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Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy.
My name's Thomas and I'm your host.
Thanks so much for being here.
We have a really wonderful story tonight that I had the pleasure of reading for you all.
It was written by the very talented Joe Steer, and I think it's one you'll really enjoy listening to.
You've probably heard of the Orient Express, the luxury long distance train that went back and forth across Europe for more than a century.
In tonight's tale, we'll be going back in time to the 1920s for a ride to remember.
You'll learn all about the history of the Orient Express as you relax in the most luxurious surroundings.
Before we relax into the comfort of the opulent sleeper train, Let's take our own journey into rest and relaxation.
As you comfortably settle into bed, allow your body to let go of energy or tension.
Allow your mind to drift away, far from any troubles or any thoughts of daily responsibilities.
With each breath in and out, You are carried further from action and activity.
The track you are journeying on promises a carefree destination in which you can enjoy deep, nourishing rest.
But the journey itself is one of luxury too.
And you can imagine yourself on one of these sleeper trains right now, looking out the window seeing nothing but beautiful natural scenery.
All you need to do is relax and absorb the opportunity to travel far, far away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Perhaps you sense the rocking motion of the train's wheels gently coursing along the tracks.
This too can soothe your body and settle your mind. taking you towards a dreamland of rest.
With this sense of relaxation washing over your entire body, It's time to travel back through the ages, to a train platform in the early 1920s.
This is where our story begins.
The year is 1923.
You are standing on the platform of a train station in Paris about to board the world's most famous train.
Around you are a crowd of rather fabulous passengers dressed in the fashions of the roaring twenties.
You recognize the faces of well-known figures, actors and actresses, poets and politicians.
The men are dressed in elegant suits with bow ties or cravats.
They wear light-colored jackets and straw boater hats.
Many walk with canes, the trendiest of male accessories.
The ladies wear summer coats and dresses with calf-length skirts above heels and stockings.
Their bobbed hairstyles are adorned with headdresses or bell-shaped cloche hats.
They are what you expect from first-class passengers boarding the Orient Express in 1923.
It's been 40 years since the train's first journey, and it's built quite the reputation.
The train is the brainchild of a Belgian engineer, Georges Nagelmakers.
He was particularly inspired when traveling in America, where he spent many a night in lavish sleeper trains.
Nagelmackers felt that there was a market in Europe for something similar.
He dreamt of a transcontinental service offering speed and comfort to those traveling across Europe.
In 1870, he published his proposal to develop sleeper carriages for the European market.
Though his plans would be postponed due to the Franco-Prussian War, he would finally have his test run 12 years later.
In 1882, guests were invited to travel aboard the Triniclaire Deluxe, literally translated as a lightning luxury train.
It was essentially a prototype of the Orient Express.
The train would travel over 2000 kilometers, while its passengers relaxed in comfortable surroundings.
They dined on oysters and drank champagne before retiring to the comfort of their private sleeper cabins.
The train left Paris at around 630pm on the 10th of November 1882 and it arrived in Austria the next day, reaching Vienna at 1120pm.
By today's standards, this might seem rather slow, but in 1882, it was quite remarkable.
Though well established in Europe, trains were still relatively new.
And air travel was still just a dream, thought by most to be impossible.
Travelling long distances was often dangerous and uncomfortable. not to mention painstakingly slow.
The journey from Paris to Vienna could potentially take weeks.
Whereas the luxury lightning train made the trip in less than 30 hours.
It's little wonder that the trip was a success, leaving Nagelmackers free to proceed with his plans.
His company went to work building exclusive carriages which would be used with locomotives run by national rail companies.
Passengers would buy a ticket aboard the train and pay an extra fee for the deluxe sleeper carriage.
It wasn't a train for the average Frenchman.
A ticket from Paris to Constantinople costs 700 gold francs, about half the annual salary of a skilled worker.
But for the elite it became the preferred way to travel, whether crossing the continent on business or pleasure.
The train captured the spirit of the time, later named La Belle Epoque, or the Beautiful Age.
This was a period of prosperity between the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the start of the First World War in 1914.
It was a time of economic growth and technological advancement, of rising wages and social mobility.
The emerging middle classes sought travel and adventure.
They wanted to tour the continent like their aristocratic counterparts.
The train, initially named the Express d'Orient, allowed passengers to do just that.
It was a five-star hotel moving across Europe, making its first official journey in June 1883.
The nature of the carriages, which were shared among different networks, meant that it was relatively easy to add routes and destinations.
Throughout its long lifetime.
There would be several major routes stopping at various cities across Central and Eastern Europe.
Destinations included London, Athens, Venice, and Bucharest.
But today in Paris, we are traveling on the original line.
The train is bound for Constantinople, or Istanbul, as it will later be known.
It's hard to imagine a more appealing destination for the wealthy and adventurous in 1923.
The city was once the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and then, until October of this year, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
But our first destination is the train itself, the Orient Express.
And what a destination it promises to be, with the carriages renovated after the First World War.
Even from the outside, the train oozes glamour, with its shiny exterior painted a deep royal blue.
Along the sides are thick gold lettering displaying the name of Nagelmacher's company, the Compagnie Internationale de Wagonerlie.
Each carriage is adorned with the company's golden crest.
Two regal griffins.
More gold runs down the midline of the carriages, with rectangular windows spaced evenly above.
The sides of the curtains are visible through the glass, lit by the glow of table lamps.
The train certainly looks inviting and you are glad when you see passengers being welcomed on board.
Soon, it's your turn to be greeted at the door by a cabin steward dressed in navy blue.
His tailored suit has gold braiding and the jacket is fastened down the front with large gold buttons that glitter in the sunlight.
On his head, he wears a rimless blue cap, sometimes referred to as a bellboy cap.
At front and center is the company crest, embroidered in gold.
The steward greets you with genuine warmth, reaching out a hand gloved in white.
He looks over your ticket and welcomes you on board, where another cheery steward will direct you to your cabin.
It's only a short walk, but it's enough to leave you with a lasting impression.
The interior of the train is even grander than you expected.
It matches the elegance of the best hotels in Europe.
You tread over a carpet of rich burgundy, which absorbs the sound of your footsteps.
The walls around you are gorgeous mahogany.
The wood twinkles in parts, reflecting the sunlight.
It's clear that no expense has been spared in the post-war renovation of the carriage interiors.
It's said to have been revamped by a who's who of designers, artists and craftsmen famed throughout the continent.
On the carriage walls, decorative panels have been placed intermittently.
The renowned French artist René Proulx designed the striking marquetry in the woodwork.
The elaborate decoration is the first thing you notice when you look through the door of your own private cabin.
The light wooden walls display darker panels.
They are rimmed with gold and have images at their center.
The central motif is particularly striking, a large oval of stylized flowers.
It's an art deco design, including lots of layered shapes and contrasting colors.
Orange blooms and leaves of bronze stand out handsomely against a black background.
And just below, positioned against the wall, is an olive green sofa.
The steward points out a few features, like the button on the wall which you can press to call for assistance.
A table in the corner lifts to reveal a sink and two shiny taps, providing both cold and hot water.
Perhaps the most magical feature of the cabin is that the couch doubles up as a cozy, single bed.
It will be transformed when you are out at the restaurant, so you'll return from dinner to find a bed ready made.
The train will soon be departing, the steward explains.
So he'll leave you to enjoy the comfort of your cabin.
Tea and coffee will be brought round shortly, but just press the button if there's anything that you need.
You place your luggage on a high shelf and take a seat beside the window.
Sinking into the olive green sofa, you run your finger over the cushion cover a pattern of leaves embroidered in bronze.
Before you is a table of polished mahogany.
It juts out beneath the window at the center of the cabin.
On the table is a lamp and a vase of flowers, and enough space to rest a book and teacup.
Just as you're looking at the glossy surface of the table, you notice movement, a reflection of the view just outside the carriage.
Staff are taking their positions as the train's engine hums to life.
You hear the sound of doors clicking shut.
It's a sound that echoes across the train's many carriages.
And you can hear the steam too, hissing from the chimneys.
The world outside, on this shaded platform, couldn't be more different from the one within your carriage.
It almost looks like a black and white image, even more so behind a veil of steam.
Soon, you feel the train wheels begin to move, slowly at fast, then picking up speed.
The train starts to chuck in a constant rhythm. and the Orient Express pulls away from the station.
Clouds of steam rise upwards, disappearing from view above the train rooftop, form a trail of silver in the air above, marking the train's route through Paris, then the countryside.
Away from the shade of the station, your cabin is brightened by the afternoon light.
Patterns of sunlight dance across the table and highlight the wood grain visible on the surface.
The thin vase of flowers by the window is brightened, revealing the frilly orange blooms of French marigolds.
Their long green stems are visible through the vase, which is made of finest crystal with a design etched across its surface.
Previously, in the shadow of the station's platform, the lampshade seemed to be a muted pink tone.
Now, in the glow of diffused summer sunlight, it looks closer to the shade of salmon or coral.
The top and bottom of the bell-shaped lampshade are edged with a line of decorative gold lace.
Tassels hang down from the bottom edge, which has an ornate frame of decorative bronze.
You notice the tip of the ornate bronze frame sticking out above the top of the shade.
It's carved into the shape of a little bronze acorn, sparkling where it catches the sunlight.
And there are similar details throughout your cabin, subtle decorations everywhere you look.
A short while after the start of your journey, a member of the crew comes by with a trolley.
He sets down warm tea with milk and sugar, reminding you that the restaurant will soon begin service.
For now, you're happy to sip lovely warm tea.
You close your eyes, enjoying each slow sip.
The refreshing scent blends with the sweetness of the marigolds, creating a pleasant atmosphere in your cozy cabin.
Once you've finished your tea, you feel warm enough to remove your jacket.
You drape it from a hanger on a hook beneath the ceiling, where it rests against the wall of exquisite woodwork.
Most of your bags have been taken to the baggage car, aside from the one that you placed on the shelf.
You can see it above you, through the gaps in the bronze lattice of the shelf.
You bring down the small suitcase and click it open to find your novel.
Resting the case on the carpet, you then slide off your shoes.
A bolster cushion can be moved to provide support against the wall, allowing you to relax opposite the window.
You can bring up your feet to rest on the sofa and stay within reach of the table.
There's something so relaxing about the rhythm of the train.
It feels like you might be rocked into sleep.
And it's the perfect background for reading.
At least, that's what you decide as you turn to your novel.
The book is a thriller that you've read twice already, an enthralling mystery.
Naturally, the suspense has softened with each reading.
The story is more comforting now that you're familiar with the plot.
It's the kind of story that's perfectly suited to your journey.
On a train known as the Spy's Express.
With various routes across Europe's major cities, the Orient Express has been the favoured mode of transport for diplomats and spies.
Notable passengers include Mata Hari, the Dutch exotic dancer turned spy for Germany.
Lord Robert Badum Powell, best known today as founder of the Boy Scouts, is also thought to have been a passenger on the Orient Express.
As a spy for the Allies, he traveled throughout Europe posing as a butterfly collector.
Baden-Powell would fill out the pages of his notebook with sketch after sketch of beautiful butterflies.
Coded drawings were hidden within the wings.
Secret diagrams of enemy fortifications.
With such a history, it's not so surprising that the train will eventually be immortalized in fiction.
By the mid-1960s, one of its best-known passengers will be the fictional spy James Bond.
In Ian Fleming's novel, From Russia With Love, the secret agent rides from Istanbul to Paris.
A cabin similar to the one you're staying in was recreated for the film and used alongside real footage of the train.
More famously still, the train appears in the work of Agatha Christie.
In Murder on the Orient Express.
Detective Poirot must solve a homicide, and all the while, the train is stuck in a snowdrift.
This part was inspired by real life events.
In 1929, the train indeed became stuck.
For several days, it remained stranded in a snowdrift west of Istanbul.
Not that the prospect ever worried Agatha Christie, a frequent passenger on the Orient Express from 1928.
Her novel includes detailed descriptions of the train's interior.
In part.
It's thanks to the publication of Christie's novel in 1934 and subsequent adaptations for film and television that the Orient Express will be cemented into history.
It will forever be known for its romance and splendor, a way to cross borders in style.
You continue to read in the privacy of your cabin until the scent of food makes its way along the carriage.
The sky outside is dimming slightly, and a glance at your watch tells you it's time for dinner.
Putting down your book, you draw the curtains closed.
Then, you flick the switch of your main cabin light, illuminating its fan-shaped frame.
Next, you turn on the brass table lamp, the outline of a bulb visible through the shade.
The coral fabric glows bright around it and the fringe at the bottom seems to drip with the yellow light.
Taking clothes from your nearby suitcase, you change into an outfit appropriate for dinner.
You'll blend in nicely with the men in their dinner suits and the ladies in their dazzling evening gowns.
You return your suitcase to the bronze shelf.
Then you open the door and step out into the corridor, where the carpet is now lit by lights in the ceiling.
In total, the train is about a quarter mile long, including several sleeping carriages and a couple of dining carriages.
So it takes a little time to reach the restaurant, especially when walking at a nice, easy pace.
It's a stroll that you enjoy, observing your surroundings and nodding greetings to staff or other passengers.
Occasionally you catch sight of your reflection in the window.
Your expression is one of calm contentment.
You know that you're nearing the restaurant when the aromas of food grow stronger and more tantalizing.
Once there, you're greeted warmly by a waiter immaculately dressed in a white uniform.
He leads you to a table right beside the window, which is set with full silver service.
The seats around it are luxurious armchairs, beautifully upholstered in a floral design.
You sit down happily on the velvety fabric as the waiter fills a flute with expensive champagne.
Another glass is filled with water, along with ice and a slice of lemon.
The waiter directs your attention to the menu, a set meal of gourmet dishes.
It begins with a bowl of consommé, served from a trolley just moments later.
Steam rises from a fine china bowl, which is rimmed with gold.
You savor the taste of the thin delicious soup, enjoying each mouthful from a silver spoon.
Occasionally, you pause for a bite of your bread roll, fresh, golden, and spread thick with butter.
You examine the carriage as you dine, taking in the details of the sumptuous decor.
Panels in the wood display stylized roses etched in crystal.
Glimmering beautifully in the overhead.
Lighting these crystal roses resemble the flower on your table.
It's a single rose, standing tall in a thin silver vase.
You lean forward to smell the scent of its petals as the waiter arrives to take your empty bowl.
The rose's sweet musky fragrance hangs in the air as he returns with a course of turbot and dauphine potatoes.
The dish could win awards for its presentation alone, and both the fish and potatoes are beautifully cooked.
The turbot is coated with a champagne cream sauce, while the fried potato croquettes are sprinkled with chopped parsley.
As you're enjoying your meal, two ladies enter the dining carriage.
One has the air and appearance of royalty.
She wears a stunning gown of burgundy velvet, her neck dripping with bright green emeralds.
Meanwhile, her friend is dressed plainly in black, which leaves you to wonder if she is a maid or chaperone.
Either way, the women seem friendly and altogether relaxed in one another's company.
You can't help but overhear their cheery conversation, as they admire the panelling and intricate glasswork.
It's from them you learn that René Lalique apparently had a hand in designing the carriage.
Who better than the renowned glassmaker and jeweler to decorate the walls with those stunning crystal flowers?
And not just the flowers, but panes of glass with figures molded into the surface.
They remind you of the statues of gods and goddesses that adorned temples in ancient Greece.
Once you've finished your fish course, the waiter arrives again and sets down a dish of pork cutlets.
The meat is served beside carrots and green beans, with a sauce of white wine and mustard.
The waiter also brings a candle to your table, fixed within a decorative silver base.
It's only once the flame is lit and flickering that you notice the darkness outside the train windows.
The French countryside has all but disappeared as the train travels onwards into the evening.
All you can see is the dancing flame of the candle, reflected in the window.
The final course is apricot tart alongside a drizzle of indulgent runny cream.
The pastry and fruit combine beautifully to form a light, sweet dessert that feels entirely satisfying.
It's the perfect dish to complete your meal before a final offering of after-dinner coffee.
The rich, dark roast is lightened with the addition of cream, stirred in with a spoon.
You sink back into your armchair and slowly sip your coffee.
A feeling of deep satisfaction wraps around you like a blanket as you continue to watch the candle flickering in the window.
You notice a man at a nearby table, writing in a notebook between sips from his cup.
You wonder if he's a poet, or perhaps a famous writer, plotting out the details of his next bestseller.
Or maybe he's a spy. an undercover agent jotting down codes that few would understand.
The thought brings a smile to your lips and reminds you of your novel back in the cabin.
Perhaps you'll read one more chapter before bed.
So, you thank the waiter and head towards your cabin.
The corridors seem quieter than they did before, with many passengers now tucked up in bed.
In the evening hush, the sounds of the train seem more rhythmic and soothing.
Again, there's a sense that you're in a whole other world.
One of warmth, luxury, and comfort.
This only grows stronger as you enter your cabin, where the couch has been transformed into a cozy single bed.
You lock the door and change into your nightwear, before snuggling down beneath the fresh cotton sheets.
The sheets are crisp and they smell just lovely.
The fabric feels wonderful against your skin.
You're about to reach towards your book when the sound of rain catches your attention.
It patters lightly on the roof above you, and drips down the window behind the curtains.
The rain only amplifies the sense of comfort and the happiness you feel at being inside.
You are safe and sheltered in your cozy little cabin.
Perhaps instead, you'll read in the morning, before enjoying breakfast in the restaurant carriage.
By then, you could be hundreds of miles away.
The train will cover great distances while you sleep.
It's with this thought that you turn off the lights and settle down in bed.
You close your eyes and breathe in slowly, catching once again the fresh floral scent of the sheets.
The rhythm of the train is gentle and relaxing.
It continues in a loop alongside your breath.
You can feel the vibration of the wheels beneath you, and a slight rocking as the train journeys on.
All the while, the rain continues. a rhythmic melody tapping gently above you.
With the sounds of the train, it forms a nighttime lullaby, transporting you into a deep and dreamy sleep.
