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The Caledonian Sleeper looks exactly like standard Russian trains (first class) have always been, except the compartments don't have a private loo, and the doors don't open inward; they slide open. IMO the Russian trains are better, because at the end of each car, there's a samovar for hot tea, and the train conductress (one or two per car) brings you tea in your compartment, perhaps with some biscuits/shortbread cookies. I'm not making this up. The dining car used to be decent, during the Soviet period, but I'm not sure if they even have a functioning dining car anymore, because there are so many food vendors at the stops.
The Caledonian Sleeper looks exactly like standard Russian trains (first class) have always been, except the compartments don't have a private loo, and the doors don't open inward; they slide open. IMO the Russian trains are better, because at the end of each car, there's a samovar for hot tea, and the train conductress (one or two per car) brings you tea in your compartment, perhaps with some biscuits/shortbread cookies. I'm not making this up. The dining car used to be decent, during the Soviet period, but I'm not sure if they even have a functioning dining car anymore, because there are so many food vendors at the stops.
I love Russian trains!
The Soviets did plan things on a very large scale including the railways and have a good rail system.
The same youtube Mark Smith aka as The Man in Seat 61 has made videos of sleepers and other train services across the world, and there are also numerous other youtube channels.
If you take the Eurostar train from London St Pancras to Gare du Nord (Station of the North) in Paris then you can change platforms and catch the Paris - Moscow Express Sleeper which is run by Russian Railways. Whilst the Trans-Siberian train Moscow - Beijing sleeper, is world famous.
Last edited by Brave New World; 05-15-2019 at 03:16 PM..
The Soviets did plan things on a very large scale including the railways and have a good rail system.
The same youtube Mark Smith aka as The Man in Seat 61 has made videos of sleepers and other train services across the world, and there are also numerous other youtube channels.
If you take the Eurostar train from London St Pancras to Gare du Nord (Station of the North) in Paris then you can change platforms and catch the Paris - Moscow Express Sleeper which is run by Russian Railways. Whilst the Trans-Siberian train Moscow - Beijing sleeper, is world famous.
The ones I was talking about aren't fancy tourist trains. They're the ordinary run-of-the-mill cars for citizens (and visitors). But they're like the West European tourist ones, minus the private bathroom and champagne glasses, etc. I used to ride segments of the Trans-Sib., and even pensioners and seemingly ordinary workers would be in first class. (This was after 1991. Before then, 1st class was pretty much only for foreigners. They were separated from the citizenry.) I've also gone 2nd class, and the only difference, is that there are 4 bunks to a compartment. Well, and 2nd class doesn't have a soft mattress they roll out on top of the bunk, and big pillows, that 1st class has.
The camaraderie you encounter, and legendary Russian hospitality on the part of ordinary citizens in 2nd class, is unparalleled anywhere in the world! My niece rode the Trans-Sib. to Lake Baikal, then later onward through Mongolia to Beijing, and on the first long leg of her trip, in 2nd class, a nice older couple took her under their wing (even though she didn't speak Russian. I think they grabbed a kid passing in the hallway to translate), fed her, marveled in her "courage" for traveling alone, etc. She had a fabulous time!
The ones I was talking about aren't fancy tourist trains. They're the ordinary run-of-the-mill cars for citizens (and visitors). But they're like the West European tourist ones, minus the private bathroom and champagne glasses, etc. I used to ride segments of the Trans-Sib., and even pensioners and seemingly ordinary workers would be in first class. (This was after 1991. Before then, 1st class was pretty much only for foreigners. They were separated from the citizenry.) I've also gone 2nd class, and the only difference, is that there are 4 bunks to a compartment. Well, and 2nd class doesn't have a soft mattress they roll out on top of the bunk, and big pillows, that 1st class has.
The camaraderie you encounter, and legendary Russian hospitality on the part of ordinary citizens in 2nd class, is unparalleled anywhere in the world! My niece rode the Trans-Sib. to Lake Baikal, then later onward through Mongolia to Beijing, and on the first long leg of her trip, in 2nd class, a nice older couple took her under their wing (even though she didn't speak Russian. I think they grabbed a kid passing in the hallway to translate), fed her, marveled in her "courage" for traveling alone, etc. She had a fabulous time!
I love Russian trains! ♥ ♥ ♥
The Paris -Moscow Express is just a normal service, the Trans-Siberian is Russia's famous train and is more of a tourist train.
There are lots of youtube videos of different Russian trains and sleeper trains, as well as sleeper trains across the world.
I rode the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railway last year. A narrow gauge railway that passes through the beautiful subalpine mountain terrain of the 10,015-foot (3,053 m)-high Cumbres Pass and the Toltec Gorge along a 64 mile route between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. It crosses the border between New Mexico and Colorado about a dozen times along the way.
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