Sir Rod Stewart has admitted he is no longer ’embarrassed’ to share his love for model railways as he proudly unveiled his beloved hobby.
The A-lister, 79, describes going into his workshop as ‘like entering the gates of heaven’ and admitted the hobby ‘has taken over his life’.
But Rod said he was afraid of unveiling his new hobby as he thought ‘railway modelling and rock’n’roll didn’t go together’ and so hid it for years.
Now, for the first time Rod has showcased his incredible model railway layout, which he dubs ‘Grand Street & Three Rivers Railroad’.
He told Railway Modeller magazine that he finds working on his set ‘relaxing’ and often spends ‘four to five hours’ in his workshop.
Rod said: ‘When I walk into my workshop, it’s like entering the gates of heaven for me. It’s just ahhh…this is my time. I would say I spend, on average, four or five hours a day if I can. Even if there’s twenty minutes I go over to my workshop.
Sir Rod Stewart, 79, has admitted he is no longer ’embarrassed’ to share his love for model railways as he proudly unveiled his beloved hobby
The A-lister describes going into his workshop as ‘like entering the gates of heaven’ and admitted the hobby ‘has taken over his life’
‘In twenty minutes I can get quite a lot done. And it’s really taken over my life somewhat. In a wonderful way. There was a time I hid away from it.
‘Because I thought railway modelling and rock’n’roll don’t go together and I was sort of embarrassed. But I’m not anymore, I’m proud of it. I mean obviously music is my main life’s work, but this is definitely second.’
Rod has transported his 900ft of track 5,000 miles from LA to his Essex home, with plans to expand the model even further.
He also trades elements of the set with close friend and fellow train model fan Jools Holland, he revealed.
It comes after Rod’s wife Penny Lancaster broke her silence on MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace after Rod slammed the host, following his exit from the BBC show amid a series of misconduct claims.
Appearing on Loose Women on Thursday, the model, 53, addressed the claims for the first time, saying she had been a ‘victim and witness’ to Gregg’s bullying.
She said: ‘I most definitely was witness and victim to some of the bullying and harassment behaviour of Gregg Wallace. And unfortunately a lot of those in the production team were also witness to that.’
She went on: ‘I really feel that he used his position of power to I believe intimidate and cause distress to a lot of people on set.
But Rod said he was afraid of unveiling his new hobby as he thought ‘railway modelling and rock’n’roll didn’t go together’ and so hid it for years
Now, for the first time Rod has showcased his incredible model railway layout, which he dubs ‘Grand Street & Three Rivers Railroad’
He told Railway Modeller magazine that he finds working on his set ‘relaxing’ and often spends ‘four to five hours’ in his workshop
Rod said: ‘When I walk into my workshop, it’s like entering the gates of heaven for me. It’s just ahhh…this is my time. I would say I spend, on average, four or five hours a day if I can. Even if there’s twenty minutes I go over to my workshop’
‘In twenty minutes I can get quite a lot done. And it’s really taken over my life somewhat. In a wonderful way. There was a time I hid away from it’
‘Because I thought railway modelling and rock’n’roll don’t go together and I was sort of embarrassed. But I’m not anymore, I’m proud of it. I mean obviously music is my main life’s work, but this is definitely second’
Rod has transported his 900ft of track 5,000 miles from LA to his Essex home
Rod unveiled his remarkable model railway
The rocker has plans to expand the model even further
He also trades elements of the set with close friend and fellow train model fan Jools Holland (pictured), he revealed
‘And it’s really unfortunate that someone like him is allowed to get away with that while other stands by and let it happen at the same time. And it’s obvious that a lot of people have come forward.’
Gregg, 60, stepped away from MasterChef after 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, accused him of ‘wrong’ and inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming.
Following his exit, singer Rod issued a furious rant at the presenter, calling him a ‘tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully’ for ‘humiliating’ wife Penny when she appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021.
Explaining the decision behind Rod’s angry post, Penny said: ‘My husband when he heard people talking about the disturbing behaviors, he couldn’t hold back.
‘Protective husband thought, “I’m not going to stay silent I need to say something,” because he realised how upset I was at the time.’
She added that she hadn’t known about her husband’s Instagram rant until afterwards, saying: ‘I was actually on jury service and you have to turn your phones off completely so I was off grid for a period of time.
‘And when I did turn my phone back on I got a message from a friend saying, “Oh my god, how amazing was that message your husband put out!” And I was like “What message? What has he done?”‘
However, Penny confessed that she also felt ‘vindicated’ by seeing other people come forward with their claims, explaining: ‘I was in shock and then I thought of all the repercussions of all that.
‘Then a day or two afterwards I felt a little bit vindicated that something was put out there. Going back to that whole MeToo it is shocking to think how many women do suffer at the hands of men in powerful position and too afraid to talk out and don’t feel at the time they are going to be supported or listened to.
Rod’s wife Penny Lancaster broke her silence on MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace after Rod slammed the host, following his exit from the BBC show amid a series of misconduct claims
The model, 53, addressed the claims for the first time, saying she had been a ‘victim and witness’ to Gregg’s bullying (pictured on Celebrity MasterChef in 2021)
Gregg, 60, stepped away from MasterChef after 13 people, including Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, accused him of ‘wrong’ and inappropriate ‘sexualised’ behaviour during filming
‘So sometimes it can take a few years later for someone to mention something and it gives the other victims and people that have suffered the confidence to come forward.’
Penny was left in tears during her appearance on the show after Gregg told her off with the ‘serious’ delay of her food and then refused to eat her food.
The moment when Gregg refused to eat Penny‘s tartar sauce – blasting her for using ‘whole eggs instead of egg yolks’ – re-emerged after her husband Rod branded him a ‘tubby bully’.
Gregg also chastised Penny – who is a volunteer special police constable – for being late serving her food to critics in the quarter finals, leaving her in tears.
Following the announcement, Sir Rod wrote: ‘Good riddance Wallace… You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you? You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully. Karma got ya’.
The BBC has revealed 13 people, including Kirsty Wark, have complained about his conduct while working with him over a 17-year period across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.
Kirsty alleges Gregg told stories and jokes of a ‘sexualised nature’ in front of contestants and crew while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2011 on two occasions and added his gags and comments were ‘really, really in the wrong place’.
Following his exit, singer Rod issued a furious rant at the presenter, calling him a ‘tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully’ for ‘humiliating’ wife Penny when she appeared on the show
Penny said that she hadn’t known about her husband’s Instagram rant until afterwards, but confessed that she felt ‘vindicated’ by seeing other people come forward with their claims
Rod and wife Penny pictured together in 2019
‘There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if anyone engaged with this. It was completely one-way traffic. But I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really did not expect to happen’, she said.
The BBC and MasterChef’s production company, Banijay, declined to comment.
In a resurfaced clip from Penny’s time on the show, the former model was humiliated when her fried calamari and homemade tartar sauce went awry, with the judges refusing to taste what was brandied a ‘raw egg/oil milkshake’.
When initially tasked with making her own tartar sauce the former Loose Woman star seemed to believe she was getting off to a promising start, beaming with confidence. She quipped to the camera: ‘I’m doing surprisingly well compared to what I imagined how I’d be doing. I don’t want to slip up now.’
But she spoke too soon as her sauce quickly went wrong as John delivered the devastating blow of declaring the sauce inedible.
When she served, Penny said: ‘That tartar sauce doesn’t look like the tartar sauce I’d normally have’, as Gregg informed her: ‘You used whole eggs instead of egg yolks’.
‘What I’ve got in here is a raw egg/oil milkshake. Unfortunately, I can’t eat that,’ co-judge John Torode added.
However all wasn’t lost for Penny as she received compliments on her calamari from the duo and later wowed the hosts with her chicken and coconut curry, green papaya chutney, grated apple, turnip and carrot salad as well as the coconut rice.
Gregg showered her with praise at the time branding her ‘a stand out cook’, adding: ‘I found myself going from bowl to bowl to bowl and finding it difficult to stop, you have had what we call in the industry and very good day.’
