[milwaukee-electric] "Kenosha Firm Not Abolishing Trains"

[Louis Rugani]

Thought you'd appreciate this historic article. KMCL was long thought to be tied into National City Lines but no absolute proof has ever been uncovered. And the line that would "not be abolished" was gone by 1951.
=Lou=

~~~~~~~~~~ **-=\/=-** ~~~~~~~~~~

The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.       Robert Anthony


-----Original Message-----
From: LouRugani
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 8:04 PM
To: KenoshaStreetcars at yahoogroups.com
Subject: ~ "Kenosha Firm Not Abolishing Trains"


(November 23, 1946 - Waukesha Freeman)

Kenosha Firm Not Abolishing Trains



New Owners of Line Plan to Continue It for Extended Period



Electric interurban service between Waukesha and Milwaukee will continue
indefinitely, it was announced today by Henry P. Bruner, president of
the Kenosha Motor Coach Lines, Inc., new owner of the transit
properties. The statement was made to the (Waukesha) Freeman when Bruner
was asked in Racine about future plans for the local interurban line.

"We feel that the Waukesha line goes through territory which is
developing and expanding well enough to warrant continuance of the
electric service," Bruner asserted.

"There are economies of time involved in the operation of the electric
line which cannot be duplicated by motor buses."

The company official said with an aggressive program of operation he is
confident that enough rides can be secured for the interurban service to
continue its operation indefinitely.



Rounds Out Purchases



He explained that acquisition of the Milwaukee-Waukesha properties
rounds out his company's program of acquiring the electric transit
properties of the T. M. E. R. & T. Co.

In December, 1943, he said, the Kenosha company purchased the Milwaukee,
Racine and Kenosha line and in October, 1945, bought the Milwaukee-Port
Washington properties. All are continuing to operate.

"When we acquired the Port Washington line," Mr. Bruner said, we did so
with the expectation of inaugurating bus service as a substitute for it.
In this respect the acquisition of the Waukesha line differs. We have no
plans for substituting buses on the Waukesha-Milwaukee route and we
foresee no reasons for doing so in one, two or even three years."

The operating revenues of the Milwaukee-Waukesha line amount to about
$300,000 a year, Bruner said.

During the war years traffic on the line increased substantially and the
traffic has been good since the end of the war. He termed it a good line
and one which was well built and well maintained. It has, however,
been subject to rising costs during the past few years.