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Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers in the United States, more formally referred to as section hands, who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before the work was done by machines. The British equivalents of the term gandy dancer are navvy (from navigator ), originally builders of canals, or inland ...
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Oct 17, 2023 · Gandy Dancers “Gandy dancers” was a nickname for railroad section gangs in the days before modern mechanized track upkeep. The men were called dancers for their synchronized movements when repairing track under the direction of a lead workman known as the “caller” or “call man.”. The name “gandy” supposedly arose from a belief ...
Jun 6, 2023 · The term "gandy dancer" sprang up to describe section gangs, a group of track workers previously mentioned. These men did everything from laying ties to aligning the rails. The origins of "gandy dancer" are unknown although "gandy" has sometimes thought to have originated from the Gaelic dialect while "dancer" denoted the unified motion workers ...
Aug 24, 2023 · Some areas of the northern midwest show an appreciation of Gandy Dancers. A hiker in western Wisconsin can walk the 47 mile long trail called the Gandy Dancer State Trail that follows an old railroad line. In Ann Arbor, Michigan a person can dine in the Gandy Dancer restaurant, an up-scale restaurant made from a renovated old railroad station.
Sep 27, 2023 · To put it simply, a Gandy Dancer refers to the laborers who toiled tirelessly on the railroads, maintaining and constructing tracks in the early days of the industry. These skilled workers were responsible for the precise alignment of rails, ensuring a smooth and safe passage for locomotives and their precious cargo.
The crews became known as the Gandy Dancers because when they all began pulling the lining bars together while singing, they also looked to be dancing in sync. Eventually replaced by machines, MSE had one of the last crews of Gandy Dancers in American History. Watch Charles Kuralt’s 1970s “On the Road" segment featuring the MSE team. #MSE100
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