Caboose hobbies in Denver to close for good.

That is a bummer. I was there when I was 15... great resource for brass engines at the time... hope the owner well.

Gary Coleman worked there at one time. 

I plan on hitting as many So Cal hobby shop next month on my visit......in case they go away too....

Been there many times. Truly a spectacular store.

I really enjoyed that store when it was much smaller and located across from the Denver Dry Goods Department Store on 15th St. downtown.  In the 1970s and 1980s there were many great memories from our family's travels from Salina, Kansas to Denver and Caboose Hobbies and Downtown Hobbies (just around the corner) were must visits as an adolescent teenager.

Too bad, 

I went there during the LCCA convention years ago. I spent hours there just looking around the store. I left there with several kits, detail parts and decals.

Richard 

Really bad news.  And the last time through Denver I did not stop!  It was THE source for the narrow gauge world.

  I don't know were this info came from ? I was having cocktails with a guy who works there last Sunday.  He said they are looking for a new location that will not be as big. The little switch engine in the back has been donated to the Georgetown loop Railway. That took up a lot of room.

I have been there many times in the last 15 years.   I purchased thousands of dollars worth of my 3 rail stuff there.  Mainly track, switches and rolling stock.  They treated me well and gave a small discount as I travelled 1200 miles to get there. They seemed to appreciate my business.  I will miss them as I miss Mizells in North Denver (Westminster)

CHOO-CHOO MIKE posted:

  I don't know were this info came from ? I was having cocktails with a guy who works there last Sunday.  He said they are looking for a new location that will not be as big.

It's on the home page of their website now.

Caboose Hobbies

The Portland Rose posted:

I really enjoyed that store when it was much smaller and located across from the Denver Dry Goods Department Store on 15th St. downtown.  In the 1970s and 1980s there were many great memories from our family's travels from Salina, Kansas to Denver and Caboose Hobbies and Downtown Hobbies (just around the corner) were must visits as an adolescent teenager.

Air Force intelligence school was at Lowry AFB in Denver (early 70s).  I remember many a bus ride down to the15th street location when there was a break. 

Lou N

I put in a few years at Caboose Hobbies in the early 80's. (and a few years at Downtown Hobbies in the late 70's) . Sorry to see them go away. Hope Duane and JoAnn enjoy their due retirement. On another sad note, they lost their daughter in a auto accident around a month ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDixhddfSAo

A tour of:

World's Largest Model Train Store, Guinness Book - Caboose Hobbies - Denver

Published on You Tube, May 7th, 2015

Yes: very disappointing news.........

Gary

Heard so much about it but never been there.  Sorry to hear of their recent loss and I wish them the best in retirement! 

Chuck Sartor posted:

I put in a few years at Caboose Hobbies in the early 80's. (and a few years at Downtown Hobbies in the late 70's) . Sorry to see them go away. Hope Duane and JoAnn enjoy their due retirement. On another sad note, they lost their daughter in a auto accident around a month ago.

Chuck she had a rare medical condition that she was fighting most of her life. Not an auto accident. 

OK Erik, I thought I heard it was an auto accident, but I cannot say for 100% certainty. I will default to you.

EDITED: I mean not as an opinion, but I know you have better knowledge of what happened.

Chuck Sartor posted:

OK Erik, I thought I heard it was an auto accident, but I cannot say for 100% certainty. I will default to you.

It's not an opinion she passed from complications to her illness.

It's no secret.

Her service was very sad; she was only in her 30's. A kid. Indeed I suspect this may have had a partial involvement in the retirement of Joanna and Duane. I've had a great time working for them. I have now for 13 years processed and photographed priced and in the last few years ran the brass department. 

They are fabulous people. 

First Mizell's...now Caboose Hobbies....two of the best now laid to rest!    

That confirms the nightly gnus, for sure......Denver has, indeed, gone to POT!!!

Not even a good prognosis for the Broncos!

Your 'Mountain High' has hit a new low.....IMHO.

KD

Sure true about Mizell's and now Caboose...Caboose at the end of the train of train shops?  There is no comparable train shop in the country, is there?  Nothing close? Nowhere you can really walk in and hope to find a kit in O scale, or anything for it except ready-to-run?  (and you're lucky you find that and not just HO and N....IF you even find a shop with any trains)  I have watched the timplate shops within driving distance close...depressing!

I am afraid this is another sign of the grayiing of our hobby.

Richaard

The fact of life, change is inevitable and trains are no different. I wish I could have visited the store. It's model train purgatory here in Michigan. At least on my side of the state. If I wasn't saving my money for York, I would go see it before the 25th of next month. Also sorry to hear about their daughter.

Ouch... To bad another great hobby shop closing.  Doesn't Caboose Hobbies employ Dozens of people all be it, most of them part time. You would think there would be a buyer for such a business with a new location if the place shows a profit... To bad either way.. 

I was fortunate to visit Caboose Hobbies in May.  It is sad to see this long time store closing.

NH Joe

Too Bad someone cant buy the store and move it to another location....

ZWPOWER13 posted:

Too Bad someone cant buy the store and move it to another location....

I agree ZW. There are only a handful of gigantic hobby shops that employ dozens of workers, you would think someone would take the name and continue onward with it. Unless there are financial issues.

I only ever went to the place just once (in the early 90s) and I’m pretty sure I didn’t buy anything there that time. I never bought anything from them by mail order, either. I would say I’m partially responsible for its passing, but slack sales apparently have nothing do with it, as the owner was just tired and wanted to retire.

On a cross-country sightseeing trip with my wife in 2012, we planned on going through Denver. But my Dad, who lived at the trip's starting point, developed some medical issues while we were there visiting my parents prior to the start, and the Denver leg got dropped. One of the big disappointments for me other than the museum at Golden was missing a visit to this store. I would have bought stuff, then, I'd bet, as my layout was in planning stages at that point. Now I missed my only chance of ever seeing the place again...

I'd think Chicago could support a shop like that, but some of those shops I used to visit there, Hill's, etc., have gone up the flue....the other east of Hill's used to have O scale, but is now all three rail....(it seemed not so long ago a lot of shops had 3 rail and few O scale....both have dwindled)  The one west of Hill's , Chicagoland?, downsized into a smaller store south in the same shopping center.  I am not even current on others, or how big they might be.....Chicago would be in the center of the country (no help to Californians) but in a large population area and closer to the east coast train aficianado population.  Like somebody buying Weaver...wishful thinking.

I was there just a few weeks ago just after they announced that they had lost the lease. Everything was already 25% and most of the items I would be interested in (Big O Scale Steam) were gone. I did purchase some signs and other RR items for my train room. There was already a look of sadness on the faces of the folks there. I had bought from them for many years. it's sad to see them close for good. 

Certainly it is never good to see what many regard as a fixture in model railroading (or any other worthy thing) bite the dust, and its ripple effect can be felt even from a distance, at times, but:

I, like most of us, live in a area that has no "LHS", hasn't for years, and never (again, like most places) had anything like Caboose Hobbies, or its ilk.

But - I never went there - or many of the other "nationally" famous shops, and have gotten along just fine - too fine - in the hobby. I recall ordering exactly one time from Caboose Hobbies, it seems - what, I forget; long time ago - so I can't say that I'll "miss it". For most of us out here it came, it went, like everything else. And Denver is 2000 miles from me (Denver is 2000 miles from a lot of places...).

Not a good thing, but not a surprise.

They were not much of a three rail O-Gauge store. There are plenty of stores that have more product our side of the hobby. They did have the best selection of brass add-on parts I have ever seen.

Scott Smith

Five or six years ago they carried quite a bit of 3-rail, especially Atlas. When Atlas quit delivering due to their production problems, the stock levels obviously dropped. Same with kits and narrow gauge. 

Even though 600 miles away, they were my closest hobby shop that stocked much of anything. They had a nice store and a workable internet presence. I purchased both in-store and on-line from them, and was always happy with the service. I think most people were. Business was always brisk when I was there, and never ran into the "grumpy" owner/employee that a lot of hobby shops are famous for. I'll miss the literal "walls" of pegboard full of O-scale detail parts.

I really hope someone fills the void on the front range, but don't know how they'll get the feel that their current store has/had. It was a pleasure to walk through the store and see the layouts and diorama's throughout. They were well done, and made you want to make a purchase to try and duplicate some of the work that was done on them.  I wish the owners and employees well, and I will surely miss them.  

It's a sad day but not at all surprising.  The entire Hobby is going online as brick and mortar stores become too expensive to maintain profitability.   I myself run ModelRailroadBenchwork.com  out of my garage for this reason.    That said I don't think this will be the last we hear of Caboose Hobbies, It will live on in one way or another.