Traingineer – TrainDame Blog Station

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 🙂 🙂

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

*Officially OFF the LAUNCH PAD!

That’s right! The TW TrainWorx Updated **Traintastic Online Store, where you can purchase over 25 TWX Products from Bridge Kits…. Classic Landmark Series Structures… Top Selling Elevated System Pieces… even our world famous Grand Central Terminal Base, has been Officially Launched!!!

Clickity Clack on over to this link and ride the Online Route as Advertised: http://www.twtrainworxstore.com

Happy Tracks!

TrainDame aka Dorcie Farkash
TW TrainWorx
Dallas, TX | Concord, NC USA
(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?