Aluminum Refrigerator Car #51000 was a unique one-of-a-kind experimental refrigerator car fabricated in the McComb shop. Construction began on August 12, 1946, and was completed on September 25, 1946, following specifications developed by the then United Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Association. Its unveiling was marked by a lavish ceremony attended by Mississippi Governor Thomas L. Bailey, former governor Dennis Murphree, and Illinois Central Railroad executives S. F. Lynch, T.J. Casey, C.O. Young, and D.G. Travis, with a champagne christening, live music by a New Orleans orchestra, and a banquet on Main Street followed by dancing. The car had a freight capacity of 1989 cubic feet and an ice storage capacity of 306 cubic feet, holding 750 pounds per bunker. Its first load was bananas shipped from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Chicago, Illinois. After limited use, it spent most of its life tucked away in the McComb shop, and its preservation is credited to Mr. Edwin Etheridge, the last Superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad's McComb car shop.
