After 14 years selling toy trains on St. Paul’s Marshall Avenue, Choo Choo Bob is pulling out of the station — though his store will continue under new ownership.

Choo Choo Bob, formerly known as the film scout and music video producer Bob Medcraft, opened the popular train store at 2050 Marshall Ave. in 2005 with his wife Gretchen. From there, the couple launched a radio and television show about trains, toy trains and railroad trips across the country.

They also added a bit of color to the corner of Marshall and Cleveland, where model trains operate in the front window, and public play areas await children inside. The store, an official affiliate of the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Specialty Station, has carried everything from Hot Wheels and Playmobil sets to specialty train brands popular with hobbyists.

The Choo Choo Bob show launched in June 2012 on Saturdays at KSTC-TV, Channel 45, with backing from a University of Minnesota pharmacy professor and Medcraft’s contacts in the music and film industry. In a previous life, Medcraft had helped scout or manage locations for films like “Grumpy Old Men” and “Jingle All the Way,” and later produced music videos for Prince, Barenaked Ladies and others.

Opening a retail store was a leap of faith, and according to the store owner, it’s time to take new leaps.

“I sold the store. I didn’t close it,” said Medcraft, addressing the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday. “It’s been fun. It remains open and hopefully it remains open another 14 years. I have my fingers crossed. After 14 years, it was just time to move on. … I have other passions.”

Council Member Mitra Nelson read a proclamation from St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office into the public record officially proclaiming Wednesday to be Choo Choo Bob Day in the city of St. Paul.

Medcraft said he sold the store to two Robbinsdale women — both of them next-door-neighbors to each other — who had fallen in love with the shop when their kids were younger. One of the new owners, Jennifer Southerling, closed the store for a week to make building improvements but has already reopened.

“I had two little boys — 4 and 5 — when I first opened, and it helps to have that energy, with kids running around,” Medcraft said, in an interview. “You have to have a certain mentality when you run a store like that. They’re 18 and 19 now.”

Medcraft said he produced 38 video episodes and 6 DVDs as Choo Choo Bob, and the content is still available on Amazon Prime, YouTube and other streaming services.

In an interview Friday, Southerling, a former advertising executive and emergency medical technician, said the sale closing was put off twice as she and her business partner struggled to find financing in an environment where lenders are weary of retailers shuttering brick-and-mortar locations in favor or online sales.

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Sept. 30 is last day for public comment on Pigs Eye Lake makeover She said she has repainted the store’s walls and ceiling to add brighter colors and “added a couple interactive things, like a magnetic wall. We’re going to keep the name and keep the toy trains. It won’t be as much of a hobby shop collection, but a collection to bridge the gap for kids starting to grow out of Thomas the Tank Engine.”

She said the store will carry more STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-related toys, as well as tchotchkes and squishies. She’ll also revamp the birthday packages with new tables, chairs and food options, though guests will still be able to bring in their own food, as well. “They’ll be definitely turned up a notch,” Southerling said. “The fun factor is going to increase.”