Friends of Kenosha Streetcars

09/28/2026

Kenosha's Twin Coach buses, 1972-1975.

Twin Coach was an American vehicle manufacturing company from 1927 to 1955, located in Kent, Ohio, and a maker of marine engines and airplane parts until the 1960s. It was formed by brothers Frank and William Fageol when they left the Fageol Motor Company in 1927. They established the company in Kent to manufacture and sell buses with a new concept design. The body structure of this new bus was unique in that the body also became the frame and two engines – "twin" engines – were used to allow for larger passenger loads. This concept was patented by William B. Fageol.

Over the years, Twin Coach made transit buses, trolley buses, small delivery vehicles, Fageol six-cylinder gasoline/propane bus and marine engines, Fageol four-cylinder marine engines, and aircraft and truck components. The company was sometimes referred to as "Fageol-Twin Coach". The company was acquired by Flxible in 1955 and merged with it, but use of the Twin Coach name in marketing continued for a few years and the name was briefly revived (as a brand name only) in the late 1960s by a related company called Highway Products, Inc.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Twin Coach was one of the largest producers in the very limited field of trolley bus manufacturing in North America. Until the late 1940s, only three other U.S. companies built more trolley buses: the Brill companies J.G. Brill and successors ACF-Brill and CCF-Brill, Pullman and St. Louis Car Company. Marmon-Herrington entered the field in 1946, but eventually surpassed Twin's total. All told, Twin Coach manufactured 670 "trolley coaches" – as such vehicles were commonly called at the time – but sold them to 16 US different cities, which equates to around one-third of all of the trolley bus systems ever to exist in the United States. The company's best customer for trolley coaches was the Seattle Transit System, which bought a total of 177 between 1940 and 1943.

In 1940, Twin Coach also pioneered the development of the articulated trolley bus in North America, although the first such vehicle in the world was built in Europe in 1939 by Isotta Fraschini/Stanga in Italy. The company built only two articulated trolley buses, and each was marketed as a "Super Twin" model. Both were originally built as demonstrators. The 1940 unit was eventually sold to the Cleveland transit system and entered service there. The second was built as a gas-powered bus in 1946, but was converted into a trolley bus in 1948, leased to the Chicago Transit Authority and was sold to CTA in 1954. It is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.
Twin Coach built motor buses powered by gasoline and propane. Between 1927 and 1934 alone, the company built more than 1,100 motor buses. Production continued to the time of the company's acquisition by Flxible in the 1950s. In 1955, the bus manufacturing operations were sold to Flxible, also based in Ohio. For a time, Flxible used the Twin Coach name – along with its own – in its marketing and some buses carried front name plates that gave both names and combined the companies' two logos into one. By 1963, use of the Twin Coach name on buses had been discontinued but marine-engine and aircraft divisions continued as Twin Coach. In 1958, after selling the marine division to Crofton Manufacturing Company of Los Angeles, the company moved its remaining production to Cheektowaga, New York. In 1962, the company's name was changed to Twin Industries. A portion of the company called Highway Products produced small Post Office vehicles, mobile post offices used in rural areas, small boats for military and commercial uses, missile launchers, and other products. Production of the small buses Kenosha mainly used from 1971 to about 1975 under the Twin Coach name began in 1969. In 1970, the company was sold and became a subsidiary of the Alco Standard company, continuing to produce the "Twin Coach" and Cortez Motor Homes until its bankruptcy in 1975.

09/12/2026

The Bright Side highlights uplifting moments across our community. Visit our website to read more and share your ideas.
The Bright Side: Where good news lives.
-
Kenosha's streetcar line and its broader legacy will be on full display during the annual Kenosha Streetcar Day on Saturday, Sept. 12. The event will feature interactive displays and activities at the Joseph McCarthy Transit Center, and free rides across Kenosha's brightly-colored fleet of streetcars.

Downtown Kenosha's historic 1.7-mile streetcar line has become a sort of living museum. Built to complement HarborPark and revitalize Downtown in 2000, the streetcar has become one of Kenosha's most iconic features.

But the the seven streetcars in Kenosha's fleet aren't originally from here, and their colors and interior designs were built to recognize transit lines from across North America - from Chicago's "Green Hornets" to San Francisco's "Wings." It has given Kenosha's small streetcar outsized fanbase, especially as Downtown Kenosha grows and rail grows more popular in the U.S.

Kenosha's streetcar operators say they routinely have passengers from as far away as Japan.

Like many mid-sized communities across the US., Kenosha had a robust streetcar network before the age of the personal automobile. Kenosha Electric Railway launched the city's first streetcar service in 1903, with a network of lines that reached as far east as 24th Avenue and traveled south from 27th Street down to 69th Street.

Streetcar ridership declined across both Kenosha and the US. in the 1930s and 1940s, as trolleys, buses and personal automobiles became more commonplace. Kenosha replaced its streetcar lines with trackless trolleys in 1932. Milwaukee followed suit some two decades later, tearing up its track and formally concluding southeastern Wisconsin's streetcar era in 1958.

The PCC streetcar

Ironically, it was during those decades when streetcar use was declining in American cities that the country's most iconic streetcar design would rise.

The President's Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars come about through an industry-wide push to create faster, quieter and more comfortable vehicles. PCC streetcars looked slick, colorful and futuristic, and sought to bring an aging transit system into the future. While popular, the PCC street cars still struggled to compete against newer, more flexible technologies like motor buses. They were slowly phased out of major American communities like Chicago and Toronto. In some lucky cases, they hung on as legacy lines; San Francisco and Boston both maintain a small fleet of PCC cars to this day.

In 2000, the PCC streetcar became a legacy line in a smaller, unexpected place - Kenosha.

At the turn of the century, Kenosha leaders were looking at ways to revitalize the city's harborside areas following the closure of American Motors Company's plant in 1988. As plans for HarborPark emerged with concepts for new condos and museums, then- Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian and City Transit Director Joe McCarthy had visions for a streetcar that would both attract new visitors and connect Downtown residents to the Metra station.

The city purchased five retired PCC cars from the Toronto Transit Commission and painted them in the liveries of North American cities. They chose to represent Chicago, Cincinnati, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a locale famous for being the smallest city in the U. S. to obtain a PCC fleet during their heyday.

A Kenosha staple

Kenosha launched its modern electric streetcar service on June 17, 2000, bringing rail transit back to the city after nearly seven decades of absence. It grew its fleet again a decade later when it received a donation of two PCC streetcars, one originating from Philadelphia and another from Toronto in 2011.

The line grew steadily in ridership. By 2018, the streetcar line boasted 39,569 passenger rides a year. Ridership declined across Kenosha Area Transit (KAT) options during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has slowly rebounded since. In 2023, the streetcar provided 19,520 passenger trips and over 2.000 hours of service. Today, Kenosha's streetcars travel a scenic route along the lakefront and through downtown, providing both transportation and a living connection to the city's past, City of Kenosha Media Specialist Daniel Galtan said in a release detailing the upcoming Streetcar Day. "The system has become one of Kenosha's most iconic attractions and a unique piece of Wisconsin transportation history."

Streetcar Day festivities will take place from 10 am. to 2pm. on Sept. 12. Presented by the Kenosha Streetcar Society in partnership with Kenosha LEGO Users Group and KAT, the celebration will include activities hosted at the Joseph McCarthy Transit Center at 724 54th St. and free rides aboard the streetcar fleet.

09/11/2026

Kenosha Celebrates More Than a Century of Streetcar History With Streetcar Day 2026!
Kenosha’s unique streetcar legacy will take center stage during Streetcar Day 2026, as residents and visitors celebrate more than 120 years of local electric streetcar history. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 12., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kenosha’s first electric streetcars began operating in 1903, when the Kenosha Electric Railway launched service with a network of routes connecting neighborhoods with downtown. For nearly three decades, streetcars were an important part of everyday transportation in Kenosha. The original system operated until 1932, when streetcars were replaced by electric trackless trolley buses.

Streetcars returned to Kenosha in a very different, and historic, form on June 17, 2000, when the city launched its modern electric streetcar system as part of the redevelopment of the Lake Michigan waterfront and HarborPark. The system uses beautifully restored Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars, many of which originally operated in cities including Toronto and Philadelphia. Each car features the colors and markings of a North American city with a PCC streetcar history.

Today, Kenosha’s streetcars travel a scenic route along the lakefront and through downtown, providing both transportation and a living connection to the city’s past. The system has become one of Kenosha’s most iconic attractions and a unique piece of Wisconsin transportation history.

Streetcar Day 2026 will offer visitors an opportunity to ride the historic cars, learn about Kenosha’s streetcar heritage and explore the people, technology and communities that helped shape the city’s transportation story. The Kenosha Streetcar Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Kenosha’s streetcar history, will participate in the celebration.

The event will include free activities and displays at the Kenosha Transit Center, 724 54th St., along with free electric streetcar rides. Streetcar Day is presented by the Kenosha Streetcar Society in partnership with Kenosha Area Transit and Kenosha LEGO Users Group.

For more information about Streetcar Day 2026 and Kenosha’s historic electric streetcar system, visit Visit KenoshaOpens in new window or Kenosha Streetcar SocietyOpens in new window.

08/27/2026

Click the picture of 4609 ...

Take a ride with me on one of the Kenosha Streetcars.

08/27/2026

Take a ride with me on one of the Kenosha Streetcars.

08/26/2026

The Kenosha Fire Department, Kenosha Area Transit and the Kenosha Police Department conducted a joint training exercise involving a mock accident scenario on 54th Street on Thursday, Aug. 20.

05/27/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EXDA4SnJJ/

05/22/2026

Ninety Years Old And Still Running At 45 mph
The newest issue of Passenger Train Journal is celebrating the PCC car - examples of which are still running in a surprising number of places, despite the last PCC car in American having been built in 1951. The classic design still looks great - and you can ride one today in Kenosha, Wisconsin (or Boston, Philadelphia-sometimes, El Paso, San Diego, and San Francisco).
https://passengertrainjournal.com/current-issue/
https://www.facebook.com/100063656196112/posts/1578635637601628/

See what's inside the latest issue of Passenger Train Journal, the only magazine dedicated to passenger trains and transit of yesterday and today!

05/06/2026

A Kenosha trolley bus on August 2, 1940 at 56th Street/Sixth Avenue (Kenosha News, by Diane Giles [edited]).

Two decades and two weeks: That's how long Kenosha had trackless trolleys on our roads.

According to the Kenosha Evening News on March 1, 1952, establishment of a trackless trolley system was first prompted in 1930, when the Chicago & North Western Railway elevation plans were completed.

The city's public service commission agreed to replace the Kenosha Electric Railway's streetcars and the gasoline buses then in use with a new type of public transportation: the trackless trolley. A franchise for the new service was granted to the Kenosha Motor Coach Co. by the City Council on July 8, 1931.

The first trackless trolley arrived by freight train on Feb. 1, 1932. The last of the General Motors coaches arrived Feb. 15, and 10 St. Louis Car Co. coaches arrived between Feb. 28 and March 20. The fleet then totaled 22.

The new coaches had Wisconsin Gas & Electric Co. on the sides, later replaced with Kenosha Motor Coach Lines.

Streetcar operations were suspended Feb. 11, 1932. While additional trolley wires were being installed, the city was served exclusively by gasoline buses for four days until the new trackless beauties hit the road.

In 1932, work began on the removal of part of the streetcar tracks. Other stretches were covered with a track-surfacing material.

By 1947 the trackless trolleys of the Green Line, Orange Line, Blue Line and Red Line delivered riders south of 75th Street and north to the industrial park that contained the Macwhyte Wire Rope Co. and Dynamatic.

Kenoshans rode the trackless trolley buses for just over 20 years before the next phase in public transportation.

On March 1, 1952, the oldA trackless trolley vehicles were taken to the Kenosha Motor Coach Co. garage at 5150 Sheridan Road (today's Capt Jim's Yacht Sales, 5136 Sheridan Road), headed for the scrap heap.

Trackless trolley driver Walter Vollbracht, who had driven the first Green Line trolley out of the garage in 1932, had the honor of driving the last trolley into the garage and disconnecting it. The 18 newly purchased
replacement diesel buses were paraded through the city, completing the conversion.

And at 11 am on Saturday, June 17, 2000, the first streetcar in 88 years ( #4610) once again rolled through downtown Kenosha.

04/14/2026

Sheridan Road at the intersection of 56th Street will be closed and traffic detoured in Downtown Kenosha starting June 11 for replacement of the embedded streetcar track.

The project is expected to take seven days to complete.

The work will require a full closure of the intersection to through traffic.

Motorists should allow for extra travel time and follow posted detour signage.

Northbound Sheridan Road traffic will be detoured west on 63rd Street, then north on 22nd Avenue, and east on 52nd Street to return to Sheridan Road.

Southbound Sheridan Road traffic will be routed west on 52nd Street, then south on 22nd Avenue, and est on 63rd Street to return to Sheridan Road.