At 74 years old, some might say Rod Stewart is too old to play with toys..
By Jon Smith:
But those people don’t have 16 top ten hits, nor have they sold over 126 million albums worldwide. Also, they’re probably dead inside and hate fun. But that’s just my guess…
Rod Stewart recently unveiled his MASSIVE toy train set to Railway Modeller Magazine, Britain’s #1 magazine for model railroad enthusiasts.
Rod Stewart has spent the past 23 years building an amazing model railway set of an American city in the 1940s https://t.co/FNmPqkbRJy
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) November 13, 2019
“A lot of people laugh at it being a silly hobby, but it’s a wonderful hobby,” Reads a quote from Sir Rod.
Stewart’s model city looks like something out of New York City or Chicago around the mid-1940’s. It includes bridges, billboards, cars. Even grime and paint down to the most intricate detail. Stewart did most of the work himself, though he did hire an electrician to make sure the trains ran on schedule.
Rod Stewart's Model Railroad Took Him 23 Years To Complete https://t.co/lkKqQsf7iy
— TMZ (@TMZ) November 13, 2019
How long does such a task take? Well, so far it’s been done over the course 19 tours. Yes, tours. Rod would take his project on the road with him and work on the set pieces in between shows. Which in some cases meant paying for added hotel rooms used specifically for his trains.
The collection started in the summer of 1993, right before Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. The trains no longer tour with Stewart, though he does still add to the collection. For the most part the enormous set which measures over 100′ x 25′ resides in the singers Los Angeles mansion. Which I gotta be honest. Now that I’ve seen pictures, I totally want to visit. I’ll come right out and say it. Yes. I think it’s sexy.
https://twitter.com/MonicaHesse/status/1194742998233423872