Orient Express in Brianza
Orient Express. A name recalling the legend. The extra luxury train which, on its most famous route - London-Venice-Istanbul, carried along rails nobles and spies, history and art, stylish and money. The Orient Express is a train born at the end of the 1800, reaching in the 20's and 30's - during the Belle Epoque period - its top on success and patronage. Then came the war to stop it first and after to make ancient the concept of certain kind of trip for which it was built for. Poverty and the dream of a rebirth after the WW2 didn't play the re-start of travelling on its wonderful and poshly blue and maroon/creme coaches. So the huge stock of coaches - owned by CIWL which was using them also on many other trains among France and Italy, Holland, Russia and Spain - has been spreaded all over Europe, used with less prestigious trains in internal service (Sud Express in Spain, Lusitania Express between France and Portugal) or even simply sold to private owners whom utilized them in many diverse way: as restaurant, as shop, even as home. This in same cases has taken to a derangement of original interior, so famous and so precious. Luckily in 1977 an english entreprenuer and railfan - James B. Sherwood - started an operation in those times only sortable as madness. He bought from a Sotheby's auction in MonteCarlo two coaches and in the next years he made up a stock of about 40 wagons, after an hard work of research all over Europe. The final date of rebirth was May, 25 1982, when the reborn train - now named VSOE Venice-Simplon Orient Express - made inauguration run between London and Venice. To create a so complex operation, in 1976 was created a society - Orient-Express Hotels Ltd - after years of existence as a branch of major Sea Containers Ltd. During the years the society has become specialized on luxury travels and tourism, adding to its portfolio not less than 41 properties worldwide as extra luxury hotels and restaurants from USA to Australia. Railway speaking, it invested on istitution of similar luxury trains in extraeuropeans countries, like the Eastern & Oriental Express in Asia, like the Great South Pacific Express in Australia or like the entire acquisition of a railway in Burma where operate a luxury train on the route to Mandalay. The Orient Express Hotels Ltd. owns always the majority of PeruRail, a peruvian society operating the line from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, that is the only way of trasportation to reach those incredible historic sites. Coaches actually composing the stock in service with Orient Express come from diverse places and histories. Even inside decorations carry the landmark of the artist who thought them in the past. All have been built from 1926 to 1931, by sparse works in England, Belgium and France. Until the WW2 they were located on different services: Bar car.3674 (1931) and Dining car.4141 (1929)were for example in turn with famous Golden Arrow trains, which embarked rich travellers arrived in Calais by ship from America to carry'em to Paris. Sleeping car.3309 (the oldest one, 1926) is the only one lasted always used on the original Orient Express: it was in the train when in 1929 an heavy snow storm stopped all the consist with passengers onboard for 10 days, 60 km north of Istanbul. Passengers survived only thanks to turkish villagers living near to the railway! Sleeping car.3425 was in the consist of a train usually used by King Carol of Romania, who used it for his "love affairs". When King Carol was forced to abandon his state, he escaped aboard of this coach which was shot while rolling in jugoslavin territory. Another Sleeping car, n°3473, can be considered as the nearest to italian history, because was used always on the Train Bleu, carrying to Costa Azzurra and to SanRemo's casinos the wealthy players from France. Four coaches had instead the same birth in 1929, all decored with flowered liberty drawings by artist Renč Prou. Sleeping cars.3525, 3539, 3543 and 3544 had then separate fate. While for example the 3539 have been used during the war from 1945 to 1947 by US Army Transportation Corps, the coach 3543 - even it used sometimes on Train Bleu - was recovered during the WW2 in Limoges and there used as brothel (!). Then in 1946 was sent to Holland to enter the consist of royal train until 50's, when it came back again on Train Bleu. It ended its career with the Simplon Orient Express, luxury train from Calais to Trieste. Now these 40 coches remained and restored to a past glory are circulating in two different consists of 15/16 pieces. The others are kept for special services or as reserve. Travels organized by the society are articulated on a complex calendar, starting in April and ending in October. During the non working period, coaches are attended and repaired in three different sites: in Ostenda (NL), at Magliola Works in Santhiā and since few years at Costaferroviaria in Costamasnaga (LC). Right the arrival of these coaches in November of the past year, made possible planning the photo event to which is dedicated this issue. Costaferroviaria is a firm repairing and building coaches and wagons for FS and private operators and in the past it built hundreds of tramcars to urban and interurban service. It's located in the little station of Costamasnaga, on the not electrified line going from Molteno to Besana and Monza. On March, 1st all was ready to the transfer of these carriages to Lecco and then to Venice, where they will have entered service together with other consists arrived from the other works meanwhile. In the morning was planned a light run of a couple of D.343 from Lecco depot, which had in charge the run with these 13 coaches until Lecco Maggianico yard. Enough optimistic was the plan, non considering the actual break up of the worst organized division of FS: the Cargo one! At 9.00 a.m. - when trains were supposed to be travelling - not a single loco was chosen in Lecco depot for the assignement... Finally a single light loco is sent to Costamasnaga, using the same trace of the Besana freight movement, in this day suppressed. It arrives in Costa at 11.00 a.m. Shunting starts on industrial spurs where a first consist of 6 carriages is ready. Next 7 coaches are still to be prepared, with slow moves operated by the little Badoni critter in the narrow yard of the works. Shunt of the first consist is rapidly finished and the transit along the line should be something of fast.....instead nothing happens: now it's time for engineers to eat. This fateful train will arrive in Molteno only at 2.30 p.m., where it pass by along the first track. The game of the day is obviously taking the train while passing on the steel bridge before Lecco, where a winter sunset light the scene. Meanwhile the second D.343 was already arrived in Costamasnaga, even before the first consist leaved the station. In complete backlight, the second train enter Valmadrera station with its 7 coach consist rolling and stopping on the first track. A meeting with a freight is planned, this one trailed by a shining D.343.2017 freshly outshopped. Who want to assist the spectacular passing by of this prestigious train - in the picture caught on Brenner line with a top loco heading - can easily navigate the Orient Express Ltd. website, where are listed planned travels, routes and days of services. And to who can support more than a dream, it's even possible to reserve a seat!