By Larry Olmsted

There are luxury trains on every continent save Antarctica, but the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is the one everybody knows, nicknamed the King of Trains and Train of Kings back in the 19th century. The title is fitting, as it routinely carried European royalty, Presidents, and even Russian Tsars. The original Orient Express went from Paris to Istanbul (then Constantinople) in 1883, and was featured in numerous movies and books, from Agatha Christie’s most famous Hercules Poirot novel to luxury transportation for discerning super-spy James Bond, 007.

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