All three roads had cars nearly identical to this kit. The B&O cars came with road numbers 832000-832029 (HC-16 class), 619020-619039 (HC-26 class) and 619080-124 (HC-26 class). The C&O cars came in road numbers 619000-019, 619040-079, and 619105-184 (all HC-26 class). The WM cars came in road numbers 5558-5567. To the best of my knowledge all of these were delivered in predecessor grey paint jobs, some were however painted into Chessie colors as seen below.
Below is a real pic of a 50' Airslide Covered Hopper in
Chessie paint. It is the exact car I chose for this project.
Larry Berger Collection Photo
How to:
1. Purchase a Walthers 50' Airslide kit.
I got mine second hand, it was partially assembled already, as shown in
the first photo below.
2. Paint the shell UP Armor Yellow.
3. Paint the bottom C&O Enchantment Blue.
4. Spray the sides and ends with gloss coat, so
you have a smooth surface to decal on.
5. Apply decals. I used Champ's HC-618 Jumbo
Covered Hopper set.
6. Seal the decals with an overspray of Dull Coat.
7. Dry brush the bottom with shades of brown and
lighter shades of blue.
8. Assemble the car as per the directions.
9. Streak the side and around a few of the hatches
with white weathering powders. This will simulate a spilled load.
11. Give the car a slight overspray on the bottom
1/4 of the car. I used roof brown as the color.
12. Seal the weathering with an overspray of dull
coat. You are done. Enjoy your airslide covered hopper.
Below is a pic of the Airslide as I got it.
Below is a shot of the car painted UP Armor Yellow.
Below is a shot of the car painted C&O Enchantment
Blue underneath.
Below is a pic of the finished car. The small black
stripe is to simulate the "Airslide" marking that is on these cars.
Also, the dimensional data in the bottom right corner of the car will need
to be cut to fit. I used the "Chessie System" decal from a Herald
King set, the rest are from the Champ HC-618 set.
