JACK E. SCHRAMM (1924–2010): An Online Tribute
| Jack Edward Schramm |
A list of the books and magazine articles either authored or co-authored by Jack E. Schramm include:
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© 2010 (PAGE LAST UPDATED ON 06-11-10, 09-20-14)
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On February 24, 2010, the Detroit transit community suffered a major loss with the passing of local transit historian and author JACK SCHRAMM, who at age 85 passed away after a long illness. Born July 27, 1924, Schramm began working as a junior clerk for the Detroit Department of Street Railways in 1942, working his way up to Superintendent of Payrolls where he served until his retirement from the city's Department of Transportation (D-DOT) in 1982.
Schramm always had a strong interest in the history of the DSR, especially Its streetcar operation. As the streetcars were being phased out during the 1950s, he became interested in archiving their history. Over the years, he amassed a storehouse of information on the history of the DSR system, cataloguing every type of streetcar, bus and electric trolley-coach that ever operated within Detroit. Schramm was also regarded as an authority on the history of public transit companies in and around the City of Detroit, including the former Detroit United Railway (DUR).
Schramm's efforts resulted in two volumes published by the Central Electric Railfans' Association (CERA) in 1978 and 1980 titled Detroit's Street Railways, which he co-authored.
In addition to authoring and co-authoring a collection of books and magazine articles, Mr. Schramm was frequently called upon to make historical presentations at local museums, historical societies, and libraries, and was one of the original founders of the Michigan Transit Museum. Schramm also worked with City Planner Alex Pollock to establish one of America's first Heritage Streetcar lines, which began operating downtown along Washington Blvd. in 1976, and operated for over 25 years. In 1997, he was named the Historian for the Detroit Transportation Department by Mayor Dennis W. Archer, and named the Historian for the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) in 2007. He was one of the original members of SORT (Supporters of Regional Transportation), which established the Jack Edward Schramm Transit Award in his honor.
We here at the "DetroitTransitHistory.info" website are forever grateful for the dedication and hard work exhibited by Jack Schramm as he set out to track down and chronicle the history of public transportation within the City of Detroit and its surrounding suburbs. It was through the publications he authored and co-authored that inspired the launching of this website. It's for this reason we've decided to post this online tribute to the late Jack Edward Schramm.
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