Built in 1923 by the newly formed LNER, the GER Diagram 85 banana vans were built to transport imported bananas under carefully controlled conditions. Based on a Great Eastern Railway goods van, these vans featured vacuum brakes, steam heating, and thick insulation to keep the fruit at a stable 57°F from dockside to distribution centres like Stratford Market in East London.

Only 100 were constructed, numbered 632822–632921. Some were later loaned to the Southern Railway in the 1930s, even receiving SR branding. Despite their specialist role, they remained in traffic into the late 1950s.