Trackside 138 - Kenosha, Wisconsin PCC Cars

When the Chrysler Corporation shuttered the former American Motors Corporation's Kenosha, Wisconsin assembly plant, the city decided to go first class when redeveloping the former site. It obtained 5 immaculate PCC streetcars and built a brand new loop of track between the Metra station and the waterfront.

These clips will be featured in an upcoming episode of the TV series Trackside. Go to www.trainweb.org/tracksideonline for more information.

• Category

  Autos & Vehicles

[pauljs75]

The electric trolleys are pretty cool. Not really a waste either, without gas or diesel engines - they're cheap to run and low maintenance.

What's a shame is that Kenosha has this perfect outdoor square they could use as an open market not far from the museums and condos, but they rarely ever use it if at all. If they'd chalk it out and rent sections of it during the summer, I think it would make good money and provide a good/unique tourist shopping attraction that actually uses the streetcars.

[ArtStone]

The bar between the wheels is a magnetic brake - its purpose is to keep the car from rolling when it is stopped. Most of the braking is done by reversing the motor into a generator and dumping the energy into a resistor bank as heat, not friction brakes

[ramblerclassic400]

Streetcars dancing on the grave of American Motors.

[metraF40PH163]

How is this a waste of money? This is a neat way to get people to come to your city. Also it is better than haveing busses all over the place.

[Tubes12AX7k]

Frankly, I think I'd fly out from the East Coast just to see the street cars (PCC trolleys) in action. In many ways, light rail is the way of the future. The PCC trolley was one of the world's most successful designs. Variations of it are in use around the world.

[launboy8]

HaHa, I live here and I thought it was a waste too. Only time we ever ride the trolley is for fun on the fourth of July. Never would have guessed people from other places actually come to Kenosha as their destination.

[Alex Brown]

I don't think the locals in Kenosha realize the tremendous potential there is in the whole Harborpark area. The problem I see isn't the streetcars. It's the down-at-the-heels impression visitors get from the remaining non-condo areas of downtown. A lot of people actually come to Kenosha to check out those streetcars.

tracksidefan

[beenblessedbyfaith]

Funny... I don't know of anyone who actually lives in Kenosha that thinks the street cars are pretty neat... most say its a colossial waste of tax dollars.

[tattoohead]

Waste of money if you ask me. I think the entire "loop" is a whopping mile long.

[ROCKSTARCRANE]

Those bars between the wheels - if I am not mistaken - are actually the brakes which are applied directly to the tracks via downward pressure and are much more effective because of the increased contact surface area as opposed to regular shoe brakes on the wheels themselves.