Commuters pause and stare when the doors open along downtown San Jose’s light rail train stops. Before them isn’t the sleek white transit car they’re used to — but a time machine.
VTA officials are reviving their most unique, 96-year-old holiday trolley car after a yearslong absence to run a brief stretch — free of charge — between Civic Center and Diridon stations. For the first time since 2018, residents can step into this carpeted and curtained tram into the early 20th century and admire the interior wood craftsmanship and passing city views.
The transit agency expects to run the 32-seat trolley on weekends before and after Christmas on Dec. 21-22 and Dec. 28-29. The schedule is not published yet and is dependent on the weather, as the trolley can’t go out in the rain.
The trolley car originally served the tramways of Italy until its donation to California for restoration in 1986. Built in 1928 and painted two shades of green, the vintage callback to a golden age of transit brings immense pride to an agency tested many times in its mission to expand transportation access in the car-dominated South Bay.
Ornate wooden cars may have vanished in favor of more advanced, minimalist vehicles, yet debates over public transit service levels — and funding — have lived on. Proposals to cut VTA bus and light rail frequency met heavy pushback in 2021. Proponents saw a glimmer of hope when the proposal to extend BART through Santa Clara County won federal funding. But its ballooning price tag has made the project a punching bag for public transit opponents — and political penny pinchers — who question whether the service is worth the public investment.
The historic trolley represents public transit’s potential over adversity in Silicon Valley, according to Rod Diridon Sr., a legendary transit leader and former county supervisor.
“If you save the best of the past, you’re bound to make a better future,” Diridon told San José Spotlight. “Those trolleys are the best of the past.”
@sanjosespotlight @SCVTA officials are reviving their most unique, 96-year-old holiday trolley car after a yearslong absence to run a brief stretch — free of charge — between Civic Center and Diridon stations. For the first time since 2018, residents can step into this carpeted and curtained tram into the early 20th century and admire the interior wood craftsmanship and passing city views. Learn more at SanJoseSpotlight.com. #sanjose #transit #trolley #christmas #holidaycountdown #siliconvalley
In fact, they ran in Silicon Valley for roughly 100 years, up until 1939. Diridon recalls more than 230 miles of track sprawling over the South Bay — a time where community growth clustered around the stations.
“I’d wager you could say this valley was the most beautiful place you’d have ever seen in the world,” he said.
Then the automobile came along and put the old ways out of business. Mass transit systems suddenly had to be subsidized. Diridon inherited a spate of disarrayed and bankrupt transit systems across the valley when he was first elected county supervisor in the 1970s. After steering a landmark master plan for Santa Clara County transit — the first of its kind in the state — he traveled the world in search of inspiration from other cities’ models. But a stop in Seattle introduced him to the city’s iconic waterfront trolley line, and inspired him to bring one back to his backyard.
The 1928 Italian trolley car is one of six that have been restored under the the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation, a nonprofit historical restoration project that Diridon founded in 1982. The process required extensive knowledge of the trolleys’ electrical, mechanical and structural workings. Each took more than a year to be restored, with old parts saved when possible, and new parts built when necessary.
Diridon said Santa Clara County is closer than ever to making historic trolleys a consistent and irreplaceable part of its image.
“We are there,” he said. “The historic cars are ready to go back into service as soon as there’s a fiscal commitment to maintain and operate them.”
As Silicon Valley grows into a modernized public transit system, Diridon argues the tax burden will lessen as VTA’s light rail cars get faster and more advanced — making the South Bay’s network a global contender.
“The historic trolleys make us remember how we got it started,” Diridon said. “If we learn from them, whether it’s trolleys or beautiful old buildings — or even old people — we create the foundation for something better.”
VTA Light Rail Superintendent Larry Bajwa said the trolley’s purpose is also practical.
“The trolley gives us the opportunity to improve (frequency) in addition to adding to the charm and the story of the trolley itself,” Bajwa told San José Spotlight.
But Bajwa has a stronger connection to the car. Before his current role, he operated this very trolley between 2000 and 2009.
“Transit is the lifeline of our neighborhoods,” Bajwa said. “Without transit we cannot survive — especially in Silicon Valley.”
VTA Operations Manager Shannon Arms said the trolley reflects her agency’s commitment to expanding service where it can.
“It brings the community excitement back and highlights light rail. It shows what VTA is trying to do as a whole, getting people on transit and giving them multiple ways to travel,” Arms told San José Spotlight.
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.