Under the GWR telegraphic code, flat wagons designed to transport heavy machinery carried on the tradition of animal names by being called ‘Loriot’. The first wagon was in service from 1892.
Design for the ‘Loriot’ wagons evolved to include sloping ramps at either end, enabling the machinery to be loaded and unloaded quickly and efficiently. Previous versions featured low, wide wells and no end ramps.
A new wagon in the series, ‘Loriot Y’, was constructed in 1937 to Diagram G39 and its number was No. 41989. An update to the design included ‘I’ beam girders rather than rolled beams and end-axle guard plates.
No. 41990 (DW41990 under BR) was the second Loriot Y wagon to be constructed in 1939. The wagon conveyed excavators and other plant machinery over the GWR network. During the Second World War, the two wagons were used constantly to transport bulldozers for when there was wartime bombing.