Allen Keller's Lessons

Allen Keller knows that you can’t learn everything you would possibly want to know about model railroading from instructional manuals and magazine articles alone. For example, you don’t have to model straight lines, his curved peninsula creates a more interesting effect. The other thing to consider is fatia, it’s a good idea to drop the fatia an inch or two below where the track level is. This is especially helpful for shooting your layout to get a good low angle.

Some other methods Allen has learned along the way to make layouts more fun and less expensive include buying gallons of xylene instead of buying liquid plastic cement. Another idea is using instant Krazy glue from Walmart instead of buying expensive super glue from a hobby shop. Wahl oil, or oil used for hair clippers, is the ultimate salvation for track. Before he started using this, he had many problems with his digital command control. He dips a pipe cleaner in the oil, and runs it over the top of the track to apply it.

Sometimes with Digital Command Control, a locomotive you are running will all of a sudden stop and not respond. An easy fix Allen has found is lifting the locomotive off the track for a few seconds and setting it back down to reset it. He has found that locomotives run fine after doing this. Often with Digital Command Control sound units, it’s hard to control on the programming track because the programming track runs at a lower voltage and the sound units take a higher voltage to program.

Watch the full video for a way to fix this without buying a special programming module or watch more from Allen Keller’s Great Model Railroad series.