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[[File: {{Infobox wagon|image = BR_989098_20150415.jpg |thumb|300px|right| caption = BR ‘Mermaid’ Ballast Wagon DB 989098]]|construc = Metro Cammell|status = Operational|wagno = DB 989098|othernos = |designed = |diagram = 1/575|lot = 3170|wagtype = 4-wheel 14T ballast hopper|telcode = MERMAID|topscode = ZJV|brakes = Vacuum fitted|built = 1959|years1 = 1996|events1 = Arrived on SVR|years2 = |events2 =|years3 = |events3 = |years4 = |events4 = |years5 = |events5 = |years6 = |events6 = }}The BR 'Mermaid' 14 ton side-tipping ballast wagon is very similar to the design first produced by Metropolitan Cammell for the GWR as early as the 19th century.<ref>SVR Stock Book Ninth Edition</ref> This type of wagon was used to form a new track bed by tipping ballast from an adjacent line. The side of the wagon opposite the tipping direction would be clipped to the rail, and the body moved sideways on rollers by winding a handle. Tipping too many wagons at once could result in damage to the track!<ref>cambrianmodels.co.uk</ref>

This wagon was built by Metro Cammell at Saltley in 1959 to BR Diagram number 1/575 as part of , Lot number 3170(the first Lot under the later Diagram which included vacuum brakes and self-contained or hydraulic buffers).<refname=Larkin>Railway Heritage Register Wagon Survey [[Bibliography#Other References|Larkin Vol 1 (SVR Stock Book states 19572011), p.42.]]</ref> . It was vacuum brake fitted and was numbered DB989098, the prefix indicating a wagon built by BR for Departmental use.