Seaboard Air Line V10 Ventilated Boxcar. SAL-05

The Seaboard Air Line [SAL]V-10 boxcars represented by this model were built in 1923 numbered SAL 79000-79999, a total of 1000 cars. These SAL ventilated box cars are known to modelers as "Watermelon Cars" because they were designed specifically for transporting watermelons and other fruits that could be moved without refrigeration. They had screen doors and end vents that allowed air to circulate, lessening the chance of spoilage in transit.
 
Florida's watermelon season runs from April to July with a second season in September and October. It is complimented by a July through August watermelon season in Georgia. When not in peak season use for watermelon and other fruit movement they were cleaned and operated as any other wood sheathed boxcar of the era would. These cars traveled widely, being seen in California and New england, and would be at home on any road from 1923 until withdrawal from service in the 1960's.