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The "Orient Express" is a normal European overnight train (and in 1986 it only had a buffet car between Vienna and Stuttgart, the full diner ran only Budapest-Vienna. Today the train doesn't even have the buffet car anymore.). I've ridden the train often, and it's convenient enough, but I wonder what made it so great for you.

1. Rhein River trip as many others have said. I went from Dusseldorf to Munich. Not only scenic, but it was my first train trip on my first time to Europe, so it was memorable. TEE Rheingold, if I recall correctly.

2. Glacier Express, from Chur to Brig through the Swiss Alps. Breathtaking for the obvious reasons.

I think reference was being made to this Orient Express

M8

P.S. Any Graham Greene aficionados here? ;)

Update: Here's their link E&O Express

And here's pics from our trip: Train SIN-BKK

Cheers,

M8

Just looked at their site and it seems they have a bunch of trains all over the world. How does that work? Do they actually maintain their own trains in all of those places, or do they charter trains... Can't imagine the demand would be THAT high.

Here is a link to their different train journeys and prices :eek: : http://tinyurl.com/j9yte

Do you mean the various trains that operate under the "Venice-Simplon Orient Express" company name? These are just tour trains formerly operated by "Nostalgie Orient Express" (now bankrupt, I think) and now just by VSOE. VSOE operates tour trains in various places, well, really just England, France/Italy, Thailand/Malaysia and sometimes Russia and uses its own sleeping, dining and lounge cars. The trains themselves are run by the national railways as charter trains, using their locomotives. The cars themselves are old ones (from the 1920s and 1930s) no longer needed by the sleeping car and Pullman companies and bought and refurbished by VSOE and other companies. Some cars on the Paris-Venice route came from the old "Simplon Orient Express," some from the "Train Bleu" and some from the English Pullman company, and many of these cars never came anywhere near the original "Orient Express," which incidentally still runs today, every night since 1883, except during the world wars, between Paris and Vienna and at times points further east. Since WWII the OE has been anything but a luxury train, however.
The Paris-Venice train generally runs once a week during the high season and is quite leasurely. It's not real transportation but rather a land cruise and it very expensive. I suppose there are enough people around ready to pay that sort of money, and the misleading advertising about the history of the "OE" helps to drum up business.

Fave trains
 

First choice: Indian-Pacific express, SYD-PER (either way). Scenery, accomodations, service & food all exceptional. Plus, if you start your down-under visit with a 3 day train trip, it's a good way to overcome jet lag--you can simply go to your compartment & nap whenever you feel the need! Plus, you get a real feel for the nullarbor plain at 50 mph & ground level that you just don't get at 500 mpph & 35,000 feet.
Second choice: Rocky Mountaineer, circle route YVR-YVR via Kamloops, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, etc. Disadvantage: no sleeping cars, so you have to disembark & check into hotel (pack & unpack) every night. More than compensated by spectacular scenery as viewed through full-length vista-domes on cars built especially for the purpose.

The train cars are theirs, at least in the case of the E&O Express. Their logos are painted on all the cars. There are no other cars attached to the train as incidental add-ons. The locomotive is rented. All riders on the train are E&O Express passengers or crew. It is a vacation land-cruise.

Very well done.

M8

I concur with all of these ideas, though, with due respect, I would add the Amtrak "Cardinal" in eastern US. Its jaunt through the New River Gorge is just wonderful (having done it 6 times or more).

My favorite train trips:

Denver-Salt Lake City (when it was still the "Rio Grande Zephyr," with dome cars
Vancouver-Montreal (on the Canadian Pacific's "Canadian", ditto with the dome cars)
Chicago-Los Angeles (on Amtrak's "Southwest Ltd." when it still had the old Santa Fe first-class dome lounges)
Washington-New York (on Amtrak's Metroliner, when it still had the old PRR Metroliner parlor cars
New York-Philadelphia (on Amtrak's "New Englander," when it still had the old Pennsylvania RR's parlor car
Washington-New Orleans (on Southern RR's "Southern Crescent,' for the service)
Vera Cruz-Mexico City (climbing up the mountain on the old British-built route)
Chillan-Santiago de Chile (on an ancient wood-paneled, German sleeper)
Nogales-Guadalajara (NdeM's "El Costeno," with dinner in an old heavyweight diner, with Mexican wine)
Salta-Kilometro 1350 (up the Andes, with switchbacks and staff patrolling the aisles with oxygen bottles)
Capetown-Johannesburg (the "Blue Train" I had a compartment with a separate bathroom and a bathtub)
St. Moritz-Chur (for the wonderful mountains)
Tirano-St. Moritz (ditto)
Perpignan-Latour de Carol (ditto)
Locarno-Domodossola (ditto)
Turin-Nice (ditto)
Interlaken-Jungfraujoch (ditto)
Oslo-Bergen (ditto)
Stavanger-Oslo (fjords)
Sarajevo-Dubrovnik (in the 1960s, ancient narrow-gauge steam train)
Colombo-Candy (mountains and elephants working next to the line)
Kigoma-Dar es Salaam (with giraffes and antelope running alongside the train)
Moscow-Ulan Bator-Beijing (exotic, relaxing)
Frankfurt-Cologne (boring scenery, but the speed was exhilarating)

I am very curious about this one. How long was the journey? Especially the Beijing - Ulan Bator part (I am considering doing it in reverse, from Beijing to UB) . How comfortable was the train?

I made this journey a few years back, though from Beijing to Moscow. Total train time was 6 days, IIRC, Ulan Bator stop was on the 2nd day.
The train is fairly comfortable if you are in soft-class and a deluxe 2-berth. I was on the Chinese train, which I w/recommend, and the 2 attendants took good care of us; it has an air of faded (very) elegance about it, certainly no modern luxuries. I enjoyed it immensely - despite drawing the top bunk - there are wonderful things to see and fellow travellers to meet. Standing on an absolutely silent station platform late at night, in a Siberian snowfall, was magical.

This has also been my experience. I've taken both the Chinese and the Russian train (the latter goes via Manchuria rather than Mongolia and takes one day longer). The Chinese train in 1987 had a nice washroom with a hand-held shower between each pair of deluxe 2-berth compartments; the russian train last year had showers at the end of the corridor, even in the deluxe cars. The Chinese, Mongolian and Russian diners in 1987 were better than the Russian one last year. Berries, smoked fish, eggs, etc. could be bought on various station platforms for some meal variety. The car attendants on both trains were very accommodating and friendly. It's one of the world's great train trips. (Ulan Bator - Beijing takes about 30 hours).

Thanks.
How is the language barrier on the Chinese train? I speak perfect English and Russian, but I know absolutely no Mandarin.