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Orient-Express Bucharest/ Warsaw - Paris, SNCF Mountain 241-A-38 ex-Est, near Lagny, France, 1948 (Raymond Floquet)



Orient-Express Paris – Vienna with E18 and a heating-van at Munich Nockherberg, winter 1946/47 (/Friedrich Krafft, via Siegfried Bufe)

Orient-Express branch Paris – Prague, CSR class 475.0, leaving Schirnding, April 1965 (Gottfried Turnwald)

ET11 Munich – Salzburg instead of the Orient-Express, which was diverted via Simbach due to a bridge accident, Munich 17July 1959 (WS)

Orient-Express first section, departing from Munich in August 1986, in the rear exceptionally the former saloon car Sal Bad 6ü826, an industry’s present to Adolf Hitler (WS)


Orient-Express Paris – Bucharest with CFR 060-DA near Codlea, the former Zeiden in Burzenland, August 1966 (Arnold Muell)


The first Arlberg-Orient-Express after WWII arriving at Vienna on 13October 1945 with 12.01 class, the three-cylinder version of the 12, ex-214 class (contemporary press)

Arlberg-Express diverted via Lindau, DB 18 622, June26, 1965 (Helmut Tauber)

Arlberg-Express, exceptionally with Norwegian 16 2209, Schwarzach-St.Veith, Feb 1982 (Herwig Gerstner)


The remains of the Prague branch of the Arlberg-Orient-Express: Train Prague – Summerau with Czech 475.1 entering Austria, April 1972 (WS)


Wien-Oostende-Express, departing at Bruxelles Midi with Belgian 2738, Nov 1985 (WS)


Nord-Orient-Express Budapest – Warsaw with MAV class 424 leaving Budapest Nyugati in 1968 (Marc Dahlstrom)

Narrow-gauge train to Sarayevo via Cacac, JZ engine class 85, at Belgrade Cukarica in 1967 (Dr. Fritz Stoeckl)

Oostende-Wien-Express Oostende - (Amsterdam -) Vienna, Pacific 18 614, Regensburg in the '50s (Gottfried Turnwald)

Temporarily a CIWL all-sleeper special of "cet" did run Paris - Arlberg - Innsbruck and three cars continued to Toblach/Dobiacco, Italy, here with FS 741 class, March 1970 (WS)

After WWII, in 1945 the Arlberg-Orient-Express and soon the Simplon-Orient-Express were restarted, both avoiding defeated Germany. In 1946 followed the Orient-Express, with its branch to Warsaw via Prague the way to eastern Europe without crossing Soviet-occupied East Germany. The Oostende-Wien-Express temporarily formed a part of that system. French railways had targeted to run those trains once again as exclusive de-Luxe services, but airlines' progress made that idea unrealistic. They were ordinary expresses now with a variety of corridor coaches of many railway administrations, cosmopolitan and shabby.

The Simplon-Orient-Express in 1947 was extended to Istanbul. Bloody communist civil wars however interrupted it and temporarily it had to be diverted via Thessaloniki. Only in 1951 its Athens branch could restart. At Athens the meter gauge connects with the Peloponnesos.

Arlberg-Orient-Express
In Austria (according to EFK 1947):

1Post OeBBBuchs - Vienna
1DSNCF/OeBBParis - Vienna
1ABSNCFParis - Bucharest
1WLBCIWLParis - Bucharest
1ABSNCFParis - Vienna (…)
1WLBCIWLParis - Vienna
1ABSNCFParis - Linz - Prague
1WLBCIWLParis - Linz - Prague
1WLBCIWLBasle - Warsaw (obviously did not run!)
1WRCIWLBasle - Salzburg
1WLBCIWLCalais - Basle - Vienna
1ABJDZParis - Villach - Belgrade
1WLBCIWLParis - Buchs or Chur

(D=van, A=1st, B=2nd, C=3rd class). Traction: 1-2 15kV 1020 (E94), at Salzburg 1018 (E18.2), to Vienna 12 (ex 214, 2-8-4), also 12.1 (ex 114, 2-8-4) and 19.1 (Polish 2-8-2).

Simplon-Orient-Express
Departure Edirne (Turkey) in 1949 (according to Sir Peter Allen):

5 freight wagons for securityTCDD
Locomotive class 45,5 (2-4-0)TCDDEdirne - Pithyon
1 freight wagonTCDD
4 D (vans, new delivery)TCDD from Czechia
1 D (van with kitchen)CIWLEdirne - Istanbul
1 WLABCIWLParis - Istanbul
1 ABSNCFParis - Istanbul
Some old coaches with guardTCDDEdirne - Istanbul
1 open wagon with a gunTCDDEdirne -



Simplon-Orient-Express Istanbul/ Athens - Paris, FS Pacific class 691, near San Giorgio di Nogaro, Italy, 1957 (Wolfgang Messerschmidt)

Simplon-Orient-Express, FS Franco-Crosti type locomotive 683.965, near San Giorgio di Nogaro, Oct. 1957 (Wolfgang Messerschmidt)

Express Pireas - Athens - Peloponnesos on meter gauge of SPAP, Delta class from Breda, a derivative of the MacArthur class, Corinth canal 1960 (Emil Konrad)

Balt-Orient-Express, Hungarian 242.004 and 242.001, Budapest, Nov. 1963 (Josef Otto Slezak)


Polonia-Express Warsaw - Belgrade - Sofia, Mountain class 498.1 of CSD, near Breclav, Easter 1968 (WS)


Also the East was eager to create its own Orient-Express. In 1948 it started its Balt-Orient-Express, intended as a connection from Stockholm to Istanbul, initially crossing the Baltic Sea by a train ferry to Poland, avoiding East Germany. For trains ferried across the Baltic Sea see www.ships-worldwide.com.

Balt-Orient-Express
Section Galanta - Budapest, 1949 (according to EFK):
1WLABOrbisStockholm - Svilengrad (probably Sofia)
1WLAB OrbisBerlin - Poznan - Bucharest
1ABCMAVOdra Port-/Gdynia - Budapest
1WLABCOrbisWarsaw - Belgrade (3 times weekly)
1WLABCFRWarsaw - Bucharest (3 times weekly)
1ABCCFRWarsaw - Bucharest (4 times weekly)
1ABCJDZ/BDZWarsaw - Istanbul (2 times weekly)
1ABCJDZ/BDZWarsaw - Sofia (2 times weekly)
1DCSDPrague - Budapest
1ABCSDPrague - Budapest
1C CSDPrague - Budapest
1WRCSDPrague - Budapest
1ABCCSDPrague - Bucharest (4 times weekly)
1ABCCSDPrague - Sofia/Istanbul


Later, the Simplon-Orient- and the Balt-Orient-Express together with the Tauern-Express from Oostende, which avoided communist Hungary (an idea by Vicar Richard Ottmar), formed a group of trains, interconnected at Belgrade until 1961/62. A relief for the Balt-Orient-Express became the Pannonia-Express and the Polish section was replaced by the Polonia and the Nord-Orient-Express. In Yugoslavia, the blue/silver V200 derivative diesel, reserved for Tito's special, occasionally was used on regular trains, e.g. the Pannonia-Express. For tourists of the communist countries, there were much better couchette-car specials, the light-blue East German Touristen-Express Dresden - Varna, the blue Czech tourist trains and other ones.


The blue Touristen-Express of DR Varna – Dresden, MAV M62 class diesel, pushing it outside Budapest Nyugati, June1, 1970 (WS)


Tauern-Express Athens – Oostende, OeBB class 1010, helped by 1245, near Mallnitz in 1961 (Wilhelm Tausche)


Simplon-Orient-Express in Thrakia at the end of the Greek civil war (Sir Peter Allen, coll. WS)

Simplon-Orient-Express diverted via northern Greece due to a Bulgarian blockade, with sleeper Istanbul – Athens (Dauteuil, coll. WS)

Simplon-Orient-Express Paris – Athens, Greek class Lambda-alpha, Paradia bridge in the 1950s (coll. Georgeos Handrinos, SFS)

Simplon-Orient and Tauern-Express from Athens, with Mi-alpha arriving at Thessaloniki, summer 1961 (WS)


Express 201 Bucharest - Budapest, successor of the Arlberg-Orient-Express, with the Romanian 2-8-4 type 142.076 after arrival at Brasov (the old "Staatsbahnhof" Kronstadt), where the Henschel-Sulzer prewar twin diesel (in the background) took over, a rare photo from 1961 (Arnold Muell)

Panonia-Express, hauled by "Dinara", one of the three Krauss-Maffei diesels reserved for Tito's special, between Belgrade and Nis in 1969 (WS)


Pannonia-Express Berlin - Bucharest - Sofia, DR class 243, Czech, Hungarian and German cars, departure Berlin Lichtenberg, May 1986 (WS)

Balt-Orient-Express Berlin - Bucharest, Czech class 350, Bratislava, Nov. 1993 (WS)