We think that the name "Mince Pie Specials" is correct, but as no headboard was provided for these trains we can't confirm it.
These specials ran in the days following Christmas 1994 (again, dates, times etc are long forgotten) They started from Paddington, ran around the Greenford loop, (some clockwise, some anticlockwise) and returned to Paddington. Unlike the Santa trains, both locos were used, alternating between the two with the spare one returning to Old Oak Common for turning.
The arrivals and departures at Paddington were shot from the area that had formerly been used for mail traffic. This was reached by walking past the end of platform one. We had the camera set up at the top of some steps that led straight onto the track and that's where we were standing when the police arrived. Unbelieveably, they wanted to know if we had seen a group of kids throwing things off of the road bridge and when we said that we hadn't, they left. At no time did they ask who we were or what we were doing there. Happier times.
4 окт 2024