If, like me, you’re a London-based fan of the little-known filmmaker Wes Anderson and have £400 burning a hole in your pocket, you’re in luck! The director has put his creative touch on a 1950s train carriage, and everyone’s invited to hop on board and take a ride.
The project is a collaboration with luxury travel company Belmond, which has worked with Anderson to redesign a bespoke carriage on its British Pullman train. The Grand Budapest Hotel director was asked to work his magic on the train’s Cygnus carriage, which was originally reserved for visiting heads of state.
“I love trains,” Anderson told Wallpaper. “I have often had the chance to invent train compartments and carriages in my movies – so I was immediately pleased to say yes to this real-life opportunity. (I was) very eager to make something new while also participating in the process of preservation which accompanies all the classic Belmond train projects.”
The carriage evokes Anderson’s classic aesthetic of glamorous old school design, symmetry, and bold pops of colour. Drawing on the carriage’s name – Cygnus is a constellation on the Milky Way that derives its name from the Latin word for ‘swan’ – the wood-paneling contains dream-like clouds, stars, and waves, while each table boasts a swan-shaped champagne cooler.
This isn’t Anderson’s first foray into the world of trains. His 2007 film The Darjeeling Limited – which sees three brothers journey across India – was primarily filmed in a reconstructed train carriage, which was created aboard an actual Indian Railways train.
For those who want the full Wes Anderson experience, you can book your day excursion (with dining) from London’s Victoria station from £400 per person, £1,800 per couple, or – for the super rich (me) – you can hire the entire carriage for up to 26 people. Don’t derail your life, book here! Stay on the right track, and BOOK HERE!
If you can’t afford to take an IRL journey into the filmmaker’s world, you can simply go to your local cinema on October 22, and watch other people live out your dream in The French Dispatch. I won’t be seeing you there, I’ll be sipping champers from my swan. Ta ta!
