The history of water... bottled

from North Shore Scenic Railroad 2021

First class by rail

By Ken Buehler

It’s a hot, sticky day. Your mouth is as dry as a Texas creek bed in August. To quench your thirst, you reach for an ice cold bottle of good ol’ clear, fresh water. Remember when water came from the tap? The U.S. bottled water market took off in the 1970s with the introduction of imported Perrier. Today bottled water represents the second most popular commercial beverage sold.

There was a time when good water wasn’t readily available. The earliest inhabitants didn’t settle in areas with bad water, or no water at all. That changed when trains started taking people to, and through, places they wouldn’t normally go because of the water.

Northern Pacific Railroad knew where there was good water. It came from western Minnesota at a place called Detroit Lakes. Big DL was a spring-fed lake. Its water was remarkably clear and pure. The water had an acidic quality that kept plant and algae growth to a minimum. Come winter DL was the perfect ice machine. For years the NP harvested vast amounts of ice in huge blocks that were stored under sawdust in a giant warehouse along its tracks on the shore of Detroit Lake. The ice was shipped west to stock refrigerator cars to bring fruits and vegetables to markets where oranges, bananas, pears, lettuce, tomatoes didn’t grow, or grow year round.

It wasn’t just frozen DL water that was used by the Northern Pacific, they harvested the liquid variety as well. The water from Detroit Lake was considered of such high quality that it was served exclusively to guests in the NP’s dining cars.

The largest aquifer feeding Detroit Lake is near the north shore, at a place called Pokegama Springs. Translated from Ojibwa, pokegama means “by the side of the lake.” The Fargo – Detroit Lake Ice Company tapped the spring and supplied NP with bottled water to augment their winter only ice harvesting.

But as water purification became more common, and today’s bottled water craze had yet to materialize, water from anywhere could be used on the diners. Northern Pacific’s first use of bottled water proves once again…..if you work it hard enough it all comes back to the railroad!

Thomas the Tank Engine is back!

Due to health and safety concerns around the world, the Island of Sodor was on lockdown and Thomas and Percy stayed home and worked exclusively for Sir Topham Hatt shunting cars around the yard and to the docks. There were some mainline runs with Annie and Claribel, but with most people staying close to home there weren’t many passengers.

All that has changed for the better and Thomas has resumed his summer vacation plans and will return to Duluth the first two weekends in August to pull trains on the North Shore Scenic Railroad with his best friend Percy. Tickets to A Day Out With Thomas are available at www. duluthtrains.com.

Other special rail events for families are also coming back this year. The Great Pumpkin Train is scheduled for Oct. 21-24 with several trains each day to our Pumpkin Patch at the end of the line. Then for the Holidays, the Christmas City Express returns on the four weekends after Thanksgiving.