Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits

Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (French pronunciation: [kɔ̃paɲi ɛ̃tɛʁnɑsjɔnal de vaɡɔ̃ li]; transl. "International Sleeping-Car Company") is a Belgian-founded French company known for providing and operating luxury trains with sleepers and dining cars during the late 19th and the 20th centuries, most notably the Orient Express. Founded by Georges Nagelmackers in 1872, CIWL developed an international network of trains beginning in Europe, and later expanding to Asia and Africa. The trains provided luxury and comfort at a time when travelling was still rough and dangerous. The Armistice with Germany was signed in a CIWL train carriage, the Compiègne Wagon, on November 11, 1918.

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.

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).

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.