Basil Smith (British, B. 1925). "Orient Express" Signed lower left. Original Watercolor/Mixed Media painting on Hot Press Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood Trains & Boats & Planes & More Collection Description Card for the Orient-Express. Traveled by counts, heiresses, and other intriguing personalities, the Orient Express is shrouded in more mystery and legend that perhaps any other railway line. It began its first complete journey on June 5, 1889, and soon captured the imagination of Europe and the world. Ushering in a new era of passenger transportation, this elegant line provided the first through connection between Paris and Constantinople. The trip covered over 1800 miles and lasted nearly seventy hours. The original train consisted of a locomotive, a tender, two baggage cars, a dining car, and two sleepers. Because the line ran through seven often hostile countries, the Express immediately took on a distinctive character. For instance, the corps of sleeping car attendants and waiters had to be skilled diplomats and masters of a half dozen languages. Also, because the train could not transport food across national boundaries, passengers enjoyed fine foreign wine and sampled the best cuisine of the countries along the route. And, of course, the train provided a logical means of travel for any number of spies, defectors, and desperate men on the run, as well as Europe's aristocracy. The Orient Express made its last run on May 20, 1977, a victim of the fast-paced priorities of the Jet Age. Its memory lives on, however, in scores of novels and plays, and in the hearts of romantics everywhere. Image Size: 6 x 7 in. Overall Size: 9 x 10 in. Unframed. (B07022)