Rod Stewart Unveils the Model Train Set He’s Been Working on for 26 Years

The singer even booked the train set its own hotel room

Rod Stewart is seen arriving during the UEFA Champions League, third qualifying round, second leg match between Celtic and CFR Cluj at Celtic Park on August 13, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Rod Stewart is seen arriving during the UEFA Champions League, third qualifying round, second leg match between Celtic and CFR Cluj at Celtic Park on August 13, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
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Rod Stewart has been a model train enthusiast for decades, and for the first time, the “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” singer has unveiled the massive model railway he’s been working on for 26 years.

The railway, dubbed Grand Street And Three Rivers City, is 124 feet long and 23 feet wide. It depicts an American city in the 1940s and features hundreds of buildings, including factories, skyscrapers and homes. There is, of course, the train, as well as period cars and trucks.

Stewart revealed the model as part of a feature for Railway Modeller magazine (you can see photos of it here), telling the publication that the trains are almost secondary for him to the rest of the set. “‘It’s the landscape I like,” he said. “Attention to detail, extreme detail, is paramount. There shouldn’t be any unsightly gaps or pavements that are too clean.’”

The singer started building the set in 1993, and he told Railway Modeller that he even worked on it while on tour, booking two hotel rooms so he could have one devoted to the train set. “We’d tell them in advance and they were really accommodating, taking out the beds and providing fans to improve air circulation and ventilation,” he said.

Stewart said that growing up, his father told him that every man needs a hobby. “Mine’s model railway,” he told the publication.

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