CIWL coach set to form the "Le Train Bleu" train consist (1954). LS MODELS MW1005

CIWL coach set to form the "Le Train Bleu" train consist (1957).

Manufactured by LS Models under the "Models World" series.

Highly detailed models of exceptional quality.

Includes a total of seven coaches:

    - WL LX 16 Paris Vintimille

    - WL LX 16 Paris Vintimille

    - WSB bar-restaurant

    - WR 46 places

    - WL LX 20 Paris Vintimille

    - WL LX 20 Paris Vintimille

    - WL Fg 3-door luggage van

Coaches equipped with interior lighting.

"Le Train Bleu" Train Consist

This train consist reproduces Le Train Bleu in the late 1950s (Era III), on the luxury night route between Paris and Ventimiglia operated by CIWL and SNCF.

The train brings together the most exclusive rolling stock of this golden age: high-comfort LX sleeping cars (LX 16 and LX 20 variants), a Pullman lounge-bar coach (WSB), a 46-seat dining car (WR), and a 3-door luggage van (Fg). Finished in the night-blue livery with gold lining and hauled by the major French electric locomotives of the era, these coaches represented the pinnacle of European railway glamour and elegance towards the French Riviera.

History of "Le Train Bleu" (The Blue Train)

The service that gave rise to Le Train Bleu began operations on December 8, 1886, under its inaugural name Calais-Méditerranée Express, created by CIWL to connect British and Parisian travelers with the French Riviera.

The train originally departed from Calais, picked up passengers in Paris at Gare de Lyon, and traveled down towards southeastern France along the imperial PLM main line. Its route served Marseille, Toulon, Cannes, Nice, and the Principality of Monaco, ending at the Italian border town of Ventimiglia. For decades, it served as the quintessential night link between the French capital and the Riviera.

In 1922, it introduced the famous all-steel blue and gold CIWL sleeping cars, officially adopting the name Le Train Bleu in 1947.

The classic luxury service exclusively operated with these traditional CIWL sets remained in place until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the historic rolling stock was phased out in favor of more modern sleeping cars (such as types P, Y, or T2) and standard SNCF couchette coaches.

Under SNCF management, the train retained the commercial name Le Train Bleu as an overnight express between Paris and Ventimiglia until December 2007, when the historic designation was discontinued. The conventional night service along this corridor was withdrawn in December 2016, though in May 2021 SNCF restored the overnight Paris-Nice connection as part of the Intercités de Nuit network.