GILROY
– Silicon Valley’s “father” of modern transit service has put
Gilroy on a list of three cities that could become the permanent
home for his latest pet project – the Santa Clara County Railroad
Museum. So far, the museum that could draw more than 200,000 people
to downtown every year, has t
he support – and at the very least the interest of – the mayor,
the president of the historical society and the executive directors
of the Economic Development Corporation and the Visitor’s
Bureau.
GILROY – Silicon Valley’s “father” of modern transit service has put Gilroy on a list of three cities that could become the permanent home for his latest pet project – the Santa Clara County Railroad Museum.
So far, the museum that could draw more than 200,000 people to downtown every year, has the support – and at the very least the interest of – the mayor, the president of the historical society and the executive directors of the Economic Development Corporation and the Visitor’s Bureau.
Rod Diridon – a former Santa Clara County supervisor and founder of the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation briefed city officials last week on plans to relocate a number of historical train artifacts – from restored locomotives to authentic roundhouses – to a new railroad museum. Diridon, who has a San Jose train station named after him, is looking for an interested city to donate land for the museum. The cost of building the museum and refurbishing its antique attractions would be undertaken by California Trolley and Railroad Corp. volunteers.
The Gilroy train depot is at 7250 Monterey St.
In order for the museum to come to Gilroy, City Council must be willing to give the vacant parcel to Diridon at no cost, allowing him to use the California Trolley and Railroad Corp.’s limited funds on museum construction and artifact refurbishing.
If tourism increases as much as Diridon says it will, the city could see another benefit – a rise in sales tax revenue.
In recent days, Campbell and Milpitas fell out of contention as potential museum sites since those two cities do not have available land near the train tracks. Only San Jose and Santa Clara are still in the running.
Diridon indicated that it is really down to just Gilroy and San Jose. Diridon says the property Santa Clara pointed him to is “not in an ideal location.”
