A DUCHESS, and possibly a princess, will arrive at Blackpool's North Station on April 13.

But there will be no red carpet because the visiting "aristocrats" are two of Britain's biggest preserved steam locomotives.

Rolling in with an excursion from Derby will be the 161-ton Duchess of Sutherland which returned to the main line last year after a restoration project costing £400,000.

She was built at Crewe in 1938 to haul London Midland and Scottish Railway expresses like the Royal Scot.

After being withdrawn from service by British Railways in 1964 the locomotive spent many years in a children's playground at Butlin's Ayr holiday camp before undergoing a lengthy overhaul and returning to the main line last year in her original LMS red livery.

If it passes final checks after an eight-year £300,000 overhaul, the 159-ton Princess Elizabeth will also be arriving at Blackpool North on April 13 at the head of a charter train from Harrow and Wealdstone.

Princess Elizabeth was built at Crewe in 1933 to haul LMS expresses between London and Glasgow and was named after the present Queen. Because of this it has been selected to work the Golden Jubilee Express from Manchester to Carlisle on the Jubilee bank holiday Monday, June 3.

Both locomotives will return south with their trains after a short stay in Blackpool.