Model Railroading > Rod "The Mod" Stewart, in The Daily Mail

Kinda funny how they headlined this one, takes his train set with him on tour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3264325/My-favourite-tracks-ones-trains-says-Rod-Stewart-Singer-reveals-books-second-hotel-room-models-play-tour.html?ito=email_share_article-bottom

That is soooo cool. Rod if you see this come and see our club layout in Cheyenne. I would be glad to show you around including perhaps a tour of the UP Steam Loco shop.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

This has come up before on TO and has been elaborated on in two issues of MR.  To the uninitiated,
what do they know about "train set" and Model Railroad empire. He does not bring his "train set" on
tour, but his portable workshop so he can build structures, repair engines, and do what the rest of us
do in our model railroad workshop at home.  There were shots of this set-up in one of the MR articles.
I would imagine the separate room is not only to accommodate the magnitude of his equipment, but
to keep his conversation with guests on topic (singing, albums, concerts, etc.) rather than having them
blab: toys, train sets, etc, to the press....like keeping your private life private!  

If you''ve seen the MR articles, you know this guy is a real craftsman, along the lines of George Sellios
and others we seen written up in the railroad magazines.  Those inaccurate, poorly written articles (because
of lack of knowledge of the subject)  don't help perpetuate his stature in model railroading.
Frank30

Nice to see Rod talking so positively about the hobby and not giving a rip if people laugh.  Hollywood tends to show model railroaders a nut cases such as in the movie Intollerable Cruelty.

Cheers, Jim Fitch

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice to see Rod talking so positively about the
> hobby and not giving a rip if people laugh. 
> Hollywood tends to show model railroaders a nut
> cases such as in the movie Intollerable Cruelty.
>
> Cheers, Jim Fitch
I enjoy watching the Big Bang Theory as they portray one of the characters, Sheldon, as an exceptionally bright but wacky train aficionado. As an individual that attended college on an athletic scholarship I have to laugh when some of my college buddies kid me about playing with "choo-choos". I guess some of us break the mold and that tends to upset those that built those molds.

Rod's layout will appear again in Model Railroader, the upcoming June 2017 issue.

Cupolau Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I enjoy watching the Big Bang Theory as they
> portray one of the characters, Sheldon, as an
> exceptionally bright but wacky train aficionado.
> As an individual that attended college on an
> athletic scholarship I have to laugh when some of
> my college buddies kid me about playing with
> "choo-choos". I guess some of us break the mold
> and that tends to upset those that built those
> molds.

One of the good things about getting older is I'm past caring what people think about me playing with choo choos.  I've been breaking the mold now for the past 30-40 years without trying.  =P

Cheers, JIm Fitch

Cupolau Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SPDRGWfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nice to see Rod talking so positively about the
> > hobby and not giving a rip if people laugh. 
> > Hollywood tends to show model railroaders a nut
> > cases such as in the movie Intollerable
> Cruelty.
> >
> > Cheers, Jim Fitch
> I enjoy watching the Big Bang Theory as they
> portray one of the characters, Sheldon, as an
> exceptionally bright but wacky train aficionado.
> As an individual that attended college on an
> athletic scholarship I have to laugh when some of
> my college buddies kid me about playing with
> "choo-choos". I guess some of us break the mold
> and that tends to upset those that built those
> molds.

yea, isn't it hilarious!  i remember after a hockey game during a 3-day tournament in las vegas, my teammates all went out to party and gamble.  i told them my girlfriend (now wife) and i were going out into the desert to watch trains and we would see y'all at the next game.  they were cool about it.......

66

In the mid to late 1970's, Rod Stewart lived in the Beverly Hills or Brentwood area of Los Angeles and would come into my store on a fairly regular basis.  He would buy a few sticks of balsa or bass wood, a bottle of paint, a tube of glue and that was pretty much it.  Very quiet, did not want any special attention paid to him, sort of snuck in and snuck out.

He married Alana in 1979 and for Christmas of 1980, I believe, she came into my store and wanted to buy a 5'x 9' HO layout for Rod.  I tried to tell her that Rod was a modeler and that the last thing he wanted was a layout built by someone else, but she insisted and we had a custom layout built and delivered to the Stewart home on Christmas Eve.  Of course, Rod did not want it and then Alana refused to pay for it.  Took me about a year of fighting and threatening to sue her, before she finally paid the bill.  I believe it was around $5,000.00 or so.  As I recall, we got the layout back when he divorced her, around 1984 or so.  I put it in the front window and sold it quickly, with a sign saying "Formerly Owned by Rod Stewart."  Made good money on the front end and the back end of that deal.

One day, Rod had called and said he was coming in for some little thing and wanted to make sure we had it.  He never made it, as while sitting at a red light, in his Porsche 930 Turbo, at the intersection of Wilshire & Westwood Blvds., about two miles from my store, a fellow shoved a .45 in his face and carjacked him!

Rod never spent big bucks with me.  He mostly bought scratch building supplies, an occasional brass loco, but I would be surprised if he dropped more than $25,000.00 over the many years he shopped at my store, which is going-out-to-dinner money for someone in his league.  And, by the way, he makes a fortune on recordings and live tours, but the real money comes from the songs he, himself wrote, going back to the 1960's, for which he still owns all the rights.

After I sold the business, the new owners continued to deal with Rod, until..........well, until they went bankrupt.  I wonder where Rod shops for his trains these days?  Oh well.

Hope you are all well,

Allen Drucker

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/17 20:14 by Streamliner.

Streamliner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In the mid to late 1970's, Rod Stewart lived in
> the Beverly Hills or Brentwood area of Los Angeles
> and would come into my store on a fairly regular
> basis.  He would buy a few sticks of balsa or
> bass wood, a bottle of paint, a tube of glue and
> that was pretty much it.  Very quiet, did not
> want any special attention paid to him, sort of
> snuck in and snuck out.
>
> He married Alana in 1979 and for Christmas of
> 1980, I believe, she came into my store and wanted
> to buy a 5'x 9' HO layout for Rod.  I tried to
> tell her that Rod was a modeler and that the last
> thing he wanted was a layout built by someone
> else, but she insisted and we had a custom layout
> built and delivered to the Stewart home on
> Christmas Eve.  Of course, Rod did not want it
> and then Alana refused to pay for it.  Took me
> about a year of fighting and threatening to sue
> her, before she finally paid the bill.  I believe
> it was around $5,000.00 or so.  As I recall, we
> got the layout back when he divorced her, around
> 1984 or so.  I put it in the front window and
> sold it quickly, with a sign saying "Formerly
> Owned by Rod Stewart."  Made good money on the
> front end and the back end of that deal.
>
> One day, Rod had called and said he was coming in
> for some little thing and wanted to make sure we
> had it.  He never made it, as while sitting at a
> red light, in his Porsche 930 Turbo, at the
> intersection of Wilshire & Westwood Blvds., about
> two miles from my store, a fellow shoved a .45 in
> his face and carjacked him!
>
> Rod never spent big bucks with me.  He mostly
> bought scratch building supplies, an occasional
> brass loco, but I would be surprised if he dropped
> more than $25,000.00 over the many years he
> shopped at my store, which is going-out-to-dinner
> money for someone in his league.  And, by the
> way, he makes a fortune on recordings and live
> tours, but the real money comes from the songs he,
> himself wrote, going back to the 1960's, for which
> he still owns all the rights.
>
> After I sold the business, the new owners
> continued to deal with Rod, until..........well,
> until they went bankrupt.  I wonder where Rod
> shops for his trains these days?  Oh well.
>
> Hope you are all well,
>
> Allen Drucker

Maybe he drives that Porsche to Pasadena ?
Chris
>
>  

Makes me wonder if even Rod didn't want to pay full retail for trains.