From The Macomb Daily

By Erica Stark, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Jack Schramm, one of the founders of the Michigan Transit Museum in Mount Clemens, died Feb. 24 after a long illness.

Mr. Schramm had a great interest in history, especially Detroit and its railways. He obtained a job with the city of Detroit’s Department of Street Railways after graduating from Denby High School in 1942.

He worked there for 40 years until his retirement in 1982. His employment was interrupted during World War II when he served in the Army from 1943 until 1946 in Europe and the South Pacific with the 1275 Engineer Combat Battalion.

His job as superintendent of payroll with the DSR required him to keep accurate records which served him well later when he chronicled the history of the railway system from the horse-drawn streetcars to the demise of the streetcar system in 1956.

His son Kenneth recalls him as a great guy with a keen mind for detail, which he retained throughout his life. In addition to the history of streetcars, Mr. Schramm also authored several magazine articles on the history of Detroit and southeastern Michigan bus companies.

His great love for the streetcars resulted in several books written on the history of the Detroit Department of Street Railways and its predecessor company, the Detroit United Railway.

The Michigan Transit Museum group was able to save the old Grand Trunk Train Station where Thomas Edison learned telegraphy, as well as one of the last DSR streetcars that operated in Detroit.

“My father was a dedicated city of Detroit employee for 40 years who worked hard at preserving Detroit and southeastern Michigan’s rich transit history,” Kenneth Schramm said. “It was just a shame he couldn’t have lived a bit longer to see the light rail system they are working on now and perhaps been amongst the first to take a ride.”

A memorial service for Mr. Schramm will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday (3/9/10) at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church, 1345 Gratiot Ave., Detroit. Memorial contributions may be made to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, 1820 Mt. Elliott St., Detroit MI 48207.

Article source:
http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2010/03/06/news/srv0000007756251.txt

From The Detroit News

The city’s top fire official spared few words Monday when calling out firefighters who left on railroad tracks a ladder truck before it was struck by a passenger train.

“I’m very upset,” Executive Fire Commissioner James Mack said. “It was a $600,000 truck. We’re trained professionals. We should always be thinking.”

The fire truck was crushed by an Amtrak passenger train at about 11:40 a.m. Monday in southwest Detroit after firefighters responded to a crash between a tractor-trailer and a car near John Kronk and Lonyo. For reasons that are unclear, the fire truck was left on the tracks.
A firefighter saw the oncoming train and ran back to move the rig. He was in the truck when the train slammed into it. He suffered a gash to the head and was treated at Detroit Receiving Hospital. No other firefighters were injured.

No serious injuries were reported aboard the train, though a female passenger was taken to a hospital after complaining of neck stiffness, fire officials and witnesses said.

Read more:
http://detnews.com/article/20100302/METRO01/3020348/Official-slams-firefighters-for-parking-on-rail-tracks#ixzz0hDvfRr2U

From The Flint Journal

One year after a water pipe burst and threatened to destroy hundred of historical documents and pictures, the Durand Union Station may just be better than ever. 

“We were actually very very fortunate,” Don Westcott, board president for the station said. “Because we had insurance we were able to take advantage and do some redecorating. We needed it.” 

But it took a lot more than insurance money to get the job done. Dozens of volunteers, ranging from local senior citizens to students from Durand Area High School put in their time to save the damaged items. The Sloan Museum and Henry Ford Museum also helped by offering information and advice on how to go about preserving the damaged documents. 

The work began, Westcott said, within minutes of an alarm going off after an attic water pipe froze and burst in January of 2009. 

Read more:
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/02/durand_union_station_getting_a.html

From The Holland Sentinel

For years, keeping the Pere Marquette Amtrak line has been a battle.

In 2010 the fight revolves around Michigan’s budget woes and Washington’s recent interest in high-speed rails.

Michigan Department of Transportation officials proposed rerouting the Pere Marquette around a dozen years ago. Instead of coming up the Lake Michigan coast through Holland to Grand Rapids, it would go to Kalamazoo, north to Grand Rapids and then west to Holland.

If a high-speed rail is built between Chicago and Detroit, the latter route could actually be faster. But coastal communities don’t want to lose what they consider a lifeline to Chicago tourists.

State Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, and five other lakeshore legislators asked MDOT officials to spare the route Thursday after a meeting Wednesday in St. Joseph.

Read more:
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1595500511/Local-legislators-to-MDOT-Spare-our-Amtrak-route

From the South Bend Tribune

Shoreline areas will lose rail service if line’s eliminated, he says.

State Rep. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, said Thursday he’s on board with efforts to continue Amtrak’s Pere Marquette rail service between Grand Rapids and Chicago.

The line, featuring a stop in St. Joseph-Benton Harbor, has been proposed for elimination by the Michigan Department of Transportation, Proos said. In place of it, MDOT has proposed re-routing the line to eliminate shoreline areas, he added.

“This would be devastating to shoreline communities,” he said.

Read more:
http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100226/News01/2260375/-1/googleNews