Santa Clara County’s “father of modern transit” will be celebrated for his work to preserve railroad history on Oct. 6.
Rod Diridon Sr. has worn plenty of hats in his 83 years: he served two combat tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy, worked as a junior executive with Lockheed, started his own research polling firm and spent 20 years on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors before his retirement in 1994.
History San Jose CEO Bill Schroh Jr. says that trains and trolleys are an important part of the valley’s story and Diridon has helped History Park showcase these rolling memories. The event’s “fund a need” donation campaign will help restore the park’s newest historic building acquisition, the 1869 Coyote Train Depot — one of the oldest in the Santa Clara Valley. It’ll be part of History Park’s Transportation Corner, which includes a locomotive, an Orchard Supply Hardware boxcar and a caboose.
While on the Board of Supervisors, he pushed for the first half-cent transit sales tax, spearheaded the creation of VTA’s light-rail system and chaired the study that led to the Caltrain commuter service. At the same time he was charting Santa Clara County’s transit future, he was helping to found the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation, which built the trolley barn at History Park and rebuilt nine vintage trolleys.
The 5:30 p.m. outdoor celebration will also serve as the opening of a new exhibit at the Trolley Barn, “Rod Diridon Sr.: A Lifetime of Public Service.” Tickets are available atDiridon said he is very proud to be recognized by History San Jose and groups like it and the Preservation Action Council have missions that are “beyond value.” “Those two organizations working together are making sure we remember the best of the past as we move forward to a better future,” he said.
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