Keller, W. M. (William McKinley), 1901-1974

William McKinley Keller, a railroad mechanical engineer and executive, was born in Pittsburgh on August 29, 1901. He received his engineering training at the University of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania State College.

Keller entered the railroad industry in 1919 as an apprentice at the Altoona (Pa.) shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. By 1940 he had advanced through several inspector posts to the position of assistant engineer of the test department. In 1941 he became foreman of mechanical engineers at Philadelphia, then general foreman in car design in 1944, and assistant mechanical engineer for the whole system in 1945.

In 1952 Keller joined the Association of American Railroads in Chicago as director of mechanical research. He became executive vice-chairman and director of research in the mechanical division in 1955 and assistant vice president of the operations and maintenance department in 1957. His final position was as vice president for research, when he directed the Association's Research Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He took part in four government-sponsored agency trips to foreign countries: to Russia in 1960 and 1966, to France in 1960, and to Japan in 1963.

After retiring from the AAR in 1968, Keller became an independent consultant and consulting editor for PROGRESSIVE RAILROADING magazine.

Keller held twelve patents and wrote sixty articles and papers and was recognized internationally for his achievements in engineering and research. Early in his career he made numerous improvements in steam locomotive design. After World War II he was responsible for further developments in the design of lightweight passenger cars and of passenger and freight car trucks. He is also noted for his work in the development of automatic car identification and rail-flaw detection techniques, as well as contributions in the hot-box field. His technical research was used in modernizing work rules. He died in Overbrook, Pa., on August 11, 1974.

From the description of Papers, 1920-1974. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 86119111