Wes Anderson-designed luxury train carriage lets you travel as though you’re in one of his movies
- Looking like it came straight out of The Grand Budapest Hotel, the British Pullman’s Cygnus carriage was revamped by the director himself
- ‘The Golden Age of Travel’ itinerary involves a five-course lunch onboard while the train loops through the southeastern English countryside
As I sit at a white-clothed table, sip wine from a cut glass goblet and watch the Kent countryside, in southern England, roll by through the window, I feel as if I could be in a Wes Anderson film.
That’s not just because trains are a recurring fixture in Anderson’s productions but because the carriage I’m travelling in has been revamped by the movie director himself.
Paris-based Anderson, who directed movies including The Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr Fox, dislikes flying and is a regular on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE), a private, luxury train service that runs from London to Venice and other European cities.
In light of this, Belmond, the luxury hospitality company that owns the service, asked him to redesign a carriage on sister train the British Pullman. Every year, one of the carriages on the vintage train is taken out of service for a refresh, a spokeswoman says.
From the exterior, Cygnus (all the carriages have names rather than letters) looks no different to the rest of the coffee-and-cream-coloured train waiting at London’s Victoria station. I am greeted aboard by a friendly, white-gloved steward and shown to my upholstered seat, where canapés are waiting on the table and a flute of champagne is swiftly poured.
“Are you a fan of Wes Anderson?” the steward asks. I reply that I am. But as I am also a fan of Agatha Christie and art deco I have been on the train a few times, including in this very carriage, so I’m curious to see the changes.