xxx

xxx "Moonshine" cars...
The cars don't carry moonshine, but their unique "XXX" marking reminds us of moonshine. These cars were resricted to their home rails. They could not be interchanged to another railroad. Chessie marked them with bright yellow ends and "XXX" on each side to let everyone know these cars were restricted. It is a nice car to break up the monotony of tons of solid black hoppers. You don't need alot of these to get the effect.

Below are two pics of the real Moonshine cars. Both are Dean Heacock pics. Notice that these are generally smaller hoppers than the 100 ton ones. Also note that the paint scheme could be either Chessie or predecessor paint.

HOW TO MAKE A MOONSHINE CAR:
Below is my one and only moonshine car. It is a Roundhouse car that I had to modify some to make more accurate.

1. Assemble the car as per the instructions.
2. Add the off set top edge. The C&O loved these type of hoppers. See the piece right above the brake wheel, that part is added.
3. Tape off the ends and paint them yellow.
4. Weather the black part of the car with pastels. Don't weather the "XXX" or yellow ends. These cars were painted like this during the Chessie Era so the yellow shouldn't be filthy.
5. Add the C&O letters to the end with decals or dry transfers.
6. Weather the wheels and inside of the car. You can see the rust on the inside edges on the right picture below.
7. Give it a light coat of tan overspray along the bottom.
8. Seal with clear flat and you are done.