On Track is a quarterly publication of the Garland Landmark Society, filled with features and pictures delving into Garland history and information on activities of the Society. Edited by Mary Dingle, a member of the Landmark Society's board of directors, it also prints short news items from the files of community newspapers of the past, dating to the 1800s.The following items are taken from stories recently published in On Track. The publication is free with membership in the Landmark Society.
From Riding the Rails in Style:
Car 582 started life as a Santa Fe Chair car in 1910. The Pullman Company in Pullman (now part of south Chicago), Illinois, constructed this car. Railcars built in this era were “transition” cars and the 582 is a good example. It has the wood car body of earlier times, but unlike its predecessors, it has an under frame of riveted steel. Even the trucks the car rides on are of wood and steel construction. Later cars were all steel construction and, as welding became a widely accepted construction technique late in World War I, even the rivets went away.
Claude Doane, On Track
Volume 1, Issue 2
April-June, 2004
From The Cemeteries of Garland:
Quick! How many cemeteries are there in Garland? Sound like a trick question? It is. The answer depends on the method of research used to obtain an answer. A couple of the Internet websites, although useful, swapped around a couple of names or stated that a few no longer exist. Another consideration would deal with city boundaries, as two or three are stated as not in Garland, depending on the source. And then there’s the issue of more than one cemetery in almost the same location.
Bob Dunn, On Track
Volume 1, Issue 4
October-December, 2004
From Vintage Photo Preservation: Saving Garland’s past one image at a time:
Vintage photos illuminate history as words never can, but being much less durable, they require maintenance and conservation. Few photos in the Landmark’s collection were offered in pristine condition. Most were doggedly solicited by volunteers familiar with donors’ connections to events, people and places from the past. Occasionally, a donor offers only the right to copy an original, but in either case, a majority of the images require some touchup before being displayed or reprinted.
Mike Hayslip, On Track
Volume 3, Issue 2
April-June, 2006
From Project Completed: Baggage Cart Restoration:
Baggage carts (like the one in front of the Depot Museum) were standard equipment at the Santa Fe Railroad Depot after it went into service around 1901. The cart was a necessity for moving all types of items — not only standard baggage, but trunks, caskets, tools, farm equipment, food and freight — from boxcars into the depot storeroom. Pulled by hand, the cart was ten feet long and about 42 inches wide. At 50 inches high, it was about the same height as the freight car floor, which made it easy for workers to slide heavy items from the freight car
onto the cart. The stationmaster supervised depot work duties and assigned railroad employees to handle loading and unloading.
Pete Nelson, On Track
Volume 4, Issue 2
April-June, 2007
From Remembering the Flood of 1949:
Recent heavy rains, flash flood warnings and media reports of widespread area flood damage have caused many long-time Garland residents to recall the tragic events of mid-June 1949, when, as The Garland News of June 17th reported, “terror and destruction descended upon the Duck Creek area of Garland.”
Mary Dingle, On Track
Volume 4, Issue 3
July-September, 2007