Introduced in 1911 by the Great Eastern Railway, a fleet of Diagram 72 vans was built to a 10 ft 6 in wheelbase for use on a wide range of freight duties. Originally rated at 10 tons, their carrying capacity was reduced to 8 tons in June 1927. The class proved long-lived, with many examples remaining in revenue-earning service into the late 1950s. Under British Railways ownership, they were frequently seen operating as part of engineering trains.