Duchess/Behind the Scenes

Television Series
Duchess is a fictional tender engine created by Ian McCue and Michael White.

In 2020, Duchess made her debut in the twenty-fourth series of Thomas & Friends in the episode, Thomas and the Royal Engine.

Duchess is voiced by Rosamund Pike (UK/US) in the CGI version of the series on both sides of the Atlantic, respectively. The character is voiced with a matching accent to her home country, mainly a British accent like many other existing characters in the television series.

Duchess is based on the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Coronation Class. Duchess has some modifications from her original basis; her smoke deflectors are more akin to those on the Royal Scot Class, and she has an LNER corridor tender of the same design as Flying Scotsman's. She also has circular buffers as opposed to oval ones, as well as a single chimney as opposed to the double chimney used on the Coronation class.

CGI Model
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. In 2019, Duchess was created from scratch in CGI by Jam Filled Toronto for the twenty-fourth series. The model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

Voice Actors

 * Rosamund Pike
 * Rebeca Gómez
 * Olga Kuznetsova
 * Yu Yeong
 * Mikoto Nakai