A northern Class One railroad contracted Starfire to analyze several series of covered hopper cars for increased loading capacity from 263,000 to 268,000lbs. Each series of cars was analyzed using both classical and Finite Element methods. The results were presented to the customer in a form which was acceptable for submission to the AAR's Car Performance Sub-committee. Throughout the duration of this extended project, Starfire presented comprehensive reports and supporting drawings to the customer following the completion of each car analysis.