Rod Stewart is famous for the hair, the raspy voice, and "Maggie May." But honestly? If you ask him what he’s most proud of, it isn't the Grammys. It is the 1,500 square feet of intricate, hand-painted scenery known as the Grand Street and Three Rivers City.
The Rod Stewart train set isn't just some hobby he picked up to pass the time between tours. It is a massive, sprawling masterpiece. It took twenty-six years to build. Let that sink in for a second. While he was out selling over 250 million records, he was also spending his downtime in hotel rooms—sometimes booking an extra room just for his tools—gluing together tiny plastic bricks and painting weathering effects on 1:87 scale skyscrapers.
People used to mock him for it. Then Model Railroader magazine put his layout on the cover in 2019, and the world finally saw the scale of the obsession. This is not a toy. It is a highly detailed recreation of 1940s-era Manhattan and Chicago, complete with soot-stained buildings, period-accurate trash in the gutters, and a depth of field that makes professional photographers weep.
The Secret Life of a Model Railroader on the Road
Imagine you're a roadie for one of the biggest rock stars on the planet. You’re lugging gear, setting up massive sound systems, and dealing with the chaos of a global tour. And then you have to find space for the "train room."
Rod Stewart famously requested extra space in his tour riders. Not for champagne or M&Ms, but for a place to build. He would bring a travel kit of paints, brushes, and kits. He spent his afternoons before a show hunched over a workbench, working on the architectural details of a "skyscraping" warehouse.
"I’d be doing a show in the evening," he told the BBC. "But during the day, I'd be building my little buildings."
It sounds kinda crazy, right? But for Rod, it was meditation. The music industry is loud, fickle, and chaotic. A 1:87 scale world is controllable. You can decide exactly how much rust is on a corrugated metal roof. You can control the weather—which in his layout, is usually a moody, overcast New York afternoon.
Why the 1940s?
Most people assume a British rock star would build a British railway. You’d expect the Flying Scotsman or some quaint village in the Cotswolds. Nope. Rod went full American. Specifically, he chose the late 1940s.
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Why? Because that was the "transition era." It’s the sweet spot where steam locomotives were still chuffing along, but diesel engines were starting to take over. It’s also the era of Film Noir. The aesthetic of his layout reflects that perfectly. It’s gritty. It’s dirty. It feels like a scene from a Humphrey Bogart movie.
Technical Mastery: The Grand Street and Three Rivers City
The Rod Stewart train set is officially titled "Grand Street and Three Rivers City." It’s an HO-scale layout, which means everything is 1/87th of the size of the real thing.
The detail is staggering. We aren't just talking about trains going around in circles. We’re talking about a living, breathing city. There are skyscrapers that stand over five feet tall. In the world of model railroading, that is monumental. Most enthusiasts struggle to finish a single building that size. Rod has dozens.
- The Weathering: This is what separates the pros from the amateurs. Real buildings aren't clean. They have water stains, soot from coal smoke, and peeling paint. Rod uses "weathering" techniques to make his plastic models look like they’ve survived twenty winters in the Northeast.
- The Sound: He didn’t just stop at the visuals. The layout features high-fidelity sound systems that replicate the clatter of the tracks and the hiss of steam.
- The Lighting: Every window in those massive skyscrapers is lit. But they aren't all the same. Some are bright, some are dim, some have the flickering glow of a TV (even if TVs weren't common in the 40s, he takes some creative license for the vibe).
Honestly, the sheer amount of work is exhausting to think about. He estimates that 90% of the layout was built by his own hands. He did have some help with the electrical wiring and some of the heavy structural work—shout out to his friend and fellow modeler Malcolm Abbott—but the artistry? That’s all Rod.
Addressing the "Rich Guy Hobby" Stigma
There’s a misconception that he just bought this. People see a celebrity with a massive collection and assume they just cut a check.
That’s not the case here.
You can’t buy the soul of this layout. You can't commission the specific way he’s captured the "grease and grime" of an industrial park. It’s a labor of love. He’s been seen in numerous interviews with paint under his fingernails. He talks about the "smell of the glue" with genuine nostalgia.
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In a world where everything is digital and fleeting, there is something incredibly grounded about a man who spends twenty years on a single project. It doesn't matter if he's a knighted rock star; in the model railroad community, he's just another "rivet counter" (that's the slang for people obsessed with accuracy).
The Scale of the Layout
If you want to visualize 1,500 square feet, think of a decent-sized three-bedroom house. Now imagine that entire space filled with tracks, mountains, rivers, and cities. It occupies the third floor of his home in Los Angeles.
He moved the entire thing from the UK to the US. Imagine the logistics of that. Shipping thousands of fragile, hand-painted pieces across the Atlantic without them shattering into a million bits. It’s a miracle of engineering in itself.
Why You Should Care About Rod Stewart’s Trains
You might not be into model trains. You might not even like Rod Stewart’s music. But the Rod Stewart train set represents something we’re losing in the modern age: the "Deep Hobby."
We live in a "scroll and forget" culture. We pick up hobbies for three weeks and then sell the equipment on eBay. Rod has stayed committed to this for nearly three decades. It shows a level of discipline and artistic vision that is rare.
It also humanizes the "Rock Star." We see these people as untouchable icons, but here is a guy who just wants to sit in a quiet room and paint tiny bricks. It’s relatable. It’s even a bit endearing.
The Layout as a Historical Document
Because Rod is so obsessed with the 1940s, his layout serves as a sort of three-dimensional history book. He researched the specific types of coal barges used in New York harbor. He looked at the architectural styles of 1940s Chicago warehouses.
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He even included a tribute to his own history. If you look closely at some of the posters and billboards in his miniature city, there are subtle nods to his career and his family. But they’re hidden. They aren't the focus. The focus is the world he created.
How to Get Into Modeling Like Rod
If you’re inspired by the Rod Stewart train set, don’t try to build a 1,500-square-foot city on your first day. You'll quit in a week.
- Start with a Diorama: Don't even worry about the trains yet. Try to build one single building. Buy a "plastic kit" and focus on making it look real.
- Learn Weathering: This is the game changer. Get some cheap acrylic paints and learn how to make something look old. It’s surprisingly satisfying.
- Join a Community: Rod is part of several modeling groups. Even if you're a beginner, people in this hobby love to share their secrets.
- Pick a Theme: Don't just buy random stuff. Pick an era or a city. It gives your project a "soul," just like Rod’s 1940s American aesthetic.
The Legacy of the "Greatest Hobby"
Rod Stewart once said that he thinks model railroading is the "greatest hobby in the world." He’s not alone. Famous fans include Walt Disney, Neil Young, and Frank Sinatra.
But Rod took it further than almost anyone else. He didn't just have a train set; he built a world. And in that world, he isn't Sir Rod Stewart, CBE. He’s just the guy in charge of the Grand Street and Three Rivers City.
When you look at photos of the layout, notice the clouds. He hand-painted the backdrop to have that specific, heavy American sky. That’s the level of detail we’re talking about. It’s not just a "train set." It’s a 26-year-long painting that you can run locomotives through.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
If you want to see the layout in its full glory, look for the December 2019 issue of Model Railroader. It contains the most detailed photos ever taken of the project. You can also find several video interviews where Rod walks through the layout—look for his appearance on Jeremy Vine or his BBC specials where he discusses the craftsmanship behind the scenery.
For those looking to start their own journey, research "HO Scale Modeling" and look for local clubs. Most major cities have "Modular" clubs where you can contribute a small section to a larger layout, which is exactly how many pros (including Rod) honed their skills before building their own massive empires.