''Stanislas'' was an

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than Local train, local trains that stop at most or all of the s ...

that linked

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in France. Introduced in 1971, it was operated by the ''Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français'' (

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

). The train was named after

Stanisław I Leszczyński Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

(French: ''Stanislas Leszczynski''),

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Duke of Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of t ...

and a count of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. It was a first-class-only

Trans Europ Express The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network compri ...

(TEE) until 1982, and then a two-class '' Rapide'' until its discontinuance in about 1988.

Route

The ''Stanislass route was the long Paris–Strasbourg railway, with just the following stops: *

Paris-Est The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris-Est, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Gare ...

– Nancy-Ville – Strasbourg-Ville

History

The ''Stanislas'' was introduced on 26 September 1971, to complement an existing TEE service, the '' Kléber'', which, since 23 May 1971, had run from Strasbourg to Paris in the morning and had returned to Strasbourg in the evening. Initially, the ''Stanislas'' departed from Paris as TEE 63 at 11:05 (later 11:00) and arrived in Strasbourg at 14:50. The return ''Stanislas'', TEE 62, left Strasbourg at 17:10 and reached Paris at 21:00. On 26 September 1982, both the morning TEE trains between Paris and Strasbourg were discontinued. The evening TEE 62 service was renamed ''Kléber'', so that the remaining TEE service on the route – one run per day in each direction – would both carry the same name. The ''Stanislas'' became a two-class ''Rapide'', eastbound keeping the same schedule as before, departing from Paris at 11:00 (and still train number 63), and westbound taking over what had been the TEE ''Kleber'' schedule, from Strasbourg around 7:45 (still train number 60).''

Thomas Cook Continental Timetable The ''European Rail Timetable'', more commonly known by its former names, the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'', the ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' or simply ''Cook's Timetable'', is an international timetable of selected passenger rai ...

'' (May 29–June 30, 1983 edition), pp. 161–162. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing. In autumn 1984, the westbound trip's schededule was moved about one hour earlier, from 7:47 to 6:59 (later 6:52), and otherwise the schedule and classification of ''Stanislas'' remained unchanged until at least summer 1988,''

Thomas Cook European Timetable The ''European Rail Timetable'', more commonly known by its former names, the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'', the ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' or simply ''Cook's Timetable'', is an international Public transport timetable, timetabl ...

'' (April 1988 edition), pp. 168–169, 515. Thomas Cook Publishing. but the train was discontinued by at least 1991—and possibly as early as September 1988.

Formation (consist)

The ''Stanislas'' was hauled by the

SNCF Class BB 15000 The SNCF class BB 15000 is a class of 25 kV 50 Hz electric locomotives built by Alstom and MTE between 1971 and 1978. Initially 65 locomotives strong, the class was widely deployed on the whole French 25 kV network before being replaced by ...

, a class of 25 kV 50 Hz AC electric locomotives. Its inaugural formation of rolling stock was a rake of SNCF painted in a distinctive red, orange, light grey and slate grey livery. Originally, the coaches were arranged as an A4Dtux, two A8u, two A8tu, two Vru and three ex-

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...

A8u. On 29 September 1974, the train was lengthened to a total of 12 coaches. The following year, on 26 September 1975, a further coach was added to the formation. Throughout the ''Stanislass existence, its

restaurant car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that do ...

was staffed by the ''

Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits Newrest Wagons-Lits, formerly (lit. ''International Sleeping-Car Company''), also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is a division of particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being ...

'' (CIWL).

References

Notes

Bibliography