The story
Founded by Georges Nagelmackers in 1876.1
History
Founding
During his trip to the United States in 1867–1868 the 23-year-old Belgian Georges Nagelmackers was impressed by the Pullman night trains. Upon his return home, he decided to establish a network of such trains in Europe. He envisioned that such trains should be luxurious and travel across borders.
In 1872, Nagelmackers founded the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits and the et des Grands Express Européens addition became part of the name in 1893. By 1886 his company had become the main organiser for most European heads of state. The symbol "WL" held by two lions became a well-known trade mark.
The company ran either complete trains of Wagon-Lits cars or individual sleeping and dining cars coupled onto services operated by the state railways of the European countries through which the Wagon-Lits cars passed. These cars were always drawn by locomotives of the various state railways, as Wagon-Lits did not operate its own fleet of locomotives.
Prior to World War I, CIWL held a monopoly being the only group catering to the needs of the international railroad traveller. The company introduced famous services, such as the Orient Express, the Nord Express, and the Sud Express and expanded to markets outside Europe with involvement in the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia. The Company's trains also reached Manchuria (Trans-Manchurian Express), China (Peking, Shanghai, and Nanking), and Cairo.
Hotels
In 1894, Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels was founded as a subsidiary and began operating a chain of luxury hotels in major cities. Among these were the Hôtel Terminus in Bordeaux and Marseille, the Hôtel Pera Palace in Istanbul, the Hôtel de la Plage in Ostend, and the Grand Hôtel des Wagons-Lits in Beijing (Peking).
Taxi Service
At the end of 1909 the company received an approval to operate taxi services in major cities of India. Automobiles Darracq France then known Darracq Co was contracted to provide 3,000 units of 1910 models powered by 14-16 hp engines.
Competition with Mitropa
With the start of World War I CIWL's coaches were confiscated for military use. In Germany and Austro-Hungary Mitropa was founded to take over the property and services of CIWL. In 1919, the communists in Russia expropriated CIWL's local rolling stock and hotels. After the conclusion of World War I CIWL demanded to have its central European service routes restored. It regained these for Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia; however, in Germany the Reichsbahn and Mitropa sabotaged this process. On April 23, 1925, CIWL and Mitropa agreed to separate spheres of influence. CIWL received transit routes through Germany and routes between Germany and Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Czechoslovakia. Mitropa took over the routes between Germany and the Netherlands and Scandinavia, as well as trains within Germany, and to Gdańsk. Trains between Germany and Austria were served by both companies.
In the interwar period, CIWL flourished again. The company's blue and gold livery was introduced. In 1925, Wagon-Lits opened its first Travel Palace in Paris. Services extended to the Middle Eastern cities of Aleppo, Baghdad, Cairo, and Tehran. Metal coaches, replacing older wooden ones constructed of teak, became available in 1926. In 1931 the fleet reached its maximum of 2268 vehicles. This period can be considered the zenith of luxury rail travel. CIWL's carriages were decorated by such renowned artists as Réné Prou, René Lalique and Morrison. CIWL also commissioned renowned artists such as Adolphe Mouron Cassandre to design posters advertising its services.
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Decline
With Anschluss in 1938, the Austrian market was lost to Mitropa (it was recovered after 1945). Because of World War II and the subsequent communist expansion, CIWL lost more markets in central and eastern Europe.
After World War II, CIWL increasingly focused on the travel agency and management business. Accordingly, it was renamed Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et du Tourisme (CIWLT) in 1967.
By 1971, the rolling stock of CIWL had become aged and outdated, and the renovation and replacement needed were beyond the company. It sold or leased its coaches to the SNCF, FS, SBB, DB, ÖBB, NMBS/SNCB, NS, DSB and Renfe. An international sleeping car pool named TEN (Trans Euro Night) was founded at that time and took over and managed (until 1995) many of the carriages of CIWL and of the Mitropa-successor DSG.
Today
Wagons-Lits is headquartered in Paris. Currently CIWL provides service on night trains in Austria, Italy and meal and catering services in daytime trains of France, Italy, Portugal and on Eurostar services to the United Kingdom.
A number of sleeping-cars on the European continent are owned by CIWL. The cars are maintained by the sister company Rail Service International (RSI) in the Netherlands and leased to train operating companies.
1918 Armistice coach
The 1918 Armistice with Germany was signed in CIWL #2419 ("Le Wagon de l'Armistice"). Returned to CIWL service afterwards, it was retired later to join the French presidential train before being withdrawn in 1921 and placed on display in the Cour des Invalides, Paris until 1927, when it was moved to Compiègne for display. It remained on display in its own building, the Clairiere de l'Armistice until 1940, when it was removed by the German army and used to receive the 1940 Armistice with France between France and Nazi Germany. Following this, the carriage itself was taken to Berlin as a trophy of war, along with pieces of a large stone tablet which bore the inscription (in French):
Here on the Eleventh of November 1918 Succumbed the Criminal Pride of the German Reich. Vanquished by the Free Peoples Which it Tried to Enslave..
Following this period of display in Berlin, CIWL #2419 was moved to Ohrdruf in Thuringia for storage in 1945. Following the Allied advance into Germany in early 1945, the detachment of SS troops protecting the carriage set it ablaze before burying the remains to prevent them from falling into Allied hands. Some remnants were later exhumed and moved back to the restored Compiègne site for display, while CIWL later donated another carriage from the same construction order, 1913-built CIWL #2439, in 1950 as a replacement. This carriage had also been at Compiègne on 11 November 1918, and it was renumbered as #2419D for display at Compiègne where it was installed on Armistice Day 1950.
Name history
CIWL has changed its name several names:
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (1872–1893)
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grands Express Européens (1893–1967)
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et du Tourisme (1967–2010)
Newrest Wagons-Lits (2010–present)
The company has also colloquially been shortened to CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, and Wagons-Lits.
In different languages
Czech: Mezinárodní společnost lůžkových vozů (a velkých evropských expresních vlaků)
German: Internationale (Eisenbahn-)Schlafwagen-Gesellschaft
Danish: Det Internationale Sovevogns- (og de Store Europæiske Eksprestogs-)Selskab
English: International Sleeping-Car (and Great European Expresses) Company
Finnish: Kansainvälinen Makuuvaunu- (ja Euroopan Pikajuna)yhtiö
French: Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (et des Grands Express Européens)
Greek: Διεθνής Εταιρεία Κλιναμαξών (και Ταχειών Ευρωπαϊκών Αμαξοστοιχιών)
Hungarian: Nemzetközi Vasúti Hálókocsi Társaság
Italian: Compagnia Internazionale dei Vagoni-Letto (e dei Grandi Treni Espressi Europei)
Lithuanian: Tarptautinė miegamųjų vagonų bendrovė
Dutch: Internationale Maatschappij voor Slaapwagens en Europa's Groote Sneltreinen
Polish: Międzynarodowe Towarzystwo Wagonów Sypialnych (i Ekspresów Europejskich)
Portuguese: Companhia Internacional das Carruagens-Camas (e dos Grandes Expressos Europeus)
Romanian: Compania internaţională a vagoanelor de dormit (şi a marilor exprese europene)
Russian: Международное Общество Спальныхъ Вагоновъ (и Скорыхъ Европейскихъ поѣздовъ)
Serbian: Međunarodno Društvo Kola za Spavanje / Међународно Друштво Кола за Спавање
Spanish: Compañía Internacional de Coches-Camas (y de los Grandes Expresos Europeos)
Turkish: Avrupa Hızlı Trenleri ve Uluslararası Yataklı Vagonlar Şirketi
Bulgarian: Компания на международните спални вагони и големите европейски експреси
From Wikipedia’s article on Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4