In some cases, he purchases train cars exactly as he wants them to look, and in some cases, he builds them from scratch. Often, it’s a mixture of the two. In a technique called “kit bashing,” he takes parts from different model kits and combines them to create exactly what he wants.
“The black portion of this car is primed and ready for paint came from a car kit,” he says. “It’s very accurate — exactly what I needed. I just extended the sides, put a roof on it and detailed the ends. Everything you see that’s light in color I built from Styrene (a kind of plastic). It’s all scratch built.”
Train enthusiasts generally fall into three camps — collectors, interested in finding mint condition train cars in their original boxes and displaying them, and freelance and prototype modelers, who select a specific era and railroad. Of the quarter million modelers in the United States, Keyser is part of the smaller subset called prototype modelers. He gets together with 10 fellow model railroaders to eat breakfast every Friday, and the long-time buddies make plans for their next operating session. Once a month, they gather to run the trains.
At age 94, Keyser is realistic about his future — and the future of the trains. When he’s gone, the new homeowner isn’t likely to want to keep the specialized setup, so he’s already making plans. The train set will be sold or given away, and the wires and switches will be salvaged. The benchwork will go straight into the trash.
Keyser travels often to give clinics on modeling, but not as many young people are taking up the hobby these days.
“There used to be people doing more of this,” he says of building cars and backgrounds from scratch. “Young people today like to take it out of the box, set it on the track and run it.”
He does have advice for neighbors who’d like to spark an interest in their child or grandchild.
“I suggest beginning with the Lionel set,” he says, pointing to the antique model on his wall. “You can always build on that with a little encouragement. And take them to the big train shows, like the ones held in Plano. Between Saturday and Sunday, close to 20,000 people walk through that show.”
The Dallas Area Trail Show will be held Jan. 17-18, 2026, at the Plano Event Center, 2000 East Spring Creek Parkway. Admission is $11, and children under 13 are free. There will be two full days of clinics, plus tables, vendors.