Rod Stewart has spent a whopping £70,000 getting his 124ft long giant model railway shipped from the attic in his house in the US to his Essex abode where it will be reassembled. So far, it has taken him eight months.
The 77-year-old is a keen model railway enthusiast and his beloved train set, named Grant Street And Three Rivers City, has not been easy to transport.
Rod chartered two shipping container ships and specialist freight planes to bring all of the pieces over, and the journey was marred by delays in the Panama Canal.
He had hoped to get it delivered and reassembled by Christmas 2021.
Speaking on BBC radio programme Loose Ends, Rod revealed: “It all got flown over here. It’s taken eight months, two containers on a ship that went through the Panama Canal and now we’re rebuilding it here in Britain.
It had taken decades to build and cost £30,000.
“It took me 23 years to build my model railway so I feel their pain,” the Sailing singer said at the time.
“The collection was priceless and I am donating £10,000 to help compensate those affected and asking fellow enthusiasts Jools Holland, Roger Daltrey and others to do the same.”
Explaining where his love of the hobby came from, Rod explained: “It is all because my dad bought me a signal box and I was born across the railway tracks in Highgate.”