SHUT YOUR EYES -DREAM - YOUR ARE OFF ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
You are about to be transported dear friends on a 67 hour journey on the Orient Express.
We are in 1865 when A Belgium banker’s son Georges Nagelmackers invited us on a railway trip of 2,000 km (1,243 mi) on his 'Train Eclair de luxe' (lightning luxury train). I know the train left the Paris Gare de l'Est on Tuesday, October 10, 1882, just after 18:30 and arrived in Vienna the next day at 23:20. The return trip left Vienna on Friday, October 13, 1882, at 16:40 and, as planned, we re-entered the Gare de Strasbourg at 20:00 on Saturday October 14, 1882. But I can’t prove it.
You see I have found no posters about Paris being one of the central stations for our dream so we will just be « woooooshed » ofter to Charing Cross Station in London .
Oh, you want to know a little bit more about Georges Nagelmackers? It’s a story a little like all you imagine with the Orient Express. He loved a young woman but his love was one way, so his family sent him to the USA. There he met Mr Pullman who had created sleeping carriages for the US and he wanted to adopt the same for his dream trains. "But NO", said Mr Pullman and now we only talk about « like Pullman’s carriages » when we refer to this dream train.
Georges Nagelmackers founded the Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which expanded its luxury trains, travel agencies and hotels all over Europe, Asia and North Africa. Its most famous train remains the Orient-Express. Our’s.
The train was composed of:
Baggage car (how many trunks have you brought with you?)
Sleeping coach with 16 beds (with bogies)
Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles)
Restaurant coach (nr. 107)
Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles)
Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles)
Baggage car (complete 101 ton)
There are so many places we can visit....where would you like to stop?
Of course you don’t imagine that I haven't invited other important guests to join us? There will be Josephine Baker, but without her dogs.....
Graham Greene
and we have been invited to visit Baden Powell.
Of course I would love to think I looked like this on that train .....
Before seeing what is on the train, let's take up our cabin first. Sorry, I couldn't afford a single cabin. Just hope someone will share with me. Or perhaps I hope not so I can have the space to myself.
But what on earth is all that noise from the next cabin? Music? Dancing? Can’t be. And no-one to be seen in the cabin either. It’s a bit of a mess though
so I wonder if Hercule Poiret is not on board. Something tells me that there may be a murder afoot….Oh...Agathe Christie is here
perhaps we should go down to the restaurant car but let’s stop and have a drink before hand. Oh sorry, I have just been swept in on a cloud. That’s why I’m looking a little rough around the curls. This is the Train Bleu - our bar. There are 8 tables to play bridge (I'm sure Hector is there) and all those glass decorations are by René Lalique....they really are quite beautiful.
Cards at breakfast. Tea and intrigue, I know….I can feel it
……and just as we are about to go across the Bosphore and that’s a 14 hour trip. Perhaps we had better forget that and imagine that the train goes straight across the bridge to its final destination. Constantinople.
Our menu tonight is taken from the first one on board….(October 10, 1882): oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, chicken ‘à la chasseur’, fillet of beef with ‘château’ potatoes, ‘chaud-froid’ of game animals, lettuce, chocolate pudding, buffet of dessert. Tomorrow night we will be having…….
I think I had better spruce up before going to play the piano
but I have to go down that rather dark corridor and there is a door open - to a cabin - and not a soul around…..oh dear, what is it? I'm so glad that Pierre Michel, our controler is around if there is a problem.....but his cabin is empty too?
I told you so. I know now that Agathe Christie will write that wonderful book and perhaps she will tell Hercule Poiret what to do? We are no in 1935, when the train is stopped by deep snow. Detective Hercule Poirot has been called on to solve the murder that occurred in his car last night.
For goodness sake be careful....pay attention......
One trip we didn't want to take was when war was declared but we could have been there for the trip after armrstice.....
Dreams come to an end and here we are transported back to Paris and there is the crowd waiting to take the train and soon the carriages will be linked up to the engine.
It took us three hours to do that fabulous journey. How I wish it was true. Tomorrow I go to Zurich - perhaps I'll be transported again?
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| Is that you? |
We are in 1865 when A Belgium banker’s son Georges Nagelmackers invited us on a railway trip of 2,000 km (1,243 mi) on his 'Train Eclair de luxe' (lightning luxury train). I know the train left the Paris Gare de l'Est on Tuesday, October 10, 1882, just after 18:30 and arrived in Vienna the next day at 23:20. The return trip left Vienna on Friday, October 13, 1882, at 16:40 and, as planned, we re-entered the Gare de Strasbourg at 20:00 on Saturday October 14, 1882. But I can’t prove it.
 |
| Or is thay you? |
You see I have found no posters about Paris being one of the central stations for our dream so we will just be « woooooshed » ofter to Charing Cross Station in London .
 |
| André Derrain _ Charing Cross bridge in London - 1906 |
Oh, you want to know a little bit more about Georges Nagelmackers? It’s a story a little like all you imagine with the Orient Express. He loved a young woman but his love was one way, so his family sent him to the USA. There he met Mr Pullman who had created sleeping carriages for the US and he wanted to adopt the same for his dream trains. "But NO", said Mr Pullman and now we only talk about « like Pullman’s carriages » when we refer to this dream train.
Georges Nagelmackers founded the Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which expanded its luxury trains, travel agencies and hotels all over Europe, Asia and North Africa. Its most famous train remains the Orient-Express. Our’s.
The train was composed of:
Baggage car (how many trunks have you brought with you?)
Sleeping coach with 16 beds (with bogies)
Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles)
Restaurant coach (nr. 107)
Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles)
Sleeping coach with 14 beds (3 axles)
Baggage car (complete 101 ton)
There are so many places we can visit....where would you like to stop?
 |
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 |
 |
 |
Of course you don’t imagine that I haven't invited other important guests to join us? There will be Josephine Baker, but without her dogs.....
 |
 |
 |
Graham Greene
and we have been invited to visit Baden Powell.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Paul Delvaux The Age of Iron 1951 |
Before seeing what is on the train, let's take up our cabin first. Sorry, I couldn't afford a single cabin. Just hope someone will share with me. Or perhaps I hope not so I can have the space to myself.
 |
 |
 |
But what on earth is all that noise from the next cabin? Music? Dancing? Can’t be. And no-one to be seen in the cabin either. It’s a bit of a mess though
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
so I wonder if Hercule Poiret is not on board. Something tells me that there may be a murder afoot….Oh...Agathe Christie is here
perhaps we should go down to the restaurant car but let’s stop and have a drink before hand. Oh sorry, I have just been swept in on a cloud. That’s why I’m looking a little rough around the curls. This is the Train Bleu - our bar. There are 8 tables to play bridge (I'm sure Hector is there) and all those glass decorations are by René Lalique....they really are quite beautiful.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Cards at breakfast. Tea and intrigue, I know….I can feel it
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
……and just as we are about to go across the Bosphore and that’s a 14 hour trip. Perhaps we had better forget that and imagine that the train goes straight across the bridge to its final destination. Constantinople.
|
Our menu tonight is taken from the first one on board….(October 10, 1882): oysters, soup with Italian pasta, turbot with green sauce, chicken ‘à la chasseur’, fillet of beef with ‘château’ potatoes, ‘chaud-froid’ of game animals, lettuce, chocolate pudding, buffet of dessert. Tomorrow night we will be having…….
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I think I had better spruce up before going to play the piano
 |
 |
but I have to go down that rather dark corridor and there is a door open - to a cabin - and not a soul around…..oh dear, what is it? I'm so glad that Pierre Michel, our controler is around if there is a problem.....but his cabin is empty too?
 |
 |
 |
 |
I told you so. I know now that Agathe Christie will write that wonderful book and perhaps she will tell Hercule Poiret what to do? We are no in 1935, when the train is stopped by deep snow. Detective Hercule Poirot has been called on to solve the murder that occurred in his car last night.
For goodness sake be careful....pay attention......
 |
|
Dreams come to an end and here we are transported back to Paris and there is the crowd waiting to take the train and soon the carriages will be linked up to the engine.
 |
 |
It took us three hours to do that fabulous journey. How I wish it was true. Tomorrow I go to Zurich - perhaps I'll be transported again?
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