Allen Keller

Finishing the Apache Paper Mill Scene

August 24, 2021 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

I had to finish up the new Apache Railway scene for my friend Dave’s Chicago Denver & Pacific layout. This required the Walthers Kraft Plant in addition to the power house and the paper mill itself that I had already completed. The Kraft Plant is the final step in manufacturing white paper. I began by…

Building a Paper Mill for the Apache Railway

June 9, 2021 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

I received a request from my friend Dave to build a paper mill for his new Apache Railway. He needed the mill for the town of Snowflake, Arizona, so I started off with a Walthers paper mill kit and heavily modified it. My goal was to create something that no one else would have on…

Building a Power Plant for the Apache Paper Mill

June 7, 2021 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

My friend Dave needed a power plant to go with his new Apache paper mill that he was adding to his Apache Railway branch, so I offered to combine his power plant kit with some leftover parts I had from an earlier version of the same kit. As always, I didn’t want the finished model…

Riding Amtrak on the Coast Starlight

August 28, 2019 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

When it’s time to leave Portland, we depart from the beautiful Union Station. There are even palm trees planted in front of this hundred plus year old building. The Coast Starlight will take us to Sacramento where we plan to catch the train back to Chicago. Inside the well-maintained station are some really great neon…

Choo Choo Cityrails Southeastern Region Convention

July 23, 2019 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

The 2019 convention of the Southeastern Region National Model Railroad Association was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee in late May at the downtown DoubleTree Hotel. About 280 people attended the convention sponsored by the Region’s Cherokee Division. As usual there were many clinics on model railroading including this one presented by Pelle Seeborg from Denmark on…

A Visit to Tennessee’s Official Train Museum

July 15, 2019 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga is the state’s official railroad museum although it’s run by volunteers and paid staff. It was started in 1960 and now has 3 miles of track. I and a number of train fans recently had a chance to spend the morning visiting. There are a number of vintage…

Circus Passenger Cars

September 4, 2018 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

After building all my circus flatcars and wagons, I needed some way for the performers and workers to travel, so I decided to construct two passenger cars for my Keljan Circus. I began with two AHM 10-6 sleepers and painted them red with a silver roof. I added wire grab irons and railings. I also…

Adding the Dwarf Signals to Bridge Junction

April 9, 2018 By Allen Keller with Kevin Kizer & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

Here is the diagram for Bridge Junction on Allen’s Bluff City Southern. In earlier blogs Kevin Kizer and I installed the approach signals and the train order signal inside the wye. Kevin, a retired signal maintainer, determined that we needed dwarf signals at the 3 locations marked 1,2 and 3. Location 1 is the lead to Bluff City yard. Location 2 is the lead to the coach yard and location 3 is the lead to the engine service facility inside the wye itself. Kevin said the signals will tell the engineer if the switch is aligned properly to exit the location.

Installing Approach Signals for an Interlocking Plant: Part 2

July 27, 2017 By Allen Keller with Kevin Kizer & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

Editor’s note: This blog is part 2 of a series on installing signals for an interlocking plant. You can read part 1 of this series here. We decided to use searchlight signals manufactured by Tomar Industries. We added a 4′ scale base made out of Plastruct tubing to help raise the approach light signal mast…

10-Minute Diesel Weathering

July 24, 2017 By Allen Keller & filed under Model Railroad Academy Blog.

This is a new HO scale E-7 diesel. It’s well detailed and runs well with sound, but it looks too toy-like to me. There are as many ways to weather a locomotive as there are model railroad track plans! I want to show you a quick way to make your engines look less toy-like. It’s…