These four bogie bolster wagons (plus a fifth, No. 64, which has been sold off the site) were purchased from the British Steel Corporation, Corby, in 1983.  They were used at Quainton for the "Indian" train in "The Jewel in the Crown", a film made by Granada Television.  This award-winning television series was based on the novels of Paul Scott and chronicled the end of British rule in India between 1942 and 1947.  The 14-part series took three years to prepare and many months to film.  For several weeks filming took place here.  It was shown in 1984 and repeated in 1997, and has been available on DVD.

Filming took place at Quainton in 1983, when for several weeks in the summer the upyard resembled "Little India" with two very realistic (from the front!) stations, and different scenes being enacted.  On each wagon replicas of Indian Railway Carriages were constructed by the filmset craftsmen and each vehicle was a superb example of the art of the makers, Watts & Curry Ltd.  All the bodies were made of plywood on timber framing, which was exposed on the non-platform side.  On the side facing the stations the plywood was covered with thin sheet metal and painted in Indian Railways brown-red paint, with white letters and numbers.  No. 66 was the only carriage with both sides complete.  Although it looked similar to the others from the platform, on the outside it was a resplendent Maharajah's saloon in blue and stone colour livery and a coat of arms on the centre panel.  It was all most impressive.

No. 97, a third class carriage, had a wider body than the others and it had sashes and louvres on the non-platform side and was furnished inside with wooden benches and used in the massacre scene with plenty of "Kensington Gore", the trade name for theatrical blood.  This was the only carriage kept after filming was finished, and for some time it served as an exhibit for visitors to see.  However, as none of the carriages was built to last, it too began to fall apart and had to be dismantled.

When delivered to Quainton, No. 66 was from the Tube Works, and three, Nos. 97, 98 and 99, were branded for "Scrap Bar Traffic Only".  No. 66 has Great Western type bogies and may therefore be a Swindon "Macaw B" bogie bolster wagon.  The other three have British Rail bogies.  However, as the original builders and number plates have long been removed, the original identities are not known.  The wagons are 50' long, not vacuum brake fitted but with hand brakes on the bogies.  All are now carrying various artifacts, and No. 66 has been converted to a boiler-carrier.