麻豆影视

Lifestyle

    • When Europe's railroad dining cars were the height of luxury

    The dining car is pictured on Le Capitole, a French express train between Paris and Toulouse, in 1966. (SNCF Archives and Documentation Department (SARDO) via CNN Newsource) The dining car is pictured on Le Capitole, a French express train between Paris and Toulouse, in 1966. (SNCF Archives and Documentation Department (SARDO) via CNN Newsource)
    Share

    On October 4, 1883, the legendary Orient Express departed Gare de l鈥橢st in Paris for the very first time, slowly winding through Europe on its way to Constantinople, as Istanbul was then known. During a seven-day round trip, the service's 40 passengers 鈥 including several prominent writers and dignitaries 鈥 lived in mahogany-paneled comfort, whiling away the hours in smoking compartments and armchairs upholstered in soft Spanish leather.

    The most luxurious experience of them all, however, could be found in the dining car.

    With a menu spanning oysters, chicken chasseur, turbot with green sauce and much else besides, the offering was so extravagant that part of a baggage car had to be repurposed to make space for an extra icebox containing food and alcohol. Served by impeccably dressed waiters, guests sipped from crystal goblets and ate from fine porcelain using silver cutlery. The restaurant鈥檚 interior was decorated with silk draperies, while artworks hung in the spaces between windows.

    As newspaper correspondent Henri Opper de Blowitz, one of the maiden journey鈥檚 passengers, wrote: 鈥淭he bright-white tablecloths and napkins, artistically and coquettishly folded by the sommeliers, the glittering glasses, the ruby red and topaz white wine, the crystal-clear water decanters and the silver capsules of the Champagne bottles 鈥 they blind the eyes of the public both inside and outside.鈥

    The Orient Express鈥 opulent passenger experience was later immortalized in popular culture by authors like Graham Greene and Agatha Christie. But dining on the move was very much a triumph of logistics and engineering. Just four decades earlier, the very idea of preparing and serving hot meals aboard a train would have been almost unthinkable.

    An engraving depicts the interior of an Orient Express dining car in 1884. (API/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

    In the early days of rail travel, passengers would either bring their own food or, if scheduled stops permitted, eat at station cafes. In Britain, for instance, meals were served in so-called railway refreshment rooms from the 1840s, though the quality was often questionable. Charles Dickens, a frequent traveler on the U.K.鈥檚 railroads, recounted a visit to one such establishment, where he purchased a pork pie comprising 鈥済lutinous lumps of gristle and grease鈥 that he 鈥渆xtort(ed) from an iron-bound quarry, with a fork, as if I were farming an inhospitable soil.鈥

    A new era

    The British may have pioneered rail engineering in the 19th century, but the dining car鈥檚 story begins in America.

    In 1865, engineer and industrialist George Pullman ushered in a new era of comfort with his Pullman sleepers, or 鈥減alace cars,鈥 and then launching a 鈥渉otel on wheels,鈥 called the President, two years later. The latter was the first train car to offer on-board meals, including regional specialties like gumbo, which were prepared in a three-foot-by-six foot kitchen.

    Pullman followed his hugely successful President with the first ever dining-only car, the Delmonico, which was named after the New York restaurant considered to be America鈥檚 first fine dining establishment. By the 1870s, dining cars could be found on sleeper trains across North America.

    But it was Belgian civil engineer and businessman Georges Nagelmackers who brought the idea to Europe and elevated the experience to new heights.

    He saw the potential for luxury sleepers in Europe and set about transforming rail travel on the continent with the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL, or just Wagons-Lits), founded in 1872.

    The firm quickly began producing the world鈥檚 most glamorous dining and saloon cars 鈥 not only for its famous Orient Express but also the Nord Express (from Paris to Saint Petersburg), Sud Express (from Paris to Lisbon) and dozens of other services, as the company came to dominate luxury rail travel in mainland Europe by the turn of the 20th century. Wagons-Lits also operated grand hotels along its routes, though the on-board dining remained central to the romantic appeal of train travel.

    A dining car chef prepares pastries aboard the Simplon Orient Express 鈥 a variation of the original route, introduced after the opening of the Simplon Tunnel connecting Switzerland and Italy 鈥 in 1951. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

    Meals were served at set times and were supervised by a ma卯tre d鈥檋otel. And from the table service to the decor, the carriages embodied the French art of living, according to Arthur Mettetal, who recently curated an exhibition about the history of Wagon-Lits鈥 dining cars at the Les Rencontres d鈥橝rles photography festival in France.

    鈥淲ith the different menus, it was the same as (what) you could have at a really nice Parisian restaurant,鈥 he told CNN on a video call. 鈥淎lso, the tableware, the silverware, the decoration 鈥 everything combined was what was considered luxury at this time.鈥

    Golden age

    The 1920s are considered a 鈥済olden age鈥 for rail travel in the West. As Europe emerged from the ravages of World War I, business travelers and adventurous vacationers began taking advantage of smoother, quieter and faster steam trains.

    As Wagons-Lits鈥 routes reached into North Africa and the Middle East, state-of-the-art metal cars replaced the old wooden ones. Celebrated artists and designers were meanwhile commissioned to decorate the cars, including the palatial dining ones.

    By the end of the next decade, the company was operating over 700 dining cars 鈥 yet, an even greater on-board luxury had emerged by then: eating in one鈥檚 seat.

    Known as the Pullman lounges (the American industrialist鈥檚 name had, by that point, become a byword for luxury train travel), Wagons-Lits鈥 new car was introduced on various daytime services. Rather than waiting for lunchtime or dinner slots, passengers were served food directly to huge, winged chairs with comfortable headrests. The cars proved 鈥渞evolutionary,鈥 said Mettetal, describing them as 鈥渢he most luxurious carriages ever created.鈥

    Wagons-Lits turned to decorator Ren茅 Prou and master glassmaker Ren茅 Lalique to design the Orient Express鈥 new Pullman cars. They featured elegant marquetry and molded glass panels, and even the luggage racks 鈥渨ere transformed into gems of Art Deco,鈥 read Mettetal鈥檚 exhibition notes.

    The ease and convenience of dining on Wagons-Lits belied a complex logistical operation. From 1919, the company operated a central kitchen within a Paris hotel that prepared (and sometimes pre-cooked) food bound for its train network, reducing the burden on onboard chefs.

    鈥淚nside the dining car, the kitchen was only seven or eight square metres (75 to 86 square feet), so it was really difficult to prepare food for more than 100 people,鈥 said Mettetal.

    With the help of this off-site kitchen, Wagons-Lits was serving around 2.5 million meals annually by 1947. But this decentralized production model also contained the seed of dining car鈥檚 ultimate demise.

    Slow decline

    After World War II, the way railroads and passengers operated both underwent significant changes. Trains became faster, reducing the spare time that travelers had to kill during journeys; the rise of commercial air travel and an explosion in personal car ownership across Europe in the 1950s meant that trains were no longer considered the most luxurious way to travel.

    The economics of food production also evolved in line with the model pioneered by airlines, whereby meals were entirely prepared off-site (and eventually eaten from compartmentalized plastic platters with disposable cutlery and napkins). In 1956, Wagons-Lits opened a new, modern industrial kitchen, equipped with large-scale refrigeration systems and meat storage containers, in which over 250 staff prepared food for all trains departing Paris.

    Eating slipped down travelers鈥 priority lists. In turn, Wagons-Lits鈥 offerings came to value convenience over comfort, including self-service buffet cars filled with cheaper, cafeteria-style food. In the 1960s, the company launched portable 鈥渕inibars鈥 鈥 initially selling 23 products, including sandwiches 鈥 that were rolled through the train, offering food to seated passengers at eye level.

    When it came to food, train operators began selling the idea of modernity and innovation, not opulence, said Mettetal, whose exhibition (and an accompanying book) features advertising photos from the archives of the now-defunct Wagons-Lits and France鈥檚 state railway, SNCF. Take a 1966 promotional image (pictured top) of a dining area on Le Capitole, a Wagons-Lits express between Paris and Toulouse, that includes the train鈥檚 speedometre clearly in shot.

    Sandwiches, such as this one sold on France's TGV trains in 1986, became an increasingly common offering on European railways from the 1970s. (SNCF Archives and Documentation Department (SARDO) via CNN Newsource)

    鈥淚t鈥檚 an image that promotes (the idea) that it鈥檚 possible to eat on a train traveling at more than 200 kilometres per hour,鈥 Mettetal said. 鈥淏ut also, it shows only the family, with a couple and just one child, so it鈥檚 totally different. It鈥檚 a new type of passenger, sociologically.鈥

    By the 1970s and 1980s, kitchens had largely disappeared from Europe鈥檚 railroads. And despite a revival of interest in train travel on the continent, dining cars (or certainly those equipped with kitchens) are now largely the preserve of tourist services. Many of them capitalize on nostalgia 鈥 like the new Orient Express service, which is being revived in 2025 with a dining car its website claims 鈥渞einterprets the codes of the legendary train鈥 鈥 offering a chance to revisit a time when dining on a train was not just a luxury, but the luxury.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.

    Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.

    With the B.C. election too close to call, Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked Tuesday how she feels about the possibility of a party that has repeatedly called for her firing forming government.

    Canada

    • British Columbia's highest court has weighed in on a dispute over an inflatable hot tub a couple set up on their condo's patio 鈥 potentially bringing a close to the years-long conflict.

    • A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.

    • Mounties in British Columbia say a second person has been found dead after two vehicles ended up in a river on Vancouver Island when a road washed out amid torrential rains over the weekend.

    • Quebec Premier Francois Legault promised on Tuesday to toughen secularism measures in schools, saying he was 'shocked' by revelations about a Montreal public school where a group of teachers had tried to introduce what the premier described as 'Islamist' beliefs.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    • With the B.C. election too close to call, Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked Tuesday how she feels about the possibility of a party that has repeatedly called for her firing forming government.

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

    A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

    A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

    A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

    Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

    Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.

    The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.

    A Moncton, N.B., home has been donated to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation and will be transformed into a resource hub for people living with cancer.

    A Nova Scotia man crossing Canada on foot is passing through southwestern Ontario. Trevor Redmond is perhaps better known as the 鈥楩ellow in Yellow.鈥

    • A Township of Langley neighbourhood was submerged in flood water over the weekend after the atmospheric river swept through.

    • A motion coming to council Wednesday will ask staff to look at how faith-based groups could play a bigger role in increasing affordable housing stock in Vancouver.

    • Caf/EH Coffee shop in North Vancouver鈥檚 Deep Cove neighbourhood is temporarily closed after rain pummelled parts of Metro Vancouver over the weekend.

    • A motorcyclist has been critically injured in a collision on the Queen Elizabeth Way in Oakville, police say.

    • TTC staff are recommending that the transit service ban lithium-ion-powered mobility devices like e-scooters and e-bikes through the winter months due to the risk of fire in adverse conditions such as salty roads.

    • Police have released video footage of a recent home invasion in Richmond Hill as they search for three outstanding suspects who they say may have returned to the residence the following day to take another vehicle.

    • Police have identified the victim of a deadly shooting late last week in northeast Calgary.

    • Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's waiting for NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi to declare where he intends to run for office before she calls a byelection in Lethbridge.

    • A new commentary suggests the Government of Alberta purposely pushed false narratives around public safety to scale down safe supply in the province.

    • Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

    • Passengers on a Via Rail train from Toronto found themselves stuck south of Ottawa for several hours Tuesday because of mechanical issues on the train.

    • Former volunteers with Eastern Ontario Cats (EOC) are working to track cats they say are either dead or missing after allegations of abuse, neglect and falsified medical records surfaced in recent months.

    • Quebec Premier Francois Legault promised on Tuesday to toughen secularism measures in schools, saying he was 'shocked' by revelations about a Montreal public school where a group of teachers had tried to introduce what the premier described as 'Islamist' beliefs.

    • The Quebec government wants to hear Quebecers' thoughts about scrapping the twice-yearly time change, but it isn't promising to act on them.

    • A Montreal borough and Muslim leader are pushing back against the head of the Parti Qu茅b茅cois after he accused a local library of promoting a "religious invasion" by posting a photo of a young girl wearing a hijab for a storytime event.

    • Police are looking for a man and a woman who robbed an Edmonton jewelry store earlier this month.

    • Edmonton Public Schools (EPS) custodians have voted 97 per cent in favour of going on strike.

    • Homeowners may have to choose tricks over treats this year, as the price of candy leaves some Edmonton residents feeling the pinch.

    • Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.

    • A member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party is crossing the floor and joining the Progressive Conservatives.

    • Crews responded to a propane leak in Upper Tantallon, N.S., on Tuesday night.

    • Folks making the trek to and from Thompson along Highway 6 are once again without a bathroom break鈥 at least for now.

    • The Manitoba government is restoring the 1:1 apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio.

    • A number of Manitoba communities kicked off the week by breaking decades-old heat records.

    • Saskatchewan's Conflict of Interest Commissioner (COIC) has found that former Saskatchewan Party MLA Gary Grewal violated legislative rules by profiting from hotels while they were party to government contracts.

    • A determined group within Moose Jaw has stepped up to provide assistance to those in need 鈥 following the closure of one of the city's shelters.

    • Saturday's matchup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders could determine if they clinch the West Division title, however the results from Winnipeg's game earlier in the day could make their matchup meaningless.

    • No one was hurt after playground equipment went up in flames at a Kitchener, Ont. park.

    • A bloodstain pattern analyst expert testified Tuesday at Erick Buhr鈥檚 second-degree murder trial.

    • At least seven large-scale butter thefts have been reported in Guelph, Ont. over a 10-month period, including two hauls in just the last month.

    • A Saskatoon family is voicing concerns after paying twice as much PST as expected on a recently purchased truck.

    • Hundreds of voter information cards have landed in the wrong hands.

    • A city planning document for the Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) sparked controversy over the weekend, with three civic election candidates alleging Confederation Mall was at risk of being demolished and replaced with dense housing.

    • Now that the jury has begun deliberating in the Sudbury murder trial of Felicity Altiman, here are some of the interesting courtroom moments they didn't get to hear.

    • Greater Sudbury has ended the employment of CAO Ed Archer, Mayor Paul Lefebvre announced suddenly Tuesday evening

    • After operating for 51 years, General Motors has announced it is closing the Kapuskasing Proving Ground, a facility the automaker used to test the durability of its vehicles in cold weather.

    • A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.

    • A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

    • On the stand of a London courthouse on Tuesday, Rachel Johnson described how a fun bush bash birthday party on July 30, 2021 turned deadly.

    • Emergency crews rushed to the scene of a serious collision in Barrie鈥檚 south end involving a passenger vehicle and a motorcycle.

    • A 35-year-old man from Etobicoke is facing impaired driving charges after a crash involving a Ministry of Transportation vehicle parked along Highway 11 south.

    • A fire that caused $2.5 million damage at a newly constructed house in Adjala-Tosorontio early Tuesday morning is being investigated as suspicious.

    • If you live in Windsor, Ont. and get a knock at the door from a political canvasser, it might be surprising since there鈥檚 no election on the horizon at the municipal, provincial or federal level. But across the border, that's not the case.

    • 鈥榁ampire Zombies鈥rom Space!鈥 and 鈥楾hundersnake鈥, two films that are showing at the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF), were both shot across the city and in the County of Essex.

    • Before the Town of Essex adopts it's new Master Plan for Land Use, staff will work to identify best proper use for future developments across the municipality.

    • Mounties in British Columbia say a second person has been found dead after two vehicles ended up in a river on Vancouver Island when a road washed out amid torrential rains over the weekend.

    • With the B.C. election too close to call, Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked Tuesday how she feels about the possibility of a party that has repeatedly called for her firing forming government.

    • Premier and NDP Leader David Eby says he's been told by the B.C. Green Party that it's too early to begin talks about a minority government agreement after the weekend's still-undecided provincial election.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's waiting for NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi to declare where he intends to run for office before she calls a byelection in Lethbridge.

    • The health of honeybees will be the focus of a presentation at the University of Lethbridge on Wednesday evening.

    • Alberta is offering infrastructure funding to help municipalities accommodate recent population growth. The province has added a little over 500,000 people over five years, putting pressure on public services.

    • The union representing the fire rangers with the Ministry of Natural Resources says money won鈥檛 fix the systemic problems in the workplace.

    • Rallies by a group called Voices Against Violence took place across the country on Monday, including Sault Ste. Marie.

    • An Indigenous group in northwestern Ontario shut down the highway for a couple of hours Monday morning in protest after ancestral remains were found at a construction site.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆影视. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 麻豆影视