When it became apparent that the railroad was not the way for me to go, I went on to technical school and became an Electronics technician. This led to a apparently successful career of about thirty five years. As the electronics business waned, I became fascinated by the computer. After a stint as a programmer I eventually changed my career to information services. I am now retired.

As a fourth generation CGW kind of guy, I went to work in the late sixties, as my father, his father, and his father had done. The Tolstead family has been associated with the Chicago Great Western Railroad/Railway since the turn of the 20th century. Our work with the railroad continued from almost the beginning of the line until the end.

As a child in the early fifties, for a time I lived near the Great Weedy in Hayfield, Minnesota. Seeing the long freight trains and short passenger trains sparked an interest in model railroading that continued until we relocated in my Junior year of High School. During my young adulthood I became too busy trying to make a living. When middle age crept up on me, I once again had the time and inclination to work with model trains. I currently own and operate a HO scale pike that is loosely based on the CGW.