This page describes the Grand Tour route that starts/ends in Los Angeles or San Diego, CA.

There are several routes between San Diego and Los Angeles. One can travel along the coast on I-5 or one inland on I-15. The routes are described from the point of view of going between Los Angeles/San Diego and Santa Clara; if your preference is to go from Santa Clara to Los Angeles/San Diego, you will need to mentally reverse the routes once you understand how they work.

It will help to have dynamic map on your screen as you read through this page; you will be able to find the points and routes described and then understand them. With an active google map, you can move to areas of interest in zoom in to see detail, even switch to aerial views of the terrain. To open a page or tab with a dynamic map, click maps.google.com.

There is an dynamic map for all the attractions (layouts, museums, national parks, etc.) on the various Grand Tour routes.

To access the dynamic map, use the Search Maps box at the top of the google maps window to search for "2010osnat"; on the result page, the left hand column can be scrolled vertically - click on the blue Grand Tour link in the bottom line of text for the "A" orange balloon. This will bring up the master Grand Tour map which has the open layouts as well as many points of interest on it. Once you have that map in your browser window, refer to it as you read this page.

If you aren't familiar with google maps, take a few minutes to learn how to manipulate the map. All you need to know is that the vertical bar with plus at the top and minus at the bottom is used for zooming in and out, and that holding a mouse button down while dragging the mouse will move your viewpoint.

The attractions of San Diego and Los Angeles have already been described on the Grand Tour page, so they are not repeated here.

Leaving Los Angeles, you will need to decide to travel up the coast on US 101, or go inland on I-5.

The route up US 101 is scenic and in many places parallels the ex-SP (now UP) tracks Freight traffic is light, but you might see some of the commuter trains that run as far north as San Luis Obispo. There is one layout open on this route, the Bitter Creek and Western, which is a live steam layout. Continue up US 101 to the Great American Parkway exit in Santa Clara then right to the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara.

The route up I-5 is faster and less scenic. However, you can detour to the Tehachapi loop and then on to Guy Krivanek's display, and also to two layouts in Wofford Heights. Farther up I-5 is Fresno with one layout open before and after the convention and a second layout open after. To the northeast of Fresno is Mariposa with 3 layouts open before and after the convention; see Segment 7 on the Las Vegas tour page for descriptions of these layouts. From I-5, take CA 152 to US 101 and then to Santa Clara.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or need suggestions for any of the above trips.

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