{"product_id":"duchesses-book-andrew-roden-9781845133696","title":"The Duchesses","description":"The Duchesses tells the story of the ‘             Princess Coronation’              class of locomotives -the streamlined embodiments of raw, bulked-up muscle and formidable power that any enthusiast will tell you were the finest steam engines in Britain.    Conceived of by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway to rival the LNER’             s illustrious ‘             A4 Pacifics’             , these trains heralded in the last golden age of steam. Designed by the great William Stanier, theirs is a story of grand beginnings, a slow trajectory of decline and a recent, celebrated rebirth. Today, there are two ‘             Duchesses’              still in existence: Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Sutherland are now restored to their original streamlined appearance.     As The Duchesses’              beautiful cover illustration suggests, these Coronation locomotives were beautiful to behold; truly majestic feats of engineering. Andrew Roden’             s book tells the story of their time in British Railways service; the class’              decommissioning in the 1960s; the extraordinary saga of two trains’              unlikely preservation by Billy Butlin at his holiday camps; and their eventual return to steam on the main line.     The Duchesses completes a trilogy of railway books from Aurum, joining Mallard - the story of the world’             s fastest steam locomotive - and Flying Scotsman –             that of the world’             s most famous.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49559247257873,"sku":"GOR001352596","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49926054314257,"sku":"GOR011014024","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1845133692.jpg?v=1762252371","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/duchesses-book-andrew-roden-9781845133696","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}