Kenosha Transit

Streetcars first served Kenosha through the Kenosha Electric Railway, which ran Birney Safety Cars from February 3, 1903 until February 14, 1932, when the city converted to electric trolley buses. Rails returned at the turn of the 21st century, when Kenosha built a modern electric streetcar line in step with the HarborPark development on Lake Michigan: the track sub-base went down in autumn 1998 using crushed concrete from the old Simmons/American Motors plant foundations, welded rail followed in 1999, and the 600-volt overhead was energized in April 2000. The line was ceremonially dedicated on June 17, 2000 — car 4610 'Toronto' broke the ribbon, piloted by Richard Lindgren, who had been a motorman on the original Kenosha Electric Railway in 1932 — with regular service starting June 19. The circulator quickly became one of Kenosha's top tourist attractions and a model project studied by urban planners worldwide, carrying over 63,000 passengers a year on its two-mile downtown route; the fleet grew in October 2011 when John DeLamater purchased and donated two more PCC cars.