Georges Nagelmackers
Georges Nagelmackers (* June 24, 1845 in Liege, † August 10 1905 in Villepreux ) was a Belgian railway entrepreneur. He founded Compagnie Internationale des Wagons- Lits and the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hôtels. As an entrepreneur, he was instrumental in the development of the Orient Express. In addition, he was. During the Summer Olympics in Paris in 1900 in carriage driving, the first Olympic champion in the sports history of his homeland
Life
Nagelmackers came from a banking family and worked as a mining engineer. During a trip to North America, he studied 1867/68 the local railway system and was particularly interested in the developments of the entrepreneur and inventor George Pullman, namely, sleeping and dining cars that have already been used at that time to to be dealt with long stretches of the United States. As a result Nagelmackers planned such cars in Europe to introduce and published in 1870 the font: Projet d' installation de wagons- lits sur les chemins de fer du continent. The Franco-German War 1870-1871 delayed the project at first, but thanks to the support of the Belgian King Leopold II, his father, a friend, Nagelmackers received 1872 concessions for the operation of trains on the routes Ostend Brindisi and Paris- Vienna. Then Nagelmackers founded in October of the same year a joint stock company, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons- Lits ( CIWL ). This came first in her first expansion phase in turmoil and had to make man, but was later paid back an alliance with the American speculator and financier William Dalton.
The CIWL initially dealt primarily with acquiring railroad cars to rebuild this in luxurious saloon car with every imaginable comfort and to let the trains run on at other companies.
The plan to have its own international luxury trains running on the route network of several European railway companies, threatened their jealously guarded monopoly rights and proved to be realized first as difficult. Through negotiations with railway companies in France ( Compagnie des Chemins de fer de l' Est), Baden ( Grand Ducal Baden State Railways ), Württemberg ( Royal Württemberg State Railways ), Austria - Hungary (kk Austrian State Railways ) and the Kingdom of Romania (Royal Romanian railways ) could Nagelmackers but, again thanks to the support of his protector and major investor King Leopold II, on June 5, 1883 from Paris's Gare de l' Est from the first luxury train with exclusively appointed by the CIWL rolling stock via Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest let go of the Romanian Danube port of Giurgiu. In Giurgiu passengers were taken by ferry across the Danube and boarded a special train to Varna, from where the journey by ship to Constantinople Opel has continued. This train, which was later also performed alternatively over Belgrade and Sofia to Constantinople Opel, became famous as " Orient- Express". At the opening drive of the clever entrepreneur Nagelmackers two well-known journalists, Edmond About, and Henri de Opper Blowitz had invited. He recommended the passengers also to get a precautionary arm, as was ( like the time on the overland routes in North America) to be expected in Europe in the " wild" Balkans with raids by bandits. Whereabouts Book De Pontoise à Stamboul (Paris 1884) is considered the " official" report on this maiden voyage.
Because of his success on the Orient Express was Nagelmackers in Pera, the traditional European quarter of Constantinople, for the travelers CIWL a luxury hotel, the Pera Palas, building, opened in 1892.
Although Nagelmackers was not the inventor of sleeping and dining cars and led these institutions in Europe may not be the first one businessman. He helped them but the breakthrough and the introduction in many European countries, where they spread from the luxury segment in the other classes of cars. At his death the CIWL was active than any other operator of such cars in more countries.
Until his death in 1905 Nagelmackers chief CIWL remained. Was succeeded by his confidant, who originally came from Germany Head of Operations Department CIWL Paris, Napoléon Schroeder.