One of the things the convention organizers suggest is that you do more
than just come to the
convention and then go home. As long as you are going to take the time
and expense to travel to the convention, you might want to take some
extra time and see some of the wonders of this part of the nation, and
while you are at it see many railroad museums, operating railroads, and
O scale layouts than what you would see in a quick out-and-back trip.
This is an excellent opportunity for you, your spouse, your children,
and your grandchildren to see many scenic attractions of this great
country of ours. As long as you are coming to the convention, why not
take some extra time so your family can have a great vacation trip?
What is the Grand Tour
It is an opportunity to see and visit many spectacular layouts,
railroad museums, preserved operating railroads, national parks, and
many other attractions that may interest you. It is possible to split
the Grand Tour, with some touring before the convention and some
touring after the convention.
How does the Grand Tour Work
If you want to do some touring before the convention, you would fly
from your location into one of the airports we have identified as being
at the beginning of a tour route. Currently those airports are Las
Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle. You would rent a car and
drive to the convention location in Santa Clara, doing a part of the
Grand Tour along the way.
Another option is to use Denver as either
your starting or ending point for the tour; this would allow you the
opportunity to visit the many historical railroads and railroad sites,
including preserved operating railroads, that are in Colorado. If you
wish you could use the Grand Tour route between Las Vegas and Santa
Clara for part of your route between Denver and Santa Clara.
If you want to do your touring after the convention, you would fly into
the San Francisco area. After the convention you would use a rented car
and drive to one of the airports listed above, doing the Grand Tour
along the way.
Alternately, you could fly from home into one of the above cities, tour
to the convention, and then tour to a different city from which you
would fly home.
Grand Tour Routes
The grand tour comprises several routes, any of which can be traversed
coming to Santa Clara before the convention or leaving Santa Clara
after the convention. Below are listed the major cities that you may
choose to make either the beginning of your tour ending in Santa Clara,
or the end of your tour starting out from Santa Clara.
There are several different routes between Las Vegas and Santa
Clara, all of which are rich in attractions and activities. The routes
between Seattle and Santa Clara take your through various areas of the
scenic Pacific Northwest. The routes between Los Angeles/San Diego are
rich in California history, and offer some spectacular layouts to visit.
Las Vegas
There are several routes between
Las Vegas
and Santa Clara, each of which offers its own set of model and real
railroad attractions along with national parks and beautiful scenery.
Please note that air fares to Las Vegas are quite low in order to
encourage visitors. Further note that those of you not interested in
the gambling and "sin city/what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas"
aspects of the city will find that there is another side of Las Vegas -
the family destination side. There are plenty of family-oriented
attractions in Las Vegas, and for the most part the family-oriented and
non-family-oriented activities are easily separated.
Click here to see the details of the Las
Vegas route of the Grand Tour.
Los Angeles
The
Los Angeles area
offers too many attractions to list here. In addition to the major
attractions of Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, the Hollywood film
studios and tours, there are the
Griffith
Park live steam operation that has been running since 1948, the
Orange Empire Railroad Museum, and
Train Town. On the way you can stop
at the Bitter Creek and Western live steam railroad in Arroyo Grande,
about half way between Los Angeles and Santa Clara; see the layout
tours page for more information on this railroad.
Click here for information about the
Grand Tour starting in Los Angeles or San Diego.
San Diego
In addition to the spectacular full scale in HO model of the Tehachapi
Loop located in the
San Diego Model
Railroad Museum,
San Diego
offers many attractions including a wonderful zoo and a historic Old
Town.
Seattle
Seattle is the home
of quite a bit of O scale activity. Further, there are several O and S
scale layouts on the route between Seattle and Santa Clara; 5 in
Seattle, 2 in the Portland area, 2 S layouts in extreme northern
California, and one layout just north of San Francisco. Further,
you should plan to visit
Train
Mountain in southern Oregon where there are 25 1/4 miles of actual
live steam trackage.
Click here for
information about the Grand Tour starting in Seattle.
