SNS powder reduction Problems with python reading in file paths containing python escape characters

[lottiegreenwood]

This issue was originally TRAC 10751

Windows specific due to the use of backslash.
\x is used as example below but any character that is considered special if within a string with '' before it will be a problem.

When mantid is reading in files using python, where the path name contains \x (e.g \xxu\datafiles...) in some circumstances it appears to to read it as a special escape character and throw a 'ValueError: invalid \x escape' error.

To replicate:

Put data in a folder which at some point in it's file path has an \x. Follow http://www.mantidproject.org/PowderDiffractionReduction using the data from that folder.

[lottiegreenwood]

@NickDraper (2015-04-27T08:10:35):
Moved to R3.5 at the R3.4 code freeze

[NickDraper]

Verified still happens in R3.6

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