Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

The former Presidential Yacht of Franklin D. Roosevelt has been chartered for an evening cruise on the Oakland-Alameda Estuary and San Francisco Bay. Guests will wander through the private quarters of the president and experience the ambience of this fully operational historical museum. The evening meal with premium wine, beer and soft drinks is included. See http://usspotomac.org.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

The Walt Disney Family Museum presents the real story of Walt Disney, the man, his work, his legacy of entertainment and love of trains. The Museum is located in the historically preserved Presidio of San Francisco, a former U.S. Army base and now a National Park. The galleries are rooted in an architecturally preserved 19th century barracks. Early animation techniques are shown and historic equipment for movie making is on display. See http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/.

On the way to the Disney Museum the tour will visit three N scale layouts, one of which was featured on the cover of the June 2011 Model Railroader Magazine. After the Museum we will head for the Oakland Amtrak station for those taking the train to Sacramento. The bus will then continue back to the Newark/Fremont Hilton Hotel. See layout tour AL21 for a description of the included layouts.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

Please do not sign up for both AG21 and AL21 -- they are the same tour!

This schedule may not allow adequate time for connection with some of the Sacramento evening tours.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

The Caltrain Maintenance Facility (CEMOF) is the bay area service and repair focus for California's state owned passenger train system. It was formerly operated by SP and has been expanded and upgraded to the latest technology and machines. Our tour host will be the Valley Transportation Agency that partners with Cal Trains and Amtrak to provide a top grade regional heavy rail service. Capitol Corridor trains provide frequent service between San Jose and Sacramento. The CC can be used by those wishing to take the train to the main NMRA convention. See http://www.capitolcorridor.org/ and the CEMOF Wikipedia Article.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

Since that time, the Pacific Locomotive Association has extended the line as far as the town of Niles and now boards trains at both ends of the line, at Niles Station and the 1880's depot in Sunol.

After our round-trip ride from Niles to Sunol and back, we will return to the Hilton for you to eat and pick-up luggage prior to moving on the Fremont Amtrak station for the train trip to Sacramento. Tour price includes, bus transportation, Niles Canyon ticket and Amtrak travel.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

This schedule allows adequate time for connection with all of the Sacramento evening Tours.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

This schedule may not allow adequate time for connection with some of the Sacramento evening Tours.

Advance Section registration is required to attend any of the Advance Section events.

The Yolo Shortline Railroad Company, created in 1991, purchased the Woodland Branch from the UP, and today continues to operate freight service out Woodland, California as well as the Sacramento River Dinner Train.

Our trip on the Sacramento River Train will include a buffet dinner, a beer tasting featuring historic California beers and musical entertainment.

So for a change of pace from train rides - we have at least one available every day - come out and join the festivities at Raley Field.

Reader's Digest once called The Jelly Belly Factory® tour the best factory tour in America. We think you will agree as you see how Jelly Belly® and other candies are made, taste free samples, view the amazing art created from Jelly Belly® candies, and explore their unique gift shop.

Tour G201 will run on July 4th, when the factory is not in production. The Jelly Belly® people have a special treat prepared for people who visit on days when they are not working. So if you want the whole "watch-em-work" experience you'll want G601. If the thought of dancing robots is more your style, you want G201.

The Truckee Donner Railroad Society is a group of individuals who recognizing the importance railroads played in the formation and development of Truckee and the surrounding area, formed a not-for-profit corporation in 2000. Their mission is to perpetuate the study, advancement and knowledge of the working railroad in the Truckee Donner area. On May 8, 2010, the TDRS opened a museum in a former SP caboose adjoining the Amtrak station in Truckee.

That museum, along with an on-your-own lunch in one of downtown Truckee's many dining establishments will be the final stop on our trip before heading back to the convention center.

This tour involves a significant amount of difficult walking at high altitude (7,000') and is definitely not for convention attendees not physically able to contend with that effort. Temperatures at that altitude, partiularly inside the tunnels can be chilly.

Due to track re-alignments by the Union Pacific, the exact routing of the walking portion of the tour is unable to be determined at this time, but rest assured it will be enjoyable (and strenuous) whatever the final routing will be.

Join us in learning about how Cal-Fire keeps their aerial tankers ready to respond in protect the state's residents from wildfires.

No open toed shoes or heels allowed. Shorts OK

At the Burbank House we will have a docent led tour of the home, gardens and greenhouse. Our tour of the Schulz Museum and Research Center will also be docent led but will also allow time to visit the center’s ice hockey rink where Mr. Schulz used to play.

Our on-your-own lunch stop will be at Railroad Square in Santa Rosa where tour participants can also visit the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society’s display in the restored Northwestern Pacific Depot, or visit the antique shops around the square. For dedicated antique shoppers, the Warm Puppy Café at the Schulz Museum offers an alternative to the Railroad Square dining establishments.

After leaving the Discovery Site State Park we will travel to Placerville, California. There we will visit two underground mines, one not normally open for public viewing, and their associated stamp mill. These mines are representative of the hard rock mining that followed after the great hordes of 49er's had panned out most of California’s gold-bearing streambeds. At the restored stamp mill, tour visitors will witness a replica of the stamping machine in operation.

This tour includes a box lunch at the gold discovery site.

Closed toed non-slip shoes are required for this tour.

Check out their website!

If there is enough interest in a trip on a different day or time we will arrange a second discount book arrival. Inquire at the tour desk.

Reader's Digest once called The Jelly Belly Factory® tour the best factory tour in America. We think you will agree as you see how Jelly Belly® and other candies are made, taste free samples, view the amazing art created from Jelly Belly® candies, and explore their unique gift shop.

Tour G201 will run on July 4th, when the factory is not in production. The Jelly Belly® people have a special treat prepared for people who visit on days when they are not working. So if you want the whole "watch-em-work" experience you'll want G601. If the thought of dancing robots is more your style, you want G201.

Since 1942 Guide Dogs for the Blind has graduated over 10,000 teams, over 2,200 of whom are currently active. The organization is supported by 140 puppy raising clubs and 1,400 puppy raising volunteers. Staff and volunteers at the training facilities number 265 employees and 950 volunteers.

During the HOUR LONG WALKING TOUR of the 11 acre campus, you'll see how the dogs are cared for and trained.

A group of concerned citizens founded the Napa Valley Wine Train in 1987 and acquired the line from the SP, restoring 25 miles of track for its current use.

Motive power is provided by four FPA-4 diesel locomotives built by the Montreal Locomotive works in 1958 and 1959. The dining cars are ex-Northern Pacific Railway First Class coaches built by the Pullman Company in 1915, and were extensively restored when the Napa Valley Wine Train acquired the cars from the D&RGW in 1987.

The fare on this tour includes the train and bus transportation, dinner and the gratuity on dinner. There is no wine included in the tour price, but an extensive collection of local wines are available for purchase on the train.

Our trip will in one direction travel via the Feather River Canyon, an excellent locale for railfanning, with anticipated stops at Serpentine Canyon, Virgilia Siding and the Pulga Trestles. Stops will be adjusted to allow photography of detected train traffic. There will be no stop at the Keddie Wye where highway traffic is too dangerous to permit stopping and unloading the bus for photography. We regret this omission from the trip, but safety is critical. Tour P201 will travel directly to Portola via Interstate 80 through Truckee and return via the Feather River Canyon with the railfanning on the return.

Lunch from a local deli will be provided at the Museum.

The Museum does not restrict clothing or shoes but remember you will be in a railroad yard. Getting on and off the bus at railfanning stops with questionable footing in the Feather River Canyon might be another reason to have practical footwear. Lastly, at 5,000 feet elevation you may also want to bring a jacket and think about long pants instead of shorts.

Our trip will in one direction travel via the Feather River Canyon, an excellent locale for railfanning, with anticipated stops at Serpentine Canyon, Virgilia Siding and the Pulga Trestles. Stops will be adjusted to allow photography of detected train traffic. There will be no stop at the Keddie Wye where highway traffic is too dangerous to permit stopping and unloading the bus for photography. We regret this omission from the trip, but safety is critical. Tour P202 will travel via the Feather River Canyon with railfanning on the way to the WP Museum and will return via Interstate 80 through Truckee.

Lunch from a local deli will be provided at the Museum.

The Museum does not restrict clothing or shoes but remember you will be in a railroad yard. Getting on and off the bus at railfanning stops with questionable footing in the Feather River Canyon might be another reason to have practical footwear. Lastly, at 5,000 feet elevation you may also want to bring a jacket and think about long pants instead of shorts.

In 1982 the Sierra Railroad sold it's Jamestown complex, along with the steam locomotives and other equipment, to the State of California, which now runs that facility as a California State Park called Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. The three locomotives are: Sierra Railway No. 2, a Lima 1922 103-Ton Shay; Sierra Railway No. 3, a Rogers 1891 4-6-0, used for movies and specials and the oldest surviving Rogers 4-6-0 and Sierra Railway No. 28, a Baldwin 1922 2-8-0 that is currently out of service.

Our tour will travel down the Mother Lode highway from Placerville to Jamestown, passing through towns built during the Gold Rush. At Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, we will have a Texas Style BBQ in the park's picnic grounds, a docent lead tour of the historic shops and grounds and take about a 50 minute ride behind one of the park's steam locomotives. Although the locomotive used will depend on their status at the time, it is currently expected the train that day will be pulled by the 1891 4-6-0 Sierra #3, star of innumerable movies and TV series, that has recently returned to service.

Our return trip on the less scenic interstate system is designed to have participants arrive back in Sacramento around 6:00 pm, in time to join one of the evening's fireworks events.

Shorts are OK but at 5,000 feet elevation you may want not just long pants but a jacket as well. Closed toe shoes are highly recommended for people running the locomotive. THINK ABOUT IT. Do you really want to be climbing the ladder into a locomotive in sandals, flip flops or high heels? Getting on and off the bus at railfanning stops with questionable footing in the Feather River Canyon might be another reason to have practical footwear.

Shorts are OK but at 5,000 feet elevation you may want not just long pants but a jacket as well. Closed toe shoes are highly recommended for people running the locomotive. THINK ABOUT IT. Do you really want to be climbing the ladder into a locomotive in sandals, flip flops or high heels? Getting on and off the bus at railfanning stops with questionable footing in the Feather River Canyon might be another reason to have practical footwear.

Our tour will include a history of the railroad, a shop tour with photo ops of the locos and shops, and a narrated tour through the railroad's switching district. We will see and hear about the types of switching maneuvers, the businesses served, and the challenges of the railroad.

No open toed shoes or heels. Shorts OK

(Was previously listed as P402 before being moved from Wednesday to Tuesday)
This tour will involve walking in unimproved areas. Appropriate footwear for those conditions is highly recommended.

Today, the CCT has two unconnected lines. One runs from Sacramento to Stockton with a connection to the city of Lodi. A second line serves the Port of Stockton, the second largest inland port on the West Coast, which serves the vast agricultural area of the San Joaquin Valley. This tour will give you an up-close view of this thriving shortline railroad.

Our visit will include a shop tour and photo session of classic CCT equipment.

No open toed shoes or heels. No shorts, you must wear long pants.

The Heidrick collection in addition to farm implements and tractors ranging from an 1890 Deering Reaper to numerous Caterpillar, Holt, Fordson, and John Deere tractors from the 1920's, this exhibit includes a restored City of Woodland horse drawn street car. The Hayes Truck collection includes over 100 different makes of old trucks representing 94 different manufacturers including the one and only 1916 Breeding Steam Truck. And an ALCO Diesel - truck not locomotive.

This informative and comprehensive tour will focus on PSC's entire production cycle from sizing and forming of corrugated materials to high speed color printing and preparation for shipment. This unique tour is limited in the number of participants to approximately 20 so reserve your spot quickly.

Long pants and closed toed shoes (no tennis shoes) are required.

The San Francisco Railway Museum, located across the street from the Ferry Building is designed to complement the historic rail vehicles of the F-line and cable car lines by serving as an information and interpretation center for them. The museum features a full-sized exact replica of the motorman's platform of a 1911 San Francisco streetcar, unique historic artifacts, illustrative and informative displays, rarely seen archival photography, and audio-visual exhibits to bring rail transit in the 19th and 20th centuries to life.

We will travel via Amtrak and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to the San Francisco Railway Museum. The tour fee includes a day pass on Muni, so once our docent led tour of the Museum is over you will be on-your-own for the rest of the day. Ride the trolleys, take pictures as they go by the Museum (all 20 have to pass in each direction in a traffic safe location) dine at either end of the F-street line at Fisherman's Wharf or the less touristy Castro.

As a side trip, catch a Cable Car, the fare is included in the day pass. Go for just the ride or get off at the Cable Car Museum to view their exhibits and the operating wheel that pulls the cable. The Cable Car option is not handicapped accessible, and can involve extensive waits to board at either end of the line. Additionally, re-boarding at the Cable Car Museum can be difficult (they are always full and in the middle of heavy traffic) and you should be prepared to walk down a steep hill to the F-street trolley line.

The last of Amtrak's Capitol Corridor trains from Richmond to Sacramento leaves at 8:30 pm. and you need to catch BART from San Francisco to Richmond at least an hour before that. The convention shuttle running on Thursday will provide transportation from Old Town Sacramento (at the end of the Amtrak station) to the Convention Center until 7:00 pm. See the tour desk prior to departure for more details on pick-up on Tuesday and after 7:00 pm Thursday.

This is a great tour for trolley fans, photography buffs, historians and anybody else just looking for an unconventional day.

The Union Pacific's Davis Yard in Roseville, California is the largest and most modern Classification Yard on the West Coast. Approximately 98% percent of all UP traffic in Northern California moves through the Davis Yard. The Davis Yard greatly improves the UP network to and from Northern California for manifest carload traffic. Davis Yard blocks all cars for Northern California into zones for satellite yards such as Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno, Stockton, Tracy, Warm Springs, Milpitas and Modesto to avoid additional switching at these yards.

The yard encompasses 915 acres. It has 2 mainlines, 8 receiving and departure tracks and 55 bowl tracks with a capacity for 6,500 cars. There are also 247 switches and a repair facility capable of repairing damaged cars in a single day.

During our tour we will visit with the yard's mechanics and the main control tower.

Long pants and hard shoes (no tennis shoes)are required.

Our tour will visit the Sierra Pacific Industries facility in Lincoln, California. This saw mill complex consists of two band mill head rigs with conventional carriages, band re-saw, edgers and trim saw/sorting line plus a small log mill consisting of a twin band mill head saw to break down logs together with re-saw, edger and trim saw/sorting complex. The complex is supported by log yard, de-barking operation, electrical power generation on site, dry kilns and a lumber/timber planing mill for finishing lumber for the retail market.

Our bus guide on this tour will be a name many of you may recognize. Jim Zeek has been a frequent presenter at both Regional and National NMRA conventions, most recently at the 2008 in Anaheim. Jim is also a former SPI employee with extensive experience in the mill processes. A follow up session is planned for Friday evening where both Jim and SPI Community Relations Manager, Mark Luster will be on hand to answer questions about the plant in a quieter environment than the plant.

Long pants and hard shoes (no tennis shoes)are required.

This tour will travel via Sacramento Regional Transit's Light Rail System from the Convention Center to end of the line in Downtown Folsom. All of our stops in Folsom are within walking distance of the light rail stop.

The Union Pacific Railroad is North America's largest railroad, covering 23 states with over 32,000 miles of track. The Union Pacific has almost 42,000 employees and over 8,300 locomotives. For fallen flags followers the UP now incorporates the Missouri Pacific, Western Pacific, MKT, Chicago and Northwestern and the Southern Pacific.

The Union Pacific's Davis Yard in Roseville, California is the largest and most modern Classification Yard on the West Coast. Approximately 98% percent of all UP traffic in Northern California moves through the Davis Yard. The Davis Yard greatly improves the UP network to and from Northern California for manifest carload traffic. Davis Yard blocks all cars for Northern California into zones for satellite yards such as Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno, Stockton, Tracy, Warm Springs, Milpitas and Modesto to avoid additional switching at these yards.

The yard encompasses 915 acres. It has 2 mainlines, 8 receiving and departure tracks and 55 bowl tracks with a capacity for 6,500 cars. There are also 247 switches and a repair facility capable of repairing damaged cars in a single day.

During our tour we will visit with the yard's mechanics and the main control tower.

Long pants and hard shoes (no tennis shoes)are required.

Our tour will visit the Sierra Pacific Industries facility in Lincoln, California. This saw mill complex consists of two band mill head rigs with conventional carriages, band re-saw, edgers and trim saw/sorting line plus a small log mill consisting of a twin band mill head saw to break down logs together with re-saw, edger and trim saw/sorting complex. The complex is supported by log yard, de-barking operation, electrical power generation on site, dry kilns and a lumber/timber planing mill for finishing lumber for the retail market.

Our bus guide on this tour will be a name many of you may recognize. Jim Zeek has been a frequent presenter at both Regional and National NMRA conventions, most recently at the 2008 in Anaheim. Jim is also a former SPI employee with extensive experience in the mill processes. A follow up session is planned for Friday evening where both Jim and SPI Community Relations Manager, Mark Luster will be on hand to answer questions about the plant in a quieter environment than the plant.

Long pants and hard shoes (no tennis shoes)are required.

The facility has had rail service from the beginning, and was served by both Southern Pacific and Western Pacific. Rail service is now provided by the CSRM's Sacramento Southern Railroad.

Our tours will be divided into two groups, with half visiting the actual molding cutting operation. The other half will visit the historic portions of the complex, where photography is not only permitted, but encouraged, especially for people who model the lumber industry. The groups will then switch before returning to the Convention Center or other stop on the shuttle route.

The molding cutting operation is an active wood shop and is an environment with particulate matter in the air. Participants with respiratory issues may want to avoid this portion of the tour.

Closed-toe shoes and long pants required.

The facility has had rail service from the beginning, and was served by both Southern Pacific and Western Pacific. Rail service is now provided by the CSRM's Sacramento Southern Railroad.

Our tours will be divided into two groups, with half visiting the actual molding cutting operation. The other half will visit the historic portions of the complex, where photography is not only permitted, but encouraged, especially for people who model the lumber industry. The groups will then switch before returning to the Convention Center or other stop on the shuttle route.

The molding cutting operation is an active wood shop and is an environment with particulate matter in the air. Participants with respiratory issues may want to avoid this portion of the tour.

The light rail system consists of two lines, linking downtown Sacramento to the Interstate 80 corridor (Blue Line) and Folsom on US 50 (Gold Line). A third line, the Green Line, is currently under construction and will eventually run from downtown to the Sacramento Airport. Our tour will travel to the Facility by bus and return to the Convention Center on the Blue Line.

Our tour will cover three areas of the Maintenance Facility, the shop tour, a discussion of the dual power source line with visits and discussion of the two styles of car and a ride on a restored 1911 Sacramento Street Car affectionately nicknamed "Miss Daisy".

Long pants and closed toe shoes required.

The San Francisco Railway Museum, located across the street from the Ferry Building is designed to complement the historic rail vehicles of the F-line and cable car lines by serving as an information and interpretation center for them. The museum features a full-sized exact replica of the motorman's platform of a 1911 San Francisco streetcar, unique historic artifacts, illustrative and informative displays, rarely seen archival photography, and audio-visual exhibits to bring rail transit in the 19th and 20th centuries to life.

We will travel via Amtrak and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to the San Francisco Railway Museum. The tour fee includes a day pass on Muni, so once our docent led tour of the Museum is over you will be on-your-own for the rest of the day. Ride the trolleys, take pictures as they go by the Museum (all 20 have to pass in each direction in a traffic safe location) dine at either end of the F-street line at Fisherman's Wharf or the less touristy Castro.

As a side trip, catch a Cable Car, the fare is included in the day pass. Go for just the ride or get off at the Cable Car Museum to view their exhibits and the operating wheel that pulls the cable. The Cable Car option is not handicapped accessible, and can involve extensive waits to board at either end of the line. Additionally, re-boarding at the Cable Car Museum can be difficult (they are always full and in the middle of heavy traffic) and you should be prepared to walk down a steep hill to the F-street trolley line.

The last of Amtrak's Capitol Corridor trains from Richmond to Sacramento leaves at 8:30 pm. and you need to catch BART from San Francisco to Richmond at least an hour before that. The convention shuttle running on Thursday will provide transportation from Old Town Sacramento (at the end of the Amtrak station) to the Convention Center until 7:00 pm. See the tour desk prior to departure for more details on pick-up on Tuesday and after 7:00 pm Thursday.

This is a great tour for trolley fans, photography buffs, historians and anybody else just looking for an unconventional day.

Closed-toed shoes must be worn by all participants.

Closed-toed shoes must be worn by all participants.

The Sacramento Southern Railroad is a working railroad owned and operated by the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. Staffed by volunteers, the railroad operates steam powered excursion passenger trains with vintage 1920's-era cars every weekend April-September. The Sacramento Southern's Signal Department is a group of volunteers who maintain the railroad's various Grade Crossing Warning Systems. They conduct all the necessary tests and inspections per Federal Railroad Administration rules and regulations, and make any necessary repairs and revisions to the signal facilities.

Our morning will start in one of the Railroad Museum's presentation theaters, with a discussion of not only how track detection and grade crossing signals work, but also the Federal Regulations that control those activities. The how and why the signals are where they are and operate the way they do. After that we will board a Sacramento Southern train and visit three different grade crossings on the line. We will break into sub-groups with one at each crossing, rotating so each group can discuss the inner workings of each of the three types of crossing protection systems.

The trip requires boarding and disembarking from the train in multiple locations, and a half mile walk along the track. The Sacramento Southern Railroad's trains are not fully accessible to persons with disabilities, due to historic, limited doorway widths and steep stepwells.

Note: Specially scheduled trains Thursday evening during the X2011west Convention will provide everyone in attendance with the opportunity to experience the railroad's route along the Sacramento River, pulled by a vintage steam locomotive.

Closed-toed shoes must be worn by all session participants for safety reasons.

The Truckee Donner Railroad Society is a group of individuals who recognizing the importance railroads played in the formation and development of Truckee and the surrounding area, formed a not-for-profit corporation in 2000. Their mission is to perpetuate the study, advancement and knowledge of the working railroad in the Truckee Donner area. On May 8, 2010 the TDRS opened a museum in a former SP caboose adjoining the Amtrak station in Truckee.

Join us for a tour, lead by a TDRS member that will start in Glenbrook, go up Spooner Summit to follow the old grade to a switchback on a trestle overlooking Lake Tahoe. From there it is a short drive to Spooner Meadow where lumber came off the railroad and was put in a V-Flume to float down to Carson City. After viewing a portion of that 17 mile flume route in Clear Creek Canyon we end this portion of the trip in Carson City with a visit to the Nevada State Railroad Museum. Although the hikes on the Carson and Tahoe Lumber and Fluming Company right-of-way are classified as easy they are still significant walks.

But the V&T was not forgotten. In the mid-1970s, Robert Gray began rebuilding the V&T from Virginia City through Tunnel 4 to Gold Hill, a few miles away, as a tourist line. Steam trains began running over this portion of the historic line in 1976. In 2005, work began on reconstruction of the line between Virginia City and Carson City and the inaugural run over the new line, much of which follows the original alignment, took place in August 2009.

We will ride the reconstructed V&T from Carson City to historic Virginia City where you will have an opportunity to sightsee the old town as well as enjoy an own your own lunch. After lunch we will take the train back down to Carson City for a visit to the Nevada State Railroad Museum. The NSRM preserves the railroad heritage of Nevada including the V&T and other railroads of the Silver State. The museum houses two restored and operable V&T steam locomotives and a V&T McKeen motorcar which was returned to service in 2010.

The tour is designed to be back to the Convention Center in time for the Saturday evening event.