded to my recent text messages relative to a coupler issue I was having and without his input I would have had to send it out for repair. As it turned out I made the repair myself, but only through his texting assistance.

I would have attended your festival this April in a heart beat were it not for the fact it occurs while we are on vacation. When you know the date for next year let me know so I can save the date and not commit to something else. I do look forward to visiting your facility in Dallas someday.

You have created a unique service to the hobby, one I trust many others like myself will take advantage of. The two days went well beyond my expectations. It was not only money well spent but money well invested. My congratulations to you and your organization for taking advantage of the opportunity that Mike’s availability presented. From my perspective it was a perfect fit for both.

With greatest appreciation,
Doug Bennett

Wow… we are so appreciative to Doug and beyond thrilled to have Mike Reagan heading up our East Coast Division. Crazy to already be saying this folks but NOW… seriously is the time to get on Mike’s Assessment Tour list! Last month Mike’s first layout assessment was in Tennessee with one of our Top Traintastic Customer’s, Dr. Sawrie… here is a link to read his email review: Dr. Sawrie Assessment Review  and guess what I just did today… MARCH 24, 2017 – made travel arrangements for another Layout Assessment with the Dynamic Traingineer Duo of both Chief Traingineer Roger & Mike to New Mexico, the second week of April!!!

Want an assessment done on YOUR Layout??? Then this link is for YOU: Layout Assessment Form

Happy Tracks!

Traindame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965

P.S. Click here Doug Bennett’s Assessment Review to read his email.

 

First EVER Traingineer… ‘TRACKLAPSE’

The ABC’s have done it again! Alan, Ben, & Connor just completed TW TrainWorx Production’s second video documenting fabrication for the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Train Display ***TRAINS OVER TEXAS***

Hats off to this first ever… ‘TRACKLAPSE’… Enjoy!

 

Happy Tracks!

Traindame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
Dallas, Texas USA
(214) 634-2965

Locomotive Service Yard Addition

Roger and I had the pleasure of traveling up to see our favorite Amarillo customer, Tom Campbell, to install a very cool enhancement to his TrainWorx custom layout, the High Plains Division of the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway.

Roger started collaborating with Tom in 2012 to realize his desire of having a train layout that would reflect features of the High Plains and Santa Fe style engineering. Tom has a wonderful 30 plus year history of actually working on the Santa Fe RR as an Engineer/Manager and he wanted his layout to reflect just that.

Our two day enhancement installation focused on this area that Tom had cleared out for his Locomotive Service Yard… aka – BEFORE SHOTS:

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I thoroughly enjoyed my time with both Roger and Tom experiencing two days of listening to Tom’s great railroad stories and there really is nothing better than watching Roger in action and witnessing how he ties everything together as if the Service Yard had always been on Tom’s layout.
Please enjoy the AFTER SHOTS:

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Train Buddies : )

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Process Photos

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Tom Campbell’s
HIGH PLAINS DIVISION OF THE PANHANDLE & SANTA FE RAILWAY
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Happy Tracks!

Traindame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
2808 McGowan Street
Dallas, TX 75203

(877) 881-4997


 

Traingineers on the M O V E !!

TW TrainWorx is experiencing an incredible first half of 2016 with Traingineers traveling to; New York, Texas, Nebraska, California, and Pennsylvania for train events and custom layout installations.

This past April was particularly jam packed starting off with a custom 8′ x 20′ layout installation for our dear friend Skip in Suffern, NY – check out some process shots while on the studio floor:

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Here are some shots of the installation taking place in Skip’s home…

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From New York, Chief Traingineer, Roger Farkash, then met up with Traindame and Traingineer, Roy McClellan, at Spring York where its always fun to see old friends, meet new friends, talk trains, and happy to say, we came back with five solid leads for custom layouts!

Back in Texas, Traingineer George Watson, lead a crew and delivered a 5′ x 10′ custom layout just outside Houston. Here are some shots of the layout right before it loaded out and then settled in it’s new home:

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The very next day the Traingineers and Traindame were off to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder’s Meeting to put up the BNSF layout in the BNSF Booth. It’s always fun seeing Warren Buffett and his friends. This year Bill Gates had a special Virtual Reality Film Crew set up a shot right dab in front of the layout. Enjoy some photos from the BNSF Booth on the Convention floor, first up Bill Gates’ Virtual Reality Film Crew…

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Chief Traingineer, Roger and Traingineer George SO Proud of 20 year T W Design/TrainWorx Lead Painter, Eugene, running trains and being part of the 2016 BHSM Traingineer team!

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It’s not everyday you have the opportunity to make someone’s dream come true! Below you see the Mayor of Sacramento, and ex NBA player, Kevin Johnson, embracing Roger at the BNSF layout for having found just the man that can make his dream of an ‘Underground Railroad’ layout in his mother’s ‘Underground Bookstore’ come true… more on that as it develops : ) All and all – another fabulously, traintastic time was experienced at the 2016 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder’s Meeting!

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Happy Tracks!

Traindame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(877) 881-4997
2808 McGowan Street
Dallas, Texas  75203

P.S. Please feel free to call us and start conversations about OWNING YOUR OWN custom TW TrainWorx Layout! (877) 881-4997

P.P.S. Or… email me at dorcie@traindame.com and let the collaboration process commence : )