CFR: The CIWLT sleeper trains Brussels section from 1987 to 2002

RAILWAY CIRCLE OF RIXENSART: The CIWLT sleeper trains Brussels section from 1987 to 2002 Par Pascal Genicq Vendredi July 10, 2026 at 8:00 PM Ferme de Froidmont PAF: 5 euros - no reservation La Compagnie Internationale of the sleeping cars (CIWL), in long form the Compagnie Internationale of the Sleeping Cars and Grands Express Européens then the Compagnie Internationale of the Sleeping Cars and Tourism (CIWLT), designation often abbreviated to the Sleeping Cars, is a French company of Belgian origin, created in 1872, service provider in the railway field: railway hospitality (sleeping cars and couchettes) but also on-board catering (restaurant car, seat catering, bar car and mini-bar) and on land (station buffets). The speaker will share with you his many memories of his employment as a couchette attendant between 1987 and 2002. We will immerse ourselves in the era of great departures at the Midi station, where on some days, night trains were doubled for reasons of extreme attendance. Nostalgia will have its place in the images of mythical trains like the Freccia Del Sole, the Camino Azul, the Ski Express, the Alpina Express, and the Azur Express. Numerous archival images will satisfy you like the management of car-couchette trains in Schaerbeek and Bressoux, and later in Denderleeuw. Finally, the schedules of these trains allowed for efficient local connections and the on-board services allowed for eating, drinking, dancing, and arriving safely after a good night's sleep. As a Railtour advertisement from 1990 specified: "Summer holidays, Trains in beauty"!