This page describes the Grand Tour route that starts/ends in Seattle, Washington.

The route from Seattle to Santa Clara has several options for getting between certain points. For example, to drive from Portland to Weed, CA, you could either go down Interstate 5, or you could drive east past Mount Hood and then south on U.S. 97 past Crater Lake NP and through Klamath Falls. The routes are described from the point of view of going from Seattle to Santa Clara; if your preference is to go from Santa Clara to Seattle, 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 active 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.

In the Seattle area, there are 5 layouts that will be open for visiting. Four are open only before the convention and one is open the Saturday after the convention. In addition to layouts there is the spectacular scenery of Puget Sound, the Olympic Peninsula including Olympic National Park, and the vibrant downtown Seattle. Ask the owners of the layouts you visit for suggestions for further exploring and sightseeing.

Coming south from Seattle, there is one layout in Portland, in Vic's Hobby Shop in downtown Portland, that can be visited. Since visitors are escorted downstairs to the layout, there needs to be more than one person working in the shop. Calling ahead to determine the best time to visit is advised.

From Portland, you can travel west to the picturesque town of Astoria, where there is a private layout. In addition to the layout, there are many other attractions in the town. Ask the layout owner for tips and suggestions on what to do and see.

Traveling south from Portland/Astoria, there are at least three choices.

You can drive US 101 all the way to Santa Clara, with opportunities to sightsee along the Pacific coast, Redwood National Park, and stopping at a layout in Corte Madera, a few miles north of San Francisco. Then you cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco - you can park and walk on the bridge if you want.
You can drive Interstate 5. Much of the trip through Oregon will be through the fertile Willamette River area, the destination of the pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail. South of Springfield you can choose to leave I-5 and travel east on route 58 to US 97. This will take you past Oakridge, a famous town on the SP when steam locos pulled trains over the mountains. On US 97 continue south (for more information on driving south on US 97 see section 3. below. If you stay on I-5, after you cross into California, there is a layout in Yreka, also home to the Yreka Western whose current status is unknown. The layout owner in Yreka will know more about that status. Going south from Yreka, come to Weed, where US 97 ends at I-5. There are two S scale layouts, one in Weed and one in Shasta. Continuing south from Shasta on I-5, you enter the broad and fertile Sacramento Valley, and will cross the Sacramento River a few times at the head of the valley. In Cottonwood, you can stop and visit the Homabed/California Roadbed manufacturing facility. When you reach the junction with I-505, if you bear left you will continue into the San Francisco Bay area. If you stay on I-5 you will pass through Sacramento, home of the California State Railroad Museum. About an hour east of Sacramento and off I-80, there are two layouts that can be visited. Continue on into the San Francisco Bay area on I-80.
Go east from Portland. You can take I-84 to route US 197 to US 97, or US 26 to US 97, all of which pass through spectacular scenery around Mount Hood. If you pass through Hood River, check out the Mount Hood Railroad. Be sure to look at the railroad bridge over the Crooked River near Madras. Continue on US 26 to Prineville, home of the City of Prineville Railway. On US 97 continue south past Crater Lake NP. Be sure to check out the Train Mountain live steam railroad in Chiloquin. US 97 intersects I-5 at Weed, CA. Pick up the rest of the trip south on I-5 in the previous section 2.

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

Help promote our hobby! The O Scale Kings is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation whose mission is to promote 2-rail O scale model railroading. For more information, click here.