In the beginning of the episode, it was clear that it was going to revolve around high speed express runs, and it was with that in mind that we wrote this episode. The Fair Maid express was a real express in the 1950s, pulled by Peppercorn A1s and Gresley A4s and other East Coast Main Line, and it was this named express we worked into the title and episode.

This episode was the first major appearance of Sir Ralph's replacement model, and his repainted face softer features and a startlingly good natured ending gave perhaps the first major hint that a story arc revolving around Sir Ralph was about to begin (what had happened at the works?). Not only that, but this was the first time that the viaduct (in reality a cardboard section of background created, and the camera tilted for a better looking angle), appears, and is used several times to portray locomotives puffing over it.

This episode was the last of the episodes to be filmed using the 35mm film camera. Bulky, ugly, hard to use and even harder to download from, it had to go! The episode is actually a mixture of the two cameras, the difference in film quality shows quite markedly in this episode as I was still learning how to edit using my editing software.

Of the early episodes, this was admittedly the most rushed of the projects we were under orders to have six episodes completed before the end of September. As such, there are a few problems with the script one glaring mistake was the fact that Allen crossed the viaduct twice, on his trip to Newcastle with the Midday Express!!!