LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- Chances are that at some point in your life you loved trains -- after all, they represent nostalgia and a more simple time to many.
Employees of the Caboose toy train store are putting the final touches on the new building on West Alameda in Lakewood in anticipation of its grand reopening Saturday.
The iconic train store is moving after closing its location downtown.
It first opened in the 1930s and held the world record for largest toy train store until in closed.
“Almost everybody is a train enthusiast at some level, and our job is to just support that tribe of train enthusiasts,” said Caboose owner Kevin Ruble.
Ruble used to own a real railroad in Michigan until he sold it.
After enough snowboarding and figuring out retirement wasn’t for him, Ruble bought Caboose to keep working in a field he loves.
“I think specialty retail is important because specialty retail supports a particular lifestyle or segment of our culture, and that’s exactly what we do here,” said Ruble.
One of the cool things about Caboose are the models featured in the store.
Right now, a model of a real train in California is displayed in the store, but will be joined by nine other models.
Kids looking to learn about trains for the first time along with enthusiasts building huge models in their basement can all find something in these aisles.
The new building also pays homage to the old store with a display and history area.
“We do have a lot of people who say, 'as a kid I used to ride my bike to the store on 15th Street,' and there are people who have been shopping at Caboose for 40 and 50 years. So we get a lot of people with nostalgia for this particular store," said Ruble.
Saturday’s grand reopening at 10 a.m.will consist of giveaways and demonstrations with hopes that this imaginative hobby can inspire generations to come.
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