Tag: Traindame

Traingineers Begin the Great Thaw of February 2021!

Whoa! What a Valentine’s Week we had here in the great Lone Star State of Texas. Certainly did not have the entire week blocked off the calendar to be cuddled up at home with loved ones starring in our own Hallmark Movie but boy howdy… Traingineers have not been back inside 0ur Dallas McGowan Street Studio since February 12th, 2021.

First and foremost – we are all ok! So very appreciative of all our Traintastic Friends for reaching out to us, checking in to see how we’re faring and sharing wonderful encouragement – thank you! Our fearless leader and Chief Traingineer, Roger, pulled double duty often staying at the studio in our small “apartment” to ensure heaters in the studio were on in order to prevent water pipes from freezing as well as assuring all the paint did not freeze in the frigid temperatures!

Status from the aftermath of Texas 2021 Snowpocalypse for TW TrainWorx:

  • No broken pipes!
  • No frozen paint!
  • No rolling blackouts!
  • No loss of water!
  • Two broken heaters!
  • Layouts in process all protected and anxiously awaiting the return of our talented Traingineers!

Speaking of our Talented Traingineers, I am happy to say, they also came through the Snowpocalypse although some are now dealing with broken pipes and starting the repair process. There is going to be an abundance of work for plumbers, electricians… tradesmen for quite some time going forward. But forward we WILL GO and continue to service our Traintastic Family creating amazing train layouts, kits, and buildings!

I will say the highlight of this past week has come from; emails, texts, and phone calls from past and current customers that are so thankful to have made the investment in their own custom TW TrainWorx Layout. They all share just how their love of trains has provided extreme mental and emotional well being across the board but especially during these times of isolation we all find ourselves in! Such a blessing to get that kind of feedback and how encouraging it is to see Grandfathers/Dads, in a position to provide and share the great entertainment, history, and good ole fashion family memory making moments all while running trains!!

Speaking of running trains, let’s go down memory lane to a winter scene the Traingineers created and installed for the 2019 Holiday Season in Charlotte, NC with absolutely NO threats of freezing water pipes from the “icy scenes” 🙂

Enjoy the wintery scenes from this custom commercial layout we did for Rogers and Gala that was displayed for public viewing in a downtown Charlotte skyscraper’s lobby:

Just added a TrainDame *Steal-of-A-Deal through the end of the month, February 28, 2021: Save $200 at checkout using Code: THAW200 on ANY of our Classic Landmark Series Online Products! Here is the link for YOU: Classic Landmark Series

Happy Tracks!

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

Believing in Treasures to be found in the GREAT Recovery of 2020!

There certainly is no sugar coating this world wide pandemic we currently are all experiencing and how it’s turned everything Topsie Turvey and Coo-Coo Crazy! Even with all the C R A Z Y, my prayer is that we will get through this Together and come out stronger, more compassionate, grateful, and perhaps strive to be even more inspiring, helpful, inventive and encouraging to each other EVERY DAY!

The Dallas, Texas mayor announced a Shelter-in-Place order for Dallas County, starting March 23, 2020 at 11:59 pm through April, 3, 2020. Although our physical building is closed I will be monitoring phone calls, emails, and social media so please treat TW TrainWorx as OPEN for business and don’t forget our online store is open 24/7: http://www.twtrainworxstore.com

Here are TW TrainWorx Social Media Links:

Instagram

Facebook 

With all that being said, how about some Coloring *FUN* for the young Traingineers during this turbulent time? Please feel free to print out Choo Choo Pops Coloring Book for YOUR Train loving youngsters and keep on Dreaming Big Dreams Trainiac Friends! *** OH and ADDED BONUS *** – – – – Choo Choo Pops Coloring Book is Absolutely FREE! Download YOUR Coloring Book here: Choo Choo Pops Coloring Book 

I’d love to see some finished masterpieces – please feel free to scan and email to me at dorcie@traindame.com

Happy Tracks!

Stay Strong, Safe, Healthy, and Happy,

TrainDame aka Dorcie
TW TrainWorx
(214) 243-0785
http://www.trainworxlayouts.com
http://www.twtrainworxstore.com
http://www.twtrainworx.com

P.S. Feel free to share this link with all YOUR Coloring Friends & Family: Choo Choo Pops Coloring Book

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

It’s Dismantle Day!

In the post before you saw this layout with trains running and final touches being applied. Take a look now in the middle of “Dismantle Day” 🙂

Here are some “Fun Facts” about this layout:

Happy Tracks!

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

It’s about to be crated… COME SEE!

Join me in taking a look at this TW TrainWorx Custom O Gauge Commercial Layout that is getting the final finishing touches applied before it’s dismantle time and shipped to Charlotte, NC next week!

Here are some fun facts…

  • The layout covers an area 24′ x 13′
  • Will be set up in the center of the Lobby area of the Barings Building, located in Uptown Charlotte, 300 South Tryon
  • Eight loops of track
  • Ten tunnels
  • 5 unique bridges
  • 40+ Custom made buildings
  • Custom Train Station
  • 200+ figures

Enjoy behind the scenes footage with TRAINS RUNNING!

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie
TW TrainWorx
Dallas, TX | Concord, NC
(214) 634-2965
Est. 1982

Shop till you drop: http://www.twtrainworxstore.com

 

It’s… Traingineers MOST Wonderful Time of YEAR!

Personally, I’ve never; been to the North Pole, visited Santa’s Workshop, petted any of Santa’s Reindeer, ridden over rooftops in Santa’s Sleigh, been elbow to elbow with all the elves BUT I bet it’s pretty darn close to what I get to experience up close and personal – right here this time of year, inside the McGowan Street Studio! With all the Holiday Activity going on for the TW TrainWorx Traingineers it’s truly crazy to see SO much Terrifically Traintastic layouts being; wired up, touched up, started up, finished up, designed, and/or installed all over this great country of ours… Makes this TrainDame’s head spin 🙂

Our Traingineer-ette, Judy just created a list of TW TrainWorx Holiday Train Display’s that YOU… yes YOU, can see and experience throughout the Holiday Season. Proud to present Six of our commercial custom layouts that YOU must be sure to add to YOUR Holiday Event Plans:

Ho Ho Ho and Merry Christmas ya’ll – from deep in the heart of Texas 🙂

Happy Tracks,

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

P.S. Also, if you’d like a print out of the list above, please feel free to download this PDF: TW TrainWorx Holiday Train Displays

 

 

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

 

Forty Years… 1979 – 2019

That’s right Trainiac Friends, August 30th, 2019 marked four decades that TrainDame and Chief Traingineer, Roger Farkash, have been married!!

Wowzers right? What do you do to celebrate such a momentous occasion?? Easy Peezy, decide to go off the radar for a long weekend! First off, we headed back to the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico where we were blessed to say our wedding vows, then headed on up to the High Timber Family Ranch just South East of Chama, NM with our ENTIRE family and top off the weekend with a ride on the Cumbres/Toltec Steam Train!! Such an amazing time we had and we especially cherished being able to share the adventure with our four grandchildren; Deacon age five (almost), Ford age four, Wade age three, and Lilly age two. We all had too much CRAZY fun I tell ya!!! Ha… and don’t you know, there was a TRAIN SHOW in Santa Fe to boot and we ran into one of our Traintastic customers – Henry Day!! 

If you’d told me some forty years ago that Roger would start a company in 1982 (same year our son was born) the very next year give birth to our daughter, two years later I would go to work with Roger, then in 2008 we’d create a new division of TW Design… TW TrainWorx – same year create an alter persona TrainDame, have commercial Train Layouts in; Dallas, Houston, New York City, Pittsburgh, and coming soon to Charlotte and Kansas City PLUS residential Train Layouts spread coast to coast throughout the USA and CANADA – well I would’ve told you, “WHAT, ARE YOU CRAZY – NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!” … Well, WAY 🙂 

Sharing the photo fun of our 40th Wedding Anniversary Adventure… All A Board!

Happy Tracks!

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

 

 

What???? Haven’t posted since March???

Cheers Trainiac Friends!

Boy oh boy, wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it myself…and all I can say is that our Magnificent Month of March rolled right into an Amazing April…. Meteoric May… and now almost halfway through a Jamming, Jiving, Jumping June!!! What a spectacular year we are experiencing in 2019!

Ok, let me bring you up to speed on what the TW TrainWorx Traingineers have been up to the last couple of months :).

Well, to start off – we are completely BOOKED for 2019 Layout Design/Fabrication/Installation and NOW booking for first quarter 2020!!! Folks, that is a FIRST for TW TrainWorx…Absolutely Extraordinary!

We are working at full capacity in both our Dallas – McGowan Street Studio and Concord, NC Studio with both commercial and residential layouts.

East Coast Director, Mike Reagan, lead designer, on an over 400 sq. ft. O Gauge custom residential layout installing in Rhode Island end of August is currently UNDER CONSTRUCTION – – – >  Let’s let some pictures do the talking:

Turning my focus back to our Dallas, McGowan Street Studio, Traingineers (since March) have completed Design/Fabrication on: 3 – O Gauge residential layouts, 1 Standard Gauge residential layout, 1 Combo O Gauge/Standard Gauge Residential Layout, 1 Commercial Wooden RR layout, Denver Union Station Model, Custom Scranton Electric Building Model, Radio City Music Hall Model, One Time Square Model and traveled to Omaha for the annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder’s Meeting, where we set up the Corporate BNSF Layout! Check it out…

Two Traintastically exciting NEW commercial layouts we’re working on now, YOU will be able to see up close and personal IF you are in Charlotte, NC this Holiday Season and/or come first quarter 2020 at the new Train Themed Children’s Museum opening in Kansas City Union Station’s – Science City!!! The centerpiece of this children’s museum layout is going to be our O Scale model of the existing, Kansas City Union Station. Let me share some in process photos with you of both of these custom commercial layouts:

Oh… and another layout for a brand new customer that we started this week for his commercial real estate office lobby during the holidays! We’ve designed the table that will include his Christmas tree – right smack dab in the middle of it!

Ok… I better get this posted before it turns into October!!!! Yee Haw – having some fun now 🙂

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
(214) 634-2965
dorcie@traindame.com
Dallas, TX | Concord, NC USA

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

P.S. Just posted TW TrainWorx Office Rule #2 🙂 🙂

 

Happy New Year – 2019

Day 1 in the New Year and this TrainDame is looking at what promises to be a very adventurous year ahead! So much to be grateful for!!! First and foremost; all of our Traintastic Customers, Trainiac Friends, and all the Traingineers that pour their talents into each of the amazing residential and commercial TW TrainWorx Custom Train Layouts produced in 2018!

2018 was a monumental record breaker for us; we designed/fabricated/installed over twenty two custom layouts from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Windsor, Canada and I’ve got some exciting news to share. TW TrainWorx was awarded two Commercial Layout contracts – those being: The Kansas City Union Station Museum is creating a trained themed children’s museum in their existing, Science City – Science Center and both Roger Farkash and Mike Reagan completed the site survey last month. Next up is going to be a custom Holiday layout for the lobby of a skyscraper in Charlotte, NC that we must thank our dear friends at Lionel for recommending us to the firm; Roger’s and Gala whom we’ll be working closely with to produce this train layout.

The first quarter 2019 design calendar for Chief Traingineer, Roger Farkash is… FULL and the second quarter has only TWO spots left as we had the most ever sign-offs for new design/fabrication in December that was indeed a wonderful gift to close out our 2018 year.

This weekend, Saturday, January 5th – TW TrainWorx will be attending the TCA Houston Show that opens at 8:30 am – one day only – here is more information for you: Lone Star Division Meet We’d love to see you and make some Traintastic Memories 🙂

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to shop till you drop at our online store: http://www.twtrainworxstore.com.

Wishing everyone a Traintastically Blessed, Healthy, Happy NEW YEAR!!

Happy Tracks!

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