June 5, 1883, the Orient Express leaves Paris’ Gare de l’Est to Vienna for the first regularly scheduled trip. 

The ‘Express d’Orient’, linking Paris to Istanbul (then called Constantinople) was inaugurated in June 1883. This train was not direct: crossing the Danube in Bulgaria was done by ferry. A second train would take the passengers to the Black Sea, then a steamer to Istanbul, taking more than 3 days altogether. the Orient Express (wagons-lits-diffusion.com)

 

Orient Express, 140 Years
Issued by France February 10, 2023
Designers: Broll and Prascida 
You can see more from Broll and Prascida on their website TIMBRE ORIENT-EXPRESS – Broll & Prascida (brollandprascida.com)

The soon to be famed Orient Express was the brainchild of Belgian founder of Wagons-Lits, Georges Nagelmackers. Nagelmackers was enchanted with the train service offered by Pullman sleepers when he traveled in the US. He spotted the potential market in Europe that could cater to the luxury market. He tested his idea on October 4, 1883, with a select group of 30 guests that included diplomats, journalists and rai executives/ 

With the launch of regular service in June 1883, Nagelmackers sparked the golden age of rail travel.