Nicki Schoenl

The Shakespeare Club met at the home of Linda Dunn last month. The meeting was opened by Dr. Irene Strychalski. Nicki Schoenl gave an entertaining paper referred to as “All Aboard The Orient Express. “

Here’s a portion of that report:

Why don’t you join me and come aboard the most famous train on Earth. Traveling across Europe will not just be a train ride but a journey through time.

It was called the King of Trains and the Train of Kings. Newspapers bestowed on it the name The Orient Express. The carriages were called palaces on wheels. Elegance was the order of the day and evening attire was required for dinner.

Why did the world’s most celebrated crime writer select this train for her most ingenious murder to be solved by the world’s most brilliant fictional detective?

A real sense of history can be found by looking at the passengers who traveled on the Orient Express and by examining the impact that the railway had on Europe.

The Orient Express was born out of a visionary’s idea of connecting Paris, France to Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey. The visionary was a Belgian engineer named Georges Nagelmackers. His family was very wealthy and had ties to the Belgian royal family. Georges’ father sent him to America and while he was there, he became enamored by the railways and Pullman sleeping cars. Georges sensed an untapped demand for a new kind of travel-one that would combine glamour, comfort, luxury and speed. At the age of 23, Georges began designing a sumptuous sleeper train. He worked diplomatically, behind the scenes, forming contracts with other European countries to build his railway lines. In 1872, Georges founded his company known as the CIWS. The Orient Express was to become a long-distance passenger train traveling with main terminal stations from Paris to Constantinople.

The first official journey of the Orient Express, in 1883, was a highly publicized affair attended by many of Paris’s diplomatic, financial, and journalistic circles.

Much of the train’s exquisite decor was inspired by the best hotels in the world.

The train cars boasted mahogany paneling, deep armchairs covered in soft leather, velvet curtains, and marble fixtures. Walls were adorned with beautiful French tapestries and cabins were lit by lamps designed by a famous Parisian glassmaker. Georges created the first proper dining car and commissioned the best designers and tableware manufacturers of his time. He hired the finest chefs and purchased wines and many fresh fruits and vegetables from stops along the route. The original menu was laden with the finest cheeses, caviar, beef tenderloin, seafood dishes, and salads. There were soufflÈs and a variety of pastries and desserts. It was imperative to Georges that all his service personnel were polished, polite, and friendly. Guests were treated to piano music and there was a genuine sense of being whisked away from real life.

The Orient Express was the place to be seen. It became the transport of choice of the royals, diplomats, writers, actors, and gunrunners. For a time it earned the title the Spies Express. The Orient Express traveled a route from Paris to Constantinople(Istanbul) for over eight decades. With the exception of war time stoppages, the Orient Express passenger service operated until 1977. During the wars, the carriages of the Orient Express had their own stories to tell-some were used for troop transport, others were used to deliver rations, some were used as hospitals, while others proudly served as funeral cars.

Over the years, the Orient Express had often hit the headlines for various reasons but one story would end up inspiring the sale of over 300 million books.

In 1929, the train was trapped in a snowdrift for ten days, sixty miles from Istanbul. There were no murders but the story captured the imagination of author Agatha Christie and she had the starting point for “Murder on the Orient Express.”