You may know Rod Stewart for his back catalogue of hits like ‘Maggie May’ or ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?’, but you may not know, know the real Rod Stewart.
It turns out when he’s not belting out tunes, you can find Sir Roderick in the attic of his Los Angeles home, working arduously on his model railway train city, inspired by mid-1940s New York and Chicago. As he’s been doing for the past 26 years, after beginning in 1993.
Stewart took to model railway magazine Railway Modeller (duh) to share his passion.
Make sure you pick up our latest issue – on sale this Thursday – which features an exclusive interview with Sir Rod Stewart and read what he revealed to us about his lifelong passion for railway modelling! @rodstewart #railway #railways #trains pic.twitter.com/2xoer8U7ce
— Railway Modeller (@RailwayModeller) November 11, 2019
“When I take on something creative like this, I have to give it 110%,” he explained to the magazine.
“For me it’s addictive. I started, so I just had to finish. I’m lucky I had the room. If I’d have realised at the start it would have taken so long, I’d have probably said, ‘No! No! Nah!'”
The model city spans 1500 square feet, and photos demonstrate its intricacy – dozens of highly detailed skyscrapers, bridges, ships and streets. Stewart explained to the magazine that the structures and scenery are what he enjoys about the model city, as opposed to the trains and tracks themselves.
Sir Rod Stewart has recently shared details on his huge model railway layout – and it’s absolutely breathtaking! https://t.co/g7MsEvGKJw pic.twitter.com/kSZRIauctz
— Hornby (@hornby) November 13, 2019
“I find beauty in what everyone else sees as ugly – rugged skyscrapers, beaten-up warehouses, things that are very run down.”
Stewart expanded on his hobby during an interview with BBC Radio 2, explaining that he built around “90%” of the model railway himself, but had someone else work on the electrical aspects of the city.
“A lot of people laugh at it being a silly hobby, but it’s a wonderful hobby.”
In other, non-train related Rod Stewart news, you can catch the crooner performing throughout Australia when he tours the country in October and November next year.
Head here for all the dates and details.
