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  1. Oct 17, 2023 · Gandy Dancers Demonstration Lining track was difficult, tedious work, and the timing or coordination of the pull was more important than the brute force put forth by any single man. It was the job of the caller to maintain this coordination.

  2. en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Gandy_dancerGandy dancer - Wikipedia

    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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  4. Compilation of scenes of retired railroad workers (gandy-dancers) from the Vicksburg (Mississippi) Yards reenacting track-laying and lining activities and so...

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  5. 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 ...

  6. Sep 7, 2022 · A "Gandy Dancer" was a person who kept railroad tracks in line before there was machinery to do the job. One crew member sang songs with rhythms that coordi...

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  7. Jan 7, 2008 · The term is said to be from the dance-like movements of the spikedriver, plus the name of Chicago-based Gandy Manufacturing Company, who supplied tracklining tools. The physical movements of these railroad crew members were synchronized by a caller who sang the chants, ensuring safety and pacing while spiritually uplifting the men at their toil ...

  8. Oct 22, 2012 · ...most sources refer to gandy dancers as the men who did the difficult physical work of track maintenance under the direction of an overseer. There are various theories about the derivation of the term, but most refer to the "dancing" movements of the workers using a specially manufactured 5-foot (1.52 m) "lining" bar (which may have come to ...

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