The Duchesses: The Story of Britain's Ultimate Steam Locomotives

by Andrew Roden

Designed by the great William Stanier, the Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Sutherland steam engines began service in the 1930s as the “Princess Coronation” class. They were the flagships of the West Coast main line for the London, Midland, and Scottish Railway and were made to compete with the famous streamlined “Pacific” class locomotives on the East Coast line. The Coronation locomotives were beautifully streamlined and considered the pride of the line for decades. This is the engaging story of the most powerful passenger locomotives to serve on the British Railways' network and the extraordinary saga of their preservation, eventual rescue, and their return to steam on the main line.

Genres: Nonfiction, Railways, History

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Falcon Blackwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a self-confessed gricer and the "Duchesses" are my favourite locos. I have every other book about the class and have read a good deal of what has appeared in magazines about them. So I wasn't expecting much from this book, it would have to be really good to satisfy a nut like me!
But right away I was swept up by the writing, in some ways it reminds me of the classic H. C. Webster book "2750 Legend of a Locomotive", a real boy's own yarn..."The Duchesses" is more mature in tone but loses none of the fascination- and the feeling that the writer is an enthusiastic follower of the Duchess class.
There are chapters about the early days of the class, of it's glory days and almost as fascinating, the class in preservation. What comes through is something that I always suspected, but didn't dare hope- that the Duchesses are the most powerful 4-6-0 steam locomotives ever to grace the metals of this country's railways.
I enjoyed every word of this book, it is straightforward and pulls you along without talking down to the reader, yet has enough technical detail to fascinate even this jaded ferroequinologist. The author is well-known in Railway circles and lives up to his fine reputation with this book- I shall have to read his other locomotive portraits now!

[Dawn Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for Steam fans like me!

[Andrew Fredricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well told

[Jeffrey Thiessen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not overly technical, this was read like a story and was thoroughly enjoyable.

[Stan Bebbington · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great hotch-potch of railway companies in the UK iin the twenties was not contributing to the development and economic viability of the transport infrastructure. These companies were therefore brought together into four groups. The LMS was to cover the north west, the LNER the north east, the GWR the west and Southern the southern counties. All were to operate from their existing terminuses in London. The LNER's route to Edinburgh and the LMS to Glasgow were in direct competition for the lucrative Scottish market. The way these companies decided to attract the public was through competitions between specially designed trains, high powered locomotives and streamlining. Sir Nigel Gresley got to work on the A4 Pacific's for the LNER and this book sets out the LMS's response with Stanier's "Princess Coronation" class. Roughly half the book covers the period of their introduction and the ten years before WW2; the second half their fight for life as a result of the destruction of the railway system after the war and then the move away from steam in the fifties. The last battle was for the preservation of a few of the class in museums, achieved by an enthusiastic and persistent group of people. This is an interesting, detailed and enthusiastic book and it is a pleasure to read.

[Christopher Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read about the LMS Duchesses, written in an informative but contemporary style which befits the feel of being a modern paperback. I spotted this one on a display at Waterstones, and allowed myself the guilty pleasure of being a 9 year old steam train fan again - it was worth it! I now firmly intend to:

1) Lend this book to my dad
2) Read Andrew Roden's other books
and (perhaps not quite so firmly, but I still intend)
3) Get hands on with some volunteering as soon as possible!

Recommended to all who love steam trains, even if it's sort of a secret...

[Tim Mansfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ultimate LMS steam engine, to challenge the A4 Pacifics of LNER.
Evolved from Coronations and Princesses - these engines were the absolute pinnacle of achievement for William Stanier. Some engines were streamlined, all were tremendously powerful - at the limits of capability for even the best trained crews.
No challenge ever took place - the outbreak of war changed British railways forever.
This story covers the history, design, and achievements of the Duchesses, with words from their crews, and supporters. Entertainingly written - I'm now about to find out about those Pacifics.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read many books about railways, but I am interested in British engineering achievements and that was where my motivation came from in reading this book. The first half of the book tells you about the Duchesses during the highs and lows of British steam locomotives from the 1930s to the 1960s, when they were replaced by a combination of electric and diesel locomotives. The second half of the book looks at the trials and triumphs of preservation groups since then. The account makes fascinating reading, if more than a little biased at times. Very nostalgic!

[deni Tomgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for anyone even vaguely interested in steam preservation. I still remember the days of steam, and am lucky enough to live near a great preservation society, Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. The work these engines require however has put me off driving an engine, I'll leave that to the boys!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a real train buff. This is a book I originally got for my family not me. The book is interesting without being to technical. I did get a bit confused over some of the classes of trains but mainly the writing was clear. Has made me want to go and see the streamlined Duchess at Birmingham.