I just know more about the routes (Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Mt. Baker Int'l to Vancouver, BC, in particular) than most--if not all--others riding and or working on those trains. This knowledge comes from a variety of venues: riding the trains and paying attention to what goes on outside my window, reading about them, having walked or riden along the tracks at various places along the way, seeing photos, reading histories, writing about the trains and routes, etc. This knowledge contributes to the lure and love of being--or wanting to be--on these trains and experiencing the different things these trains have to offer. I am certainly more observant sitting in a dome seat and looking out than someone who is sitting in a dome seat and sleeping!
I presume that was $35 in American money, as the article was in an American newspaper for an American audience.