Caboose Hobbies reopened»
Caboose Hobbies going full-steam ahead at Lakewood site
When Jay Cox visits Colorado, he typically makes a trip to Caboose Hobbies to pick up some model train supplies. But after the store closed in Denver last year, it seemed he had maybe made his last trip to what was the largest train hobby shop in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Now, thanks to new ownership, the store has reopened in Lakewood, and Cox was able to stop by while in town from Oklahoma on March 8.
“It’s a great relief that this great hobby shop would continue,” Cox said. “I was disappointed when they closed.”
Cox isn’t the only out-of-state visitor who makes his way into the shop. New owner Kevin Ruble, who had been a customer for years before buying the store, said model train enthusiasts from all over will often make a weekend out of driving to the area in order to visit the shop.
Ruble bought the store from Duane Miller, just after the store shuttered its Denver location on South Broadway in September. Ruble then found the Lakewood building, 10800 W. Alameda Ave., and reopened the store Feb. 25 to a huge outpouring of support that saw lines exceed two hours to check out at a register that wrapped around the entire store on that opening day.
The new location is about a third of the size of the old Denver store but carries the same amount of inventory. Ruble said he likes the new location because it is accessible — just two turns off of Sixth Avenue. He also noted that he wanted a freestanding store so he could put a full-sized caboose out front in the parking lot. The store is a regional draw, he added, saying that people on average travel 25 miles to the shop. The store has also built up its online business.
“We’re not like a lot of retail. The amount of drive-by traffic and neighborhood demographic doesn’t matter as much to us,” Ruble said. “We’re really easy to get to. That was important.”
The store, which debuted in 1938 on 15th Street in Denver, has long been a go-to spot for hobbyists who enjoy building model trains.
Mark Eden, a 30-year customer who also does some repair work for Caboose, said he’s glad to know where he can supply his hobby once again.
“When the old store closed, it left a sucking hole,” Eden said. “I mean, there was no place to go and get really much of anything. All the other stores that handle train stuff seem to be closing up.”
Lakewood City Councilwoman Ramey Johnson attended the grand opening last month and was excited to see so many enthusiastic customers. She thinks the store will have a positive economic impact for the city.
Johnson said she had to put two books on hold that she wanted to buy for her granddaughter. When her husband went back to pick them up later in the afternoon, he still had to wait an hour in line to check out.
“It was awesome. I had no idea that so many people are interested in trains,” Johnson said of the opening. “It obviously has filled a niche for a lot of people.”
Art Lort, who worked at the old location for more than 20 years and has been a customer for more than 35 years, said he was ecstatic to see the store reopen and has high hopes for Ruble’s visions for the future.
“There’s lots of hobby shops, but they don’t have much for the railroad. It’s pretty special to have a shop like this in Denver,” he said.
Ruble hopes to bridge the gap between his older customers, who he said like to build model trains from scratch and his younger ones, who like to build a specific scene from an old rail line. He is happy to be in Lakewood and looks forward to even more growth.
“We’re just here to support the tribe of rail enthusiasts worldwide, wherever they may be, and I think we have a pretty good start on that,” Ruble said.