International society of sleeping cars and European rapid trains. Guide. Edited by N. The Lender ( The Traveler ) .

International society of sleeping cars and European rapid trains. Guide. Edited by N. The Lender ( The Traveler ) .
Saint Petersburg. Novoe Vremya. 1913. XVI, 144, 104 p., Fig., advertising. Softcover, size 11.7 x 20 cm. Restoration on the edges of the cover and spine, as well as on the edges of some pages. Complete condition. 

The guide includes the following sections: the Volga and the Caspian sea, trips to the Black and Mediterranean seas, lines of the Black and Mediterranean seas, the most important railway routes, European resorts

Many photos in the text and on separate sheets.

Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (also CIWL) is an international logistics company, known mainly for its branded trains, and also as a historical operator of the Orient Express.

Now part of the French Newrest group, Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (et des Grands Express Européens) was founded in Belgium by Georges Nagelmakers in 1872. CIWL quickly became the main operator of night trains in Europe at the end of the XIX—XX centuries.

The night trains of the Pullman made a great impression on the 23-year-old Belgian Georges Nagelmakers during his trip to the United States in 1867-1868. When he returned home, he decided to create a network of similar international luxury trains in Europe.

In 1874 Nagelmackers founded the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. The addition to the name et des Grands Express Européens appeared 10 years later. By 1886 his company became the main operator of trains of European heads of state. The "WL" symbol, supported by two lions, has become a well-known trademark.

The company operated either trains consisting entirely of Wagon-Lits, or its separate sleeping cars and dining cars were added to the trains of the state railway operators of European States through which the Wagon-Lits passed. These cars were always pulled by locomotives of various state-owned railway operators, since Wagon-Lits did not have its own locomotives.

Before world war I, CIWL had a monopoly, being the only company that met the needs of international train passengers. The company established such famous trains as the Orient Express, Nord-Express and Sud-Express, and went beyond the borders of the European market by establishing the TRANS-Siberian Express, which crossed Russia.

With the outbreak of world war I, CIWL wagons were confiscated for military use. Mitropa was founded in Germany and Austria-Hungary, and ciwl's ownership and operations were transferred to It. IN 1918, ciwl cars and hotels in Soviet Russia were nationalized. After the end of world war I, CIWL tried to restore its operations in Central Europe. This was done in Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia; however, in Germany, Deutsche Reichsbahn and Mitropa sabotaged these attempts. On April 23, 1925, the CIWL and Mitropa officially separated their spheres of influence. CIWL received transit routes through Germany and routes between Germany and Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Czechoslovakia. Mitropa received routes between Germany and the Netherlands and Scandinavia, intra-German trains and trains to Danzig. Trains between Germany and Austria were operated by both companies.

During the interwar period, CIWL operations again flourished. The company's blue and gold livery was introduced. In 1925, Wagon-Lits opened its first Travel Palace in Paris. Routes were extended to middle Eastern Aleppo, Baghdad, Cairo and Tehran. In 1926, metal wagons were introduced to replace the old teak wooden wagons. In 1931, the company's fleet reached a maximum of 2,268 cars. This period can be considered as the point of the highest flourishing of luxury railway transport. The CIWL cars were decorated by famous artists such as Réné Prou, rené Lalique and Morrison. CIWL also employed well-known artists like A. M. Cassander to create their advertising posters.

After the Anschluss of 1938, Mitropa took over the Austrian market (it was returned after 1945). as a result of world war II and the creation of the "iron curtain", CIWL lost the markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

After the Second world war, CIWL began to refocus on activities as a travel Agency. Accordingly, the company was renamed Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et du Tourisme (CIWLT) in 1967 and was later called simply Wagons-Lits.

By 1971, the CIWL cars were worn out and outdated, and their restoration and replacement were beyond the company's capabilities. It sold and leased them to SNCF, FS, SBB, DB, ÖBB, NMBS/SNCB, NS, DSB and RENFE. An international sleeping car pool called TEN = Trans Euro Night was founded at this time and operated many ciwl and (after 1990) Mitropa cars until 1995.