North Dakota across on the hi-line On a snowy March afternoon in 2008, I drove five hours from northern MichigantoColumbus,atownof4,500ontheCrawfishRiverinsouth-central Wisconsin.BytheluckofitslocationonCanadianPacifictracks,thislittle townisservedbytheEmpireBuilder,thelong-haultrainthatrunsbetween ChicagoandthecitiesofPortlandandSeattle.Ibookedaroomette—anecon- omysleeperonthesecondlevelofthedouble-deckerSuperlinercar.AfterI settledin,theattendantstuckhisheadin,“Youknowhowallthisworks?” Idid,butIhadbeenpreparedtolistentoanorientationofsorts.Instead,he justlookedatmeexpectantly,soIjustnodded. “Good,”hesaid,appearingrelieved.“Letmeknowifyouneedanything.” Nodemonstrationoftheaircontrolsintheroom,nothingabouttheloca- tionoftheicebucket,thefreejuiceandcoffee,andnoexplanationofdinner reservationsorwinetasting—alltheperksoftravelingfirstclass.Overthenext twodays,hewasaroundbutnotreallyfriendlyorhelpful.AllIcansayis,he wasn’tthebestAmtrakattendantIencounteredinmytravels—ortheworst. Theconductorcamebyandpunchedmyticket,notingmyfirstdestina- tion—Essex,Montana. “StayingattheIzaak?”hesaid. “Foracoupleofdays,thenI’montoSeattle.” “Youaskierorrailfan?” “Skiermainly.” AswepassedthefrozenlakesoftheWisconsinDells,Iarrangedtheessen- tials—notebooks, radio, binoculars, MP3 player, a novel, and a road atlas. I pouredacoffeefromthecommunalurndownthehallandtookaMilwaukee Sentinelfromastackofnewspapers.NowIwasontraintime.Athousandmiles tositbackandrelax. Afternoonturnedtoevening;darknessfellquicklyoverthebarewoodsand snowy fields.At La Crosse, we went over the Mississippi River and headed northontheMinnesotaside. Ialwaystakelatedinnerreservations.Then,ifthecompanyisgood,Icansip anotherglassofwineorlingeroveracoffee,chattingwithmytablemates.The staffdoesn’tneedthetable,sotheydon’ttrytorushyouoff. WOAT final pgs.indd 27 1/5/10 3:56 PM 28 pacific northwest Diningcarspracticecommunityseating.Noonesitsalone,andwhomyou breakbreadwithistheluckofthedraw.Thisnight,theattendantbroughtover alumbering,middle-agedmanwithacookie-dustermustache.Hereacheda meatyhandacrossthetable,“Hi,I’mMort.” MortBerkowitz’sNewYorkaccentwasunmistakable.Hedidn’tlookatthe menu,butorderedaglassofredwineandtheflatironsteak—rare.Theflatiron isthemostexpensiveitemonthemenu,andsincemealsareincludedinthe priceofasleeper,thoseintheknowalwaysgoforthebest.Ihadasteak,too. Mort was on a two-week business trip. He had boarded the Lake Shore LimitedatPennStationandwasonhiswaytoSeattleforbusiness,andthen ontoL.A.aboardtheCoastStarlight.Hiswifewouldflyinforafewdays,but Mortwascomingbackacrossthecountryaloneonthetrain.Hewasaveteran, havingcrossedtheRockiesfourtimesontheCaliforniaZephyrandonceon aCanadiantrain. “Ilovethetrain,”hesaid“Hereyouhavethetimetokibitzwithstrangers.I meetpeopleIneverwouldinthecity.” BerkowitzhasanofficeonTimesSquarewherehemanufacturespolitical buttons. He was going west to meet with vendors and using train time to conjureupnewbuttonideas. HeslippedoneacrossthetablewithapictureofagrinningChelseaClinton saying,“Don’tTellMamma.I’mvotingforObama.”TherewasoneofMcCain asMethuselahandabuttondepictingGeorgeW.Bushwiththecaption“The Flaw intheWhiteConspiracyTheory.”When we exchanged business cards Mortpulledouttwo—onesaid“YourRepublicanCampaignHeadquarters” andtheother,“YourDemocraticCampaignHeadquarters.” “I’mreallyaDemocrat,butwhenitcomestobuttons,I’manequaloppor- tunist.I’llmakeandsellthemtowhoeverispaying.” WecomparednotesonAmtrak.Helamentedthedeclineinfoodservice, thesubstitutionofplasticplatesfordinnerchina,themovetoeliminatedining carsandobservationloungecarswiththenewCrossCountryDiner,akind ofcombinationcarthatdoesn’toffermuchspacetositbackandsocializewith otherpassengers. “AcrossAmtrak,thelevelofserviceisreallyuneven.Itdependsonthedispo- sitionoftheonboardservicechiefofthattrain,”heexplained.“Ifthatpersonis people-oriented,youhaveagreatexperience.Butjustasoftenyoucanendup withasurlyAmtrakwaiterwhoisn’tverypleasant.” Sleepingcarpassengerstendtogetbettertreatmentbuttheypayapremium. Dependingonthetimeofyearandtheroute,roomettescanrunbetween$100 and$500extra.Likeairlineseats,thefewerleft,thehighertheprice. WOAT final pgs.indd 28 1/5/10 3:56 PM North Dakota 29 Ihadspentmanyanightsleepinginthecoachesinmyadultlifeandwould dosoagaininthecomingmonths,butnotonthischillywinterevening.I returnedtomysleeper,putonpajamas,wrappedmyselfintheblankets,andleft thecurtainsopentotheland. Before dawn, I took my laptop and stagger-stepped my way through the rockingcoaches.Thepassengersresembledalitterofpuppiessnuggledtogether forwarmth.Amothersnoredwithherlittlegirlagainstherchest,boththeir mouths agape. Beneath blankets and winter coats, young women sprawled acrosstheirboyfriend’slaps,theirarmsandlegsjuttingintotheaisles. Atmid-coachsatastraight-backedheavy-setfellowinbiboveralls.Heheld nobookormagazine,worenoearphones,hadnodistractionofanykind.The windowswerestillblackwiththenight.Hispalmsonhisknees,helooked forwardinathousand-yardstare.Heseemedtobewaitingoutthistrainride. Maybehewasafarmeroratruckdriverwhosebackhurt,orhewasaccus- tomedtohisownbedandjustwantedtogethome.Inoddedtohimbuthe lookedrightthroughme. Intheemptylounge,Isippedcoffee,wrote,andwatchedthedaycomeon. Therewasnosun,noredlineonthehorizon,justadiffusebrightening,asif anartisthadusedano.2penciltoshadeintheskyanddifferentiateitfrom thesnowyprairie.WewerecrossingtheRedRivervalley,whichisnotavalley atall,butthebottomofancientLakeAgassiz.Tenthousandyearsagowhen icesheetsmelted,AgassizsprawledwiderthanalltheGreatLakescombined. Today,itsdryandfertilebedissomeoftheflattestlandanywhereinAmerica,a placewhereyoucanexperiencethecurvatureoftheearthbywatching,asyou approachatown,theslowrisingofgrainelevatorsfromthehorizon.Itwasall geometry—theskyhemispheric,visibleoutbothwindows.Roadsscoredinto theland,andshelterbelts—eachtreelovinglyplanted—runningofftovanish- ingpoints.Somewhereoutthere,Icouldbelieve,wastheedgeoftheworld. The loungeeventually filledwith passengers buying juice and sweet rolls atthecafé.Iwentuptothediningcarforasit-downbreakfast.Dining-car stewardsbemoanthedeclineindressanddecorumofpassengers.Intheheyday oftrains,peoplewashedup,shaved,brushedtheirteeth,didtheirhair,andput oncleanshirtsbeforecomingdownforameal.Afewstilldo,butalotoffolks stumblein,stillwipingsleepfromtheireyes.SoIwasn’tsurprisedtoseea youngcouplecomeintobreakfastwearingmatchingflannelpajamabottoms decorated with cupids and love hearts. She carried a baby and her nursing blousewashalfunbuttoned.Hesportedabuzzcut,asleevelessSemperFidelis T-shirt,andmuscled,tattooedarms. Atbreakfast,IsatwithGaryandLindaWagenbachofNorthfield,Minnesota, WOAT final pgs.indd 29 1/5/10 3:56 PM 30 pacific northwest whowereontheirwaytoWashingtontovisitason.She’saretiredcollege administrator;Gary’sabiologyprofessoronsabbatical. Their family-sized bedroom in the lower level of the sleeping car had windowsonbothsides,andthey’dspentthehourbeforebreakfastwatching forbirds.Fromthediningcarwindowswecouldseeallaroundustuftsofgrass andbrushstickingoutoffrozenprairiepotholes,whichwouldbelushwith snowmeltinspring.Butevennowtherewerebirdsontheseplains,andasthe trainrushedalongtheyshotfromtheirhidingplaceslikesomanyBBsfroma scattergun. “Partridge?”askedLinda. “Hungarian,Ithink,”repliedGary. Wepassedvastsnow-coveredfieldswhosefurrowsformedarippledtexture beneaththesnowcover.Alongfencerowssatpilesofrocksandfieldstone,a harvestnodoubtofmanyyearsofspringplowing. Athinbespectacledmanwithwhitehairandathickmustachecurvingdown tohisupperlipslippedintotheseatnexttomine.TrygveOlsontoldushehad boardedthetrainatFargoandwasgoingtoIdaho. “Doyouknowifthisisdurumwheatcountry?”Garyasked. Olsennodded,“Yesitis.Backinthevalley,itwasredwheat,butnothere. It’sdrier.” “Areyouafarmer?”Iask. No, an art professor at Minnesota State–Moorhead on spring break. He andhiswifeplannedtogetoffaround2:00a.m.whenthetrainstoppedat Sandpoint,Idaho,hangaroundthestationforacoupleofhours,andthencatch theeastboundbackhome.Lastyear,OlsonrodethetraintotheMississippi Deltaandstayedjustadaybeforereturning. “Trainsareawayformetorefocus.Iliketozoneoutonthelandscape,”he said. Gary observed that train trips induce a type of resting wakefulness.“It’s likecampinginthewoods,”headded.“There’snotalottodoandthat’sthe wholepoint.Mealsareabigevent.Youspendmostofthetimelookingoutthe window.It’shypnotic.” OlsondrawseditorialcartoonsfortheFargo Forum,andwaswellversedon NorthDakotapoliticsandeconomics.Overomeletsandrailroadtoast(French toast,actually),wetalkedabouttheoilboomintheBadlands,whichwasbeing overrun with drilling rigs and transient roughnecks.The previous fall some NorthDakotafarmersranlowondieselfuelandcouldn’tbringinalltheir grain,sothestatewasplanningtobuildarefinerynearBismarcktoprocess itsowncrude.Inthislandofpopulism,grangehalls,andfarmercooperatives, WOAT final pgs.indd 30 1/5/10 3:56 PM North Dakota 31 wherethereissuspicionofbigbusiness,WallStreet,andtheChicagoBoardof Trade,itwasnotasurprisingmove.NorthDakotastilloperatesitsownbank, theonlystate-owneddepositoryinthenation. ItwasouthereonthePlainsandonthefarmsteadsoftheMidwestthata populistbacklashagainstAmericanrailroadstookholdmorethanacentury ago. In the closing decades of the nineteenth century—what MarkTwain dubbed“theGildedAge”ofrobberbaronsandbankingmagnates—therail- roadindustrywasthemostpowerfulforceinthecountry,moreformidable thangovernment,whichsetnorulesforbusinessbehaviorduringthisperiod oflaissez-fairecapitalism.Railroadsandfinanciersactedbadlybecausethere wasnoonetostopthem. Organizedonamilitarymodelandbasedonmartialdiscipline,nineteenth- centuryrailroadcompaniestooknoprisoners.Manyofthetopofficershad