Venice-Simplon Orient Express
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, or VSOE, is a private luxury train service from London to Venice that is popularly referred to as the Orient Express.
The original company was founded by James Sherwood of Kentucky, USA, in 1982; five years earlier, in 1977, he had bought two of the original carriages at an auction when the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits withdrew from the Orient Express service, passing the service on to the national railways of France, Germany, and Austria. Over the next few years, Sherwood spent a total of $16 million purchasing 35 sleeper, restaurant and Pullman carriages. On 25 May 1982, the first London-Venice run was made.
It is currently owned by Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. The company owns 50 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruises in 24 countries.
Read more about Venice-Simplon Orient Express: Orient Express Today, Other VSOE Services, Orient Express in Britain, The British Pullman, Media Coverage
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When June is past, the fading rose;
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These flowers, as in their causes, sleep.
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The golden atoms of the day;
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—E.M. (Edward Morgan)