From Caboose Hobbies’ facebook page:
Later,
K
Finally some GOOD news about large scale
I for one will support them as best I can
Bill
Yea, yesterday I did a web search for some HOn30 cars, and I ended up on a page from Caboose hobbies. I was kind of surprised.
See, I said why don’t we just wait and see what happens.
That is good news.
David Maynard said:
…See, I said why don’t we just wait and see what happens.
That is good news.
I’m still waiting to see what happens Maynard. Who knows if it’s good news or not.
They haven’t named a location and the Denver Metro Area is a really big place. I’m skeptical; I’ve been looking around for a location for my gallery in anticipation of possibly being priced out of my location and haven’t found a damn thing…nada.
Also, not long ago we had another long-time family train shop here in the Denver Metro Area (in Westminster) named Mizell Trains, with the “famous” wall of trains, and the exciting new owner ran it into the ground and out of business within six months.
So, yeah, not to be a downer or anything, but I’ll wait and see what happens.
edit: and, by the way, I’m told the Caboose building will be razed for a Chick-fill-a. Just what we need in this world, another chain fast food location. But before I get on too high a horse, there’s probably plenty people who think the last thing this world needs is another art gallery location!
I’ll say one thing, though…this Kevin Ruble looks like one interesting cat (I’m not posting this because of Caboose Hobbies, it just looks like one helluva very interesting railroad and model railroad life):
“I’m a fourth-generation railroad man and an avowed ‘foamer,’” says Ruble, referring to that class of individual who bursts into a lather at the mere sight or sound of a diesel locomotive. “Railroads have always been my passion.”
Born in Champagne, Ill., Ruble’s freight-hauling fancies spent long years parked on a siding as his father’s job carried him to 11 different temporary homes across the Midwest and Texas. It wasn’t until Ruble graduated from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville that his boyhood ambition started working up a head of steam.
“I followed my life’s passion right out of college,” explains Ruble, a fit man with a quiet, friendly demeanor. “I got a job with the Katy Railroad.”
Officially titled the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and affectionately known as “Katy,” the historic Dallas-based line had been burning track since 1865 and offered the young enthusiast a priceless trial by fire.
“I worked in every department, and I got a perspective of not just the railroad, but the company,” Ruble recalls. “At 22 I had a knowledge of railroads that a lot of people don’t have in their 50s. I was really fortunate that happened.”
After a few years with the Katy, however, fresh ambitions diverted Ruble onto new track. He earned an MBA from the University of Dallas and went into the lending and venture capital line. It was as a graduate student moonlighting as a consultant for a young Southwest Airlines that Ruble discovered he had a second passion.
“Southwest was still pretty small at the time, and I found that the culture of the company was the secret to its success,” he explains. “It was how they treated their people. Love is a better way to run a company than fear. I became an evangelist for employee ownership.”
When he wasn’t working in finance, Ruble was consulting small companies – many of them railroads – spreading the good news about employee ownership and helping them develop that proven employee-centered model. And it was in the mid-1980s that Ruble’s two passions linked up to make Ruble’s childhood dream a grown-up reality.
“The major railroads were spinning off their branch lines to short line operators, and I started helping put those deals together. In 2005 I decided to put my money where my mouth is. I got some investors together and bought a railroad.” Specifically, Ruble bought 130 miles of track north of Grand Rapids, MI, and all the rolling stock – and headaches – that came with it. He called his new company Marquette Rail, and among his first actions as founder and CEO was to implement an employee stock ownership plan that gave Marquette’s rank and file a 60-percent stake in the game.
“I was practicing what I’d been preaching, and it worked.”
Marquette Rail prospered under Ruble’s principles, but anyone who imagines that the line’s chief executive officer reclined behind an oaken desk issuing wise pronouncements and bestowing favors doesn’t understand the short line railroad business, or Kevin Ruble. He was everywhere, from the switching yards, to the maintenance sheds, to the accounting room, to the cab of a thundering locomotive, working at all hours and under frequently adverse conditions.
“It was my dream come true,” he smiles. “When you’re pulling a mile of freight behind you and coming to a hill, you really can’t think of anything but what the train is doing and what you have to do next. Everything else just goes away. It’s very therapeutic.”
Somewhere along those singing rails a third passion began to dawn in Ruble’s chest, and by 2009 he was ready to follow his heart west.
“I’d known for some time I was meant to live in Colorado,” he says. “I couldn’t tell you specifically why, but I knew that’s where I needed to be.”
A thriving enterprise, Marquette Rail found no shortage of eager buyers, and Ruble officially turned over the throttle in 2010. After spending months sampling the Front Range between Colorado Springs and Denver, a friend suggested he give Evergreen the once-over. One look was all it took.
“The first time I came into town I saw the lake, I met some really amazing people, and I found out I could get a real Chicago-style hotdog on Main Street. I felt like I was home.”
And, as of Labor Day weekend, 2010, he really was home. He bought 36 acres of piney ridge-top south of Conifer and a 1.5-acre homestead off of Buffalo Park Road.
“I can walk to the lake concerts, I can walk into town, and any time I want to take a hike I’ve got 770 acres of park in my back yard. I really can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Ruble shares his home with his son, Killian, and a chocolate Labrador retriever named Diesel. His daughter, Meghan, lives on Capitol Hill in Denver. When he’s not traipsing Alderfer/Three Sisters, you may find Ruble driving a snowboard. And because every passion is best when indulged to the fullest, Ruble is pleased to apply his heart and hands to local nonprofits like the Mountain Area Land Trust, the Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce and Blue Spruce Habitat for Humanity.
Still, you never forget your first love, and a big barn is rising on Ruble’s modest Evergreen acreage. A really big barn. The 1,850 square-foot ground floor will feature stalls for horses, and a tack room, and all of your standard barn-like amenities. Upstairs, though…
“The upstairs is really why I’m building it,” Ruble laughs. “It’s a big open room with no posts or obstructions. I’m going to have an eighteen-hundred-square-foot model railroad.”
I used to buy a lot of supplies from CH. I’m glad they are coming back.
Sounds like the best possible guy to take over the business. He has both the enthusiasm of a dyed in the wool model railroader, and a proven track record as a business owner.
It sure sounds like he has the passion, and the skill sets to be run a business , But he will still need all of our support ( read $$ ) Actually buy something guys…
Yeah the first skill set he has is the money to capitalize this thing properly (the doom of most new enterprises). Anybody who can afford 1.5 acres in Evergreen and to build an 1800-sq ft outbuilding for his horses and model railroad ain’t livin’ paycheck to paycheck.
As I am painfully aware, as is Dave I think, you can do everything under the sun right but if the customers don’t spend their dollars with you it’s for naught. All you’re left with is the satisfaction of knowing you did everything you can to make it work.
If he supports Large Scale, I’ll spend some of my limited $$$ there.
I did a search this weekend for some HOn30 stuff, and I found that Caboose hobbies has a page of stuff listed. So they might also get some from me for some HOn30 stuff
Was curious about the progress of a new Caboose hobby store.
Link on Facebook has new store logo.
Created a map of new location in an former Carquest store.
LOTS of parking.
If that’s where he’s moving it makes sense. The rent is cheaper out there and it’s a lot closer to where he lives in Evergreen.
I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop on my location like it did on Caboose downtown there on Broadway. I’ve been looking around, including out there in Lakewood, and I won’t welcome a major life upheaval if I can’t stay where I am. Boo hiss.
Well, the web site is not updated, they indicated early January.
Has anyone been to the new location?
Greg
They post periodic updates on Facebook. Apparently they just finished hiring folks yesterday (Friday), and have been busy getting the store ready with stock and displays.
Beyond that, I haven’t been by. Pointless since they’re not yet open, and would likely not appreciate looky-loos getting in the way.
Later,
K
Thanks Vincent for keeping us non-farcebook people up to date!
I hope they can take over the website too, sometimes the transition runs into issues.
Greg
Glad to hear they are making progress towards reopening.
This is GOOD NEWS. Maybe we now can buy some of the things we need to build and operate. Thank you who ever is doing this. A question, is the former WEB Site still usable?
Paul Austin
E. Paul Austin said:
This is GOOD NEWS. Maybe we now can buy some of the things we need to build and operate. Thank you who ever is doing this. A question, is the former WEB Site still usable?
Paul Austin
They do have a note on the actual website that regular orders are not being accepted at this time.
I am sure it will go back to normal operation once they complete the new store and open for business.
They do update the Facebook page pretty regular with the progress on the new store, most likely because it is much easier to update a FB page than an actual website page.