What is indicated by the French words wagon-lit on the sides of a European railway carriage?

Answer 1

Wagon-lit pronounced as /vaggonlee/ is a sleeping car on a European railroad train. It also refers to an individual compartment in a railroad sleeping car. The word is derived from French wagon meaning "railroad coach" + lit "bed" (from Old French and Latin word Lectus.)

Wagon-lit is made based on the idea of the first sleeping cars. The first sleeping cars were put in service on American railroads as early as the 1830s, but these were makeshift; the first car designed for comfortable nighttime travel was the Pullman sleeper, which was commercially introduced by George M. Pullman and Ben Field in 1865. Pullman car model was first built at Brantford for the Prince of Wales on the occasion of the visit to Canada of H.R.H., later King Edward the Seventh in 1860, from which George Pullman quickly copied the idea, secured a monopoly and became a multi-millionaire.

Following Pullman's success, sleeping cars companies had evolved and the use of sleeping cars became popular worldwide. Wagon-lit is amongst the models made. The Carlson Wagon-lit Travel is one of the companies known for its use till this modern period.

(By the way, based on my experience travelling in a wagon-lit is a wonderful experience and a comfortable mode of travelling as well.)♥

Answer 2

wa•gon-lit

Pronunciation: ( Fr. va-gôn-lē'), [key]
—n.,
—pl. wa•gons-litsPronunciation: (va-gôn-lē'). [key]
(in continental European usage) a railroad sleeping car.



Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits is a French company that runs the sleepers and dining cars in France, Austria, Italy and Spain. It is owned by Accor.

The company deployed the first sleeping and dining car for long-distance train travel in Europe. In 1883 the company started with a service to Constantinople, now Istanbul in Turkey, called the Orient Express. During the interbellum (which had been started by an armistice signed in Wagons Lits dining car number 2419, also known as Le Wagon de l'Armistice), the company provided train services through Europe, North Africa and Turkey, with a fleet of 2268 cars.

In 2003, the company restored seven cars of the famous Pullman Orient Express, now available for tourist events.

Carlson Wagonlit is a chain of travel agencies. The company was founded in Belgium in 1876 by Georges Nagelmackers as the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (the International Sleeping-Car Company). Originally, the company deployed sleeping- and dining-cars in Europe.

In 1888, in the United States, Ward Foster founded an agency called Ask Mr. Foster. It was later bought by the Carlson Group, and renamed Carlson Travel Network.

Meanwhile in 1925 Wagon-Lits opened its first Travel Palace in Paris, which provided many travel services for passengers. In the 1970s Wagon-Lits incorporated as the Accor Group.

In 1994 Accor and Carlson joined forces, creating Carlson Wagonlit. In 2006, as part of a corporate refocusing effort around its two core businesses (Hotels and Corporate Services), Accor has divested its 50% interest in Carlson Wagonlit Travel, selling it to Carlson Companies and One Equity Partners (a private equity affiliate of JPMorgan Chase)

Answer 3

Wagon is the french word for carriage, wagon, coach...

Lit is the french word for bed

The most proper translation would be Sleeping Coach or Sleeper Coach...
the literal translation would be bed coach.
And it would be pronounced: va-gohn-lee

Answer 4

Sleeping Car