My new lovelty wife an I are planning a road RV trip up to Colorado here in a few weeks. If things work, I migth have a chance to get to Caboose Hobbies in Denver, Colorado. But if we do, I got to work at… Like drive another 300 miles [:D]
have surfed the web page and checked it over… Looks like a great place andI have heard godo things about C.H… But I want to make sure it will be worth the effort. Just about every place we have traveled, I try and hit up a local train shop to check things out. Most of the time though, it wasnt worth it. Then again, I have found a few gems.
So I guess I have a 2 part question… (1) Is it worth it to go (2), Should I find a place for the wife to hangout so i can get more time?
I
Insert any personal stories about the store here. [8D]
About two years ago a friend of mine and myself went to Durango to ride the Durango and Silverton Railroad. We made the trip to Denver to see CH and it is impressive. It was well worth the trip up there to take a look. We had all the time in the world to look around though, our wives stayed home.
It is definately a great hobby shop to visit, but whether or not it is worth the extra drive is up to how much this means to you. Maybe you could drop the wife off at Sam’s Club, which is across the street.
I live down in Colorado Springs, and I might go to visit if I happen to already be in Denver for something. I do like to browse through the brass and detail parts, though.
I went to CH last summer and thought I had died and gone to heaven. Plan on spending lots of time there. As a reward for your wife’s patience, take her over to Golden and wander the streets for a while.
Tom
PS it cost me an equal amount in jewlery in Golden for what I spent at C. H.
its well worth it to stop at caboose. i try to stop at hobby shops when i travel you never know what you might find.i try to get to CH once a month to see new things and the sales
Absolutely worth going to visit anytime you are there. I visit about once a year as we have vendors in that area.
I normally buy more from them on the web page, but it is always nice to have them run an item that is on the shelf to see if I want to put it on layaway.
Their parts for scratch builders an detailing is very good along with the books that are available.
It does not cost anything to look, just don’t fill up a cart and expect to leave without paying big time.
Definitely make the trip. its completely dedicated to trains and is one of the largest hobby shops I have ever been in. (Next biggest I have seen is Papa Ben’s train place in Houston). They have a large selction of everything and if the don’t have they can order it for you.
Golden’s nice for wives, but so is Georgetown - and you can see the Loop. On the other hand, you can also see the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. And frankly, either of them is worth the trip.
But yeah, you could buy a brass Big Boy at CH and still spend more on your wife in either of those two places.
Drive the extra miles. The store is a dream come true. I’ve been there on a couple occasions where I looked foreverand thought they didn’t have something, but they always do. You have to ask if you want to find certai things.[:)]
Is it worth it? Most definitely! I was in Denver last year on a stolen vehicle recovery for a friend of mine. I stopped in at C.H. to see what they had. I didn’t want to leave! The place is fantastic. I bought about $800 worth of stuff while I was there. If the wife isn’t a model train enthusiasts, there’s a Sam’s Club right across the road.
Denver and vicinity is a very rich experience - and I wouldn’t go there without putting Caboose Hobbies on the “go to” list. One piece of advice however - make sure you are well fed before you go through the door because its going to be awhile before you get out of there.
With the cost of gas and 300 extra miles in a RV, that is not going to be cheap…
But if you’ve never been to Caboose Hobbies before, it is definitely worth the trip. They stock practically everything available in current production in just about every scale and gauge, have several nice display layouts, several aisles of books, and a brass department with a great selection. This will be one hobby shop side trip that will not disappoint.
As for your wife, there is some shopping and hanging out at nice cafes in the LoDo district north of CH on Broadway nearer downtown. Drop her off there to spend her own money to distract her from what you’ll want to spend at Caboose!
[:D]
If you do have a little more time to spend in the Denver area, definitely hit the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, on the hill behind the Coors brewery. Further into the mountains on I-70. the Georgetown Loop RR recently changed hands so I don’t have a recent report, but it is a neat little ride with some great views.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
A wonderful place, a supermarket just for model trains! If you have some needs, make a list because it will take you forever to check out the complete wall of detail parts. Lots of books and magazines too!
I was there in 2002 attending the Narrow Gauge Convention in Denver. They had a free shuttle bus between the convention site and the shop, which made it real easy to visit.
Heading to the convention in Durango in August, but probably won’t get to the shop as we’re flying into Denver then to Durango. They are supposed to be at the event, but will obviously only be able to bring a small selection.
I’m sure you realize this, but if your new (key word here) wife is willing to go an extra 300 miles so you can drool and buy some weird looking things, make sure to have the patience of a saint when she sees a shoe store she wants to check out.
[#ditto] to pretty much everything that’s been said so far… The Denver area is full of things to do, so you don’t need to rely on just CH as an excuse to go there. Like others have mentioned, you can go to the CO RR museum in Golden. You can also go to the Coors brewery in Golden, which is pretty cool. The Red Rocks ampitheater is also neat to see, and it’s in that same area.
Enjoy your trip! I lived in Boulder a couple of years ago when I was in grad school, and I’d sneak off once a month or so to CH while my wife was at work! I really enjoyed living in that area and hope to go back sometime.
