Rod Stewart sets up camera to keep an eye on his model railroad layout as it embarks on transatlantic journey

Legendary singer Sir Rod Stewart set up a spy camera to keep an eye on his sprawling model railroad layout, as it was dismantled in preparation for a transatlantic journey from the United States to the UK.

The amusing anecdote, as reported on by the Express, was revealed by the Maggie May hitmaker’s wife and model, Penny Lancaster, while talking on the LNER Routes Podcast.

Rod, who would famously take railroad modelling supplies and kits out on the road to keep him occupied when touring, was keen to transport the layout to the famous couple’s residence in Essex during lockdown. But it was Penny who came up with the ingenious idea to hire a crew that dismantles film sets.

"I think he had a camera set up so he could watch it all," she told podcast host, Jenni Falconer. "They moved it into these containers and then on ships over to the UK." Well, the good news is that Rod’s model railroad arrived safely. I wonder if a film dismantling crew would be up to packaging and shipping my Nikon Z lens collection?

I used to write for UK-based model railroad magazine, Model Rail, in the distant past, and I can tell you that I’m entirely on Rod’s side. I worry enough about shipping camera gear, but model trains and painstakingly put together model railroad scenery are extremely delicate.

Handcrafted models are irreplaceable, too. Rod’s spent roughly 24 years putting together his layout, which is based on a wartime American city, complete with towering high-rise buildings. The Guardian listed his labor of love as being a sprawling 1,674 square feet, so readying it for shipping must have been no mean feat!

You might also like...

Interested in photographing miniatures? I used a smoke machine to photograph Lego, and the results are cinematic. Perhaps you'd like to photograph lifesize locomotives? Here's how to shoot the age of steam. And finally, take a glance at the best macro lenses.