Venice Simplon Orient-Express: The return of the world's most celebrated train

by Shirley Sherwood

Railroads. This beautifully illustrated book traces the history of luxury train travel in Europe, including famous services such as the old Orient-Expresses, the Golden Arrow and the Train Bleu. The author details the story of each car in the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, revealing its links with politics, royalty and international intrigue.

Genres: History, Travel

160 pages, Hardcover

First published July 28, 1983

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The chapters on the restoration of the train and setting up the train service are interesting with good photos. Unfortunately the end chapters are just descriptions of various trips and are quite dull.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book in my grandma's library and I love it! A very fun history book of this train.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells some of the story of the original Orient Express and of the work require to recreate it. Mrs Sherwood is clearly very proud of the the train and a bit of a train buff. The book is a pleasant read with lots of photos and it written not so much as a text book and more like someone just telling you what they did.

So far I have only travelled on the British Pullman as part of a day trip. I bought this book as I am thinking about going to Venice on the VSOE.

If you are thinking about taking a trip on the train or just want to dream then its well worth a read.

Alex

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The coverage of the train and the individual cars is rather brief, maybe for the best since Ms. Sherwood is not a historian. The chapters on the restoration of the equipment are fascinating. This was truly a labor of love to rescue these old carriages and assemble trains to evoke the heyday of deluxe train travel. From London to Venice in this case. If you saw and enjoyed the BBC series on Art Deco and especially the episode on this train, you'll enjoy this book as well.

[Michael Heath-Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on glamorous old trains from the great age of travel.